As the first holiday season approaches since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, times are hard for most businesses. We certainly don’t have all the answers for navigating these turbulent times. But thinking about how we can change has been a helpful exercise in itself for us, bringing a bit of clarity to our teams …
5 Principles To Guide Businesses During COVID19 This Christmas
As the first holiday season approaches since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, times are hard for most businesses. We certainly don’t have all the answers for navigating these turbulent times. But thinking about how we can change has been a helpful exercise in itself for us, bringing a bit of clarity to our teams during difficult times. I hope it’s helpful as you navigate the coming weeks and months ahead with your own team.
1. Context is always key.
Though this is a very much a worldwide pandemic, its impact is felt local especially for small/medium-sized businesses. At a very practical level, remembering this context and reflecting upon it in your marketing efforts might be useful. The guiding question would be: Is this campaign right, given the current context in local marketing. The local nuance has helped shaped our choices here at Ecard Mint especially when it comes to paid advertising and social media.
2. Constantly reassess to be objective.
As markets rapidly change during the COVID pandemic, constantly reassessing campaigns, creative materials, and even your company guidelines and policy could be key for a brighter future. We’re asking ourselves every day, “Is this creative right for this moment and in this context?” And when the answer is a no, we pivot.
Because of that, we recommend reassessing every possible touchpoint for your brand across paid & owned channels, from ads to emails making sure your communications are still right for the moment.
3. New creative considerations
Keeping to the theme of reassessing campaigns, we’re finding out that all sorts of creative elements need a little added scrutiny right now. From the tone and visual imagery to copy and placement, making sure each of these things is carefully assessed and then addressed.
A great example of this would be changing all creative that shows interactions like handshakes, hugs, and high-fives since social distancing is an important tactic for slowing the spread of illness. You now have to make sure creative is appropriate and relevant to our new reality.
4. Shape the future.
Trends have changed, the extent to which these trends stick will need to be systematically monitored over time. But we believe marketers already have sufficient data and impetus to reimagine and modernise their own playbooks and help shape the future of their companies.
Its time to commit to bold changes in marketing strategy and communication efforts, and its also time to build agility into the organisation for the world that emerges after the pandemic.
5. Its time to help.
Its time to come together and help one another, every brand has its “owned media,” whether e-stores, websites or even social media handles. Across the digital landscape, many are trying to help however they can. Take the YouTube homepage, currently, it directs users to videos from the CDC and the NHS to help spread information backed by science.
Maybe your business can help out locally in a way that’s impactful for the community you operate within. Maybe you already have, we would love to hear about what you have done to help during the pandemic.
