Category Archives: Crisis Communication

Adapt Your Marketing Strategy for COVID-19

From Gartner:

In a crisis situation subject to rapid change, CMOs need a proactive plan to adjust and adapt how they lead their teams, speak to their customers, and manage their brands.

Customers may never know how a company’s finance or HR department responds to a major unpredicted event, but marketing sits center stage, its moves reflected in every ad campaign, message and channel. You set the tone for how customers perceive the brand during a difficult time.

Taking the right actions and finding the right message can be challenging, especially in a fast-changing situation. All companies should operate with integrity and trust even as they come under pressure from a swiftly evolving situation. Those with a product or service well-suited for difficult times must, meanwhile, tread lightly, lest customers think they’re exploiting tragedy. 
“Long before the coronavirus emerged, consumer trust in both government and large brands had eroded.”
“Among marketing’s greatest challenges is foreseeing how customer wants, needs, expectations and purchasing decisions will evolve,” says Augie Ray, VP Analyst, Gartner. “Customers themselves won’t know until COVID-19 infections, fears and restrictions occur in their workplaces, locales and lives.”

Marketers shouldn’t wait for problems to develop or the market to point in a clear direction before making plans and taking action. Instead, follow a four-step action plan to define scenarios, monitor customers and plan for marketing changes.
— Read on www.gartner.com/en/marketing/insights/articles/adapt-the-marketing-strategy-for-covid-19

Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Apple Watch, Fitbit as first line of defense? Tests expand on whether wearables could predict coronavirus

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/05/27/coronavirus-tracking-apple-watch-fitbit-studies-aim-detect-covid-19/5270949002/

Smartphone data shows America’s cautious comeback

Data from millions of mobile phones shows varying behavior across the United States in May as people responded to the loosening of stay-at-home orders, a Reuters analysis shows.

Americans returned to parks, restaurants and gas stations first. In most of the country, though, people continued to stay away from bars, fitness centers and religious institutions, which remain closed in many areas, according to the analysis of anonymized smartphone data from SafeGraph.
— Read on www.oann.com/smartphone-data-shows-americas-cautious-comeback/

Hurricane Dorian: Palm Beacher pilots one of first reconnaissance missions into storm-ravaged Bahamas – News – Palm Beach Daily News – Palm Beach, FL

Hurricane Dorian: Palm Beacher and pilot Gary Lickle flew one of first civilian reconnaissance missions into storm-ravaged Bahamas this week.

— Read on www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/20190906/hurricane-dorian-palm-beacher-pilots-one-of-first-reconnaissance-missions-into-storm-ravaged-bahamas

Wave Pool In Chinese Park Malfunctions, Sends 10-Foot Wave On Unsuspecting Swimmers – Digg

An error at the Shuiyun Water Park’s wave pool left dozens of visitors injured. See the video
— Read on digg.com/video/wave-pool-malfunction-china

California’s 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Interrupted This Comedian’s Stand Up Set, And She Handled It Perfectly – Digg

In a moment that could have been truly terrifying, Atsuko Okatsuka‏ somehow kept the crowd laughing.
— Read on digg.com/2019/earthquake-comedy-set-atsuko-okatsuka

Watch How A Radioactive Cloud Spread Through Europe After The Chernobyl Disaster – Digg

This visualization shows how devastatingly widespread the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster was in 1986.
— Read on digg.com/2019/chernobyl-radioactive-cloud-animation