Finding Balance in Adversity: COVID-19 Playbook for Brands

The current health crisis is all-consuming and impacting each and every one of us in different ways. We are all facing this challenging time together, but we are experiencing this differently as there are so many human nuances at play in how we cope. Over the past several weeks, I spoken with brands we serve, family and friends, the MMI team and our Stagwell sister agencies about how we are a society move through these very uncertain times. Despite my passion for communications and my role as CEO of an agency, this is a very difficult time to talk about marketing.

In this environment, talking about marketing can feel like we are taking advantage of the current crisis. Selfish and VERY strange. But it is exactly during these times of crisis that we must step-up and examine the role we play as marketers and brands to drive the economy.

The consumers who buy our products on the shelf at the store (or online, with this new normal) are made up of people, just like you and me. If you work in advertising, the same goes for the brands that you serve. These are all people; they have fears and dreams. Mortgages and stock options. Friends, neighbors, siblings and grandparents. There are so many things to worry about. Our brand partners are also worrying about their people – the staff that work in fulfillment centers, the customers they serve and the communities they volunteer in. The lives that we touch as marketers are in the millions, and even in the face of uncertainty, we must continue on.

But we must do it with empathy, keeping all of those people in the center of the choices we make.

At MMI, we are here to serve you, both the brands we work with and all of our sister agencies and small businesses who are looking for help. We are undaunted by the task ahead of us. To help you manage your business through this time, we have created a brand playbook you can use. It’s compiled of actionable next steps based on our long experience with consumer understanding and our path-to-purchase obsession, as well as our deep understanding of integrated communication crisis strategy for global brands. We have also leveraged global learnings from our sister agencies, ForwardPMX and HarrisPoll.

For me personally, I’ve spent more time online consuming content than I have ever before. I’m on twitter NON-STOP and watching streaming TV, I’m gaming (don’t tell my mom) and I’m checking in with friends. I’m not alone! As people turn inward and are spending more time at home, behavior is changing. In this time where businesses, brands or agencies might be wondering how to move through the current crisis, we have consolidated the data and created an action plan. We hope it serves to inspire you.

 Global trends:

What we are going through as a society is truly unprecedented. Like many, we at MMI are working from home. We are taking care of our loved ones and doing our best to protect those around us. But in this time of adversity, we also believe in our commitment to the work we do to drive the economy and keep businesses thriving. Our business was founded to help brands reach their consumers in new ways that fuel growth, and we have been doing that with a passion for 33 years. The current health crisis makes what we do as an agency more important than ever before. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and each element of your communication strategy might differ depending on the industry, location, marketing tactics, primary communication channels, audience demographic and type of product or service. Brands can't stay silent forever, but they do need to understand human behavior and people’s emotional state of mind. Consumers will remember where and how brands spoke to them during a crisis.

• More people are working from home than ever before as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise. The need to adapt marketing strategies depends greatly on the penetration of the virus.
• 55% of Gen Z and Nearly 4 in 10 Americans say they are virtually connecting with family and friends via FaceTime and other means to cope with social distancing
• As ForwardPMX found, previous health crises, such as SARs, have shown a dramatic shift in consumer behavior. In China, there was a 20% increase of mobile usage during self-isolation.
• Live streaming across YouTube, Twitch, Facebook and other services grew by more than 66% in Italy between the first week of February and early March, according to TechCrunch and Nielsen.
• Based on Nielsen data from prior major crises in recent U.S. history that forced consumers to stay home, total TV usage increased by nearly 60%.
• eCommerce will grow. 74.6% of U.S. internet users said they'd be likely to avoid shopping centers and malls if the coronavirus outbreak in the country worsens and over half would avoid shops in general.
• Traffic to the DTC websites that MMI manages has almost doubled in some cases, especially for brands that have products consumers need in their day-to-day lives. 

Business continuity planning for brands:

We know you are experiencing great changes in your world, from supply chain volatility to messaging challenges to consumers turning inward. We encourage you to be bold during this time and to make choices that will continue to strengthen your business. In the playbook, we explore the questions brands should be asking to help identify appropriate messaging or to help make strategic campaign decisions that are authentic. As the situation evolves, so too should your messaging. 

Change is inevitable. Asking the right questions can ensure a solid strategy.

This playbook covers:

• Ongoing considerations
• Communication and content strategy
• Paid media trends
• eCommerce
• Immediate actions for brands to leverage TODAY in thinking about the crisis

I’m proud to be CEO of MMI Agency and take the health, safety and well-being of my team, our clients and the communities that those brands reach with their messages, extremely seriously. I’m proud of my MMI family and how, even in this uncertain time, we continue to be agile, scrappy, creative and dynamic.  Like many, we are working from home. We are taking care of our loved ones and doing our best to protect those around us. Although we are separated by distance, we remain together in spirit. We are each facing very different circumstances, but we are facing them together. I am so proud of the work we are doing as a team. At MMI, we will help our brands drive their business. We will help your consumers get what they need to not only survive, but to flourish. And, we will do it together.