Creativity in the era of Covid-19

In 2010, Malcom Gladwell wrote an op-ed for The New Yorker, Small Change, why the revolution will not be tweeted, which is extremely relevant in the era of Covid-19 for brands and marketers.

In his well-documented article, Gladwell opposed weak-tie connections and strong-tie connections and applies this filter to various activism cases... and debunks the myths of social networks as a magic upgrade for activism (quoting Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody).

"But it is simply a form of organizing which favors the weak-tie connections that give us access to information over the strong-tie connections that help us persevere in the face of danger. It shifts our energies from organizations that promote strategic and disciplined activity and toward those which promote resilience and adaptability. It makes it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that expression to have any impact. The instruments of social media are well suited to making the existing social order more efficient."

An insight that UNICEF Sweden applied for a famous campaign in 2013 to show its supporters what it really needs: money.

A good reminder for marketers and businesses trying to do their best during the Covid-19 crisis; yes, the tone-of-voice has to be empathetic, supportive, human. But it is not enough.

When for the very first time in the globalization era half of the humans are required to remain at home, that global health is threatened, that massive slow-down of global transports is happening and that leaders are challenged in all countries, the answer for brands cannot be just communication: it has to be at the business level that creativity - therefore relevant solutions - are to be provided.

Creativity lies in the understanding of hard-ties.

Apps downloads are booming; not just because people are bored but because they suddenly need to connect as never before. Because they fear of catching COVID-19, even in countries that are supposed to get better.

In Italy, Facebook has seen up to 70% more time spent across their apps since the crisis arrived in the country. In this global war against death, funerals are organized via Zoom or other video-apps.

These people don't just need an empathetic clickbait; they want the brands they buy to provide them with solutions, solve a tiny part of the problem, and use social media as the gateway to these solutions. As Tesco claims: "Every Little Helps".

Hard times, hard-ties, real business.

Creativity is about going back to business fundamentals; and social media should be connected to the brand business, period

Marketers, organizations can be purposeful at all levels by looking back at their business essence, asking themselves what the value chain can or cannot do. As Mark Ritson wrote: "it was Iceland that first came up with the smart idea of letting elderly customers shop first. Not the country, the bargain basement retailer". Social media was a brilliant way to convey the message, to inform the families of this good idea...and to push pressure on other shops to do the same. There was no need for a "viral" video or a high-production content: a simple business idea, playing with your 4Ps.

LVMH started producing hand sanitizer far before the peak of the crisis, by turning to their value chain and wondering what their business could do. In Paris, humans who have empty apartments near hospitals started to offer them for free to some health workers; and so did The American Hotel and Lodging Association (Marriott, Hilton and Red Roof Inn etc.) that have identified over 6,500 hotel properties across the U.S. that are near health care facilities and available to house health care workers and other first responders. 

Sports trainers tapped into live-streaming as people need to exercise. And GPs are starting to use video-apps to avoid physical contact with their patients.

To sum up: applying a problem-solving approach to Covid-19 can be applied to any kind of business. It is up to marketers and organizations to up the game.

Creativity requires a (very) clear agenda and to never lose sight of the day after

It is - indeed - not enough to see how the value chain can become part of the solution. It also requires to inform the relevant stakeholders that a solution exists.

Hence the importance of a clear plan, timeline, agenda for brands.

To date, a lot of companies have been in the reaction-phase: acknowledging the situation; showing empathy; reassuring employees, the press, and sometimes the consumers. If many companies opened their wallets and donated, we've barely seen mid-term roadmaps; from where the crisis started to what organizations want to put in place in the coming months. It is a missed opportunity: by not taking the lead on the crisis narrative, organizations undergo the current and future aftershocks, while feeding the fears of people.

This timeline - or plan - should stick to the business value chain. Some marketers are actually surprised that their consumers keep buying their products and ask where they can find them. With Covid-19, we're experiencing a shut-down. But a shut-down does not mean that consumers' values, needs, habits, expectations, and desires disappear overnight. The more 'normal' the daily life can be maintained, the stronger the morale can keep rolling. This surprise comes from a misunderstanding of what social media is about; if you consider it as a channel, then you think that when you stop publishing or the ads, the consumers disappear. It's only partly true: brands have spent years (and millions) to survive and enter people's lives. Don't expect people to leave you when you stop your media buy; because social media is not a channel: it's the place in which people spend their lives (and a bit of money) through technology.

Creativity requires to challenge our future systems

One of the only good things with a shut down is that it forces us to think differently. Because we simply don't have much choice. One of the main emergencies for the aftermath of Covid-19 is definitely to fully go back to what was 'obvious' before.

A couple of thoughts:

1. On companies' values chains: we need to make sure that in the long run, they benefit the first shareholders of the reputation of brands: real people. Because when everything goes wrong, it's us, the people, who'll pay the bills and save banks
2. On urbanism: if more and more people live in cities, we need to rethink the streets, the ways buildings are designed. We are to date extremely lucky not to have violent reactions on top of the health crisis
3. Welfare state: where did we all turn for the last couple of months? To the governments, to the states. It might be the most challenging block to change, but we need to create pride in paying taxes and make our public systems not only ready for the next crisis but change-actors
4. Ad-world: we used to be paid to provide holistic communication solutions. It is time to re-establish the power of ideas, actions on mindsets and behaviors; and forget for a while to focus only on the technical tools.

Activism is very much related to a desire for change and hopes for others; this might wake us up a lot.

Stay safe.