Edition 12

June 5, 2020

“COVID-19 might not discriminate, but we’ve come to see that societies do.” This was the headline of an article on the Byline Times, a platform for freelance journalists to report what gets ‘unreported’ in the mainstream press. The article probes the results of a Public Health England inquiry into deaths as a result of the pandemic, concluding that “the impact of COVID-19 has replicated existing health inequalities and, in some cases, has increased them”.

Whatever viewpoint you subscribe to, it’s evident that the virus has shone a spotlight on the underserved and undervalued parts of society. It has taken a global health crisis for us to begin to revaluate who we have become as a society and what we value. And this issue has been given fresh meaning after the senseless death of George Floyd in the USA. The Black Lives Matter movement has gained global traction, uniting people of all races and backgrounds and spurring brands to speak out much more directly than they have perhaps before.

It is, of course, important for brands to openly support groups and communities at this time. Taking practical measures to support these causes and use their platforms for good. Whether it is assessing the diversity within the work that is being produced or reflecting on the team of people shaping the output. But this must be done in a way that’s not vacuous.

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Edition 11

May 29, 2020

This week ‘Corona Fatigue’ has hit home in earnest. Across the world, we’ve seen a number of nations where infection rates have fallen – from China to Switzerland – increasingly easing restrictions on movement. This has prompted citizens in other countries, where infection rates remain high, to clamour for more of the same. Take the US, where Apple's new mobility tool continues to report that fed-up Americans are beginning to venture out of their homes despite stay at home orders, with reports of packed bars in Wisconsin, non-socially distanced restaurants heaving in Texas, and casinos across Mississippi and Louisiana opening their doors.

Cognitive behavioural scientists have all jumped on the band wagon to explain our urge to perhaps prematurely return to normal. “Living with that fear and uncertainty takes a toll. Being on guard or hyper-vigilant or extra conscientious does take a toll on our energy” said pre-eminent mental health professor Janet Miller, Mount Royal University in Calgary.

This may explain why a recent (12 – 15 May) Opinium survey found that 64% of those questioned across the UK believe important day-to-day activities outside COVID-19 are being side-lined. They’re calling for brands to focus their campaign activity on anything beyond lockdown and social distancing – with an overwhelming 73% looking for non-COVID content, in comparison to just 27% of consumers who want the pandemic to remain front and centre.

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Edition 10

May 22, 2020

With the mercury hitting 28°C in parts of the UK this week, the nation’s resolve has been tested. Thousands flocked to UK coastlines to soak up the sun and cars were photographed queuing round the block for Whoppers and Big Macs. This week, we take a closer look at ‘reopening’. It’s clear that businesses are beginning to consider their reopening plans with gusto, but is this same optimism and energy to reopen matched with consumer desire to actually visit? Let’s take a look at some of the innovations being tried and tested and get a read on how consumers are really feeling about the reopening of retail.

The media is awash with stories about businesses (mainly in the food sector) carefully reopening in countries like Italy and China as these nations face into a brave new world. For most business owners however, the new rules remain too difficult to operate under. If footfall is impacted and social distancing exists, it would be more expensive to reopen than to stay closed. The Italian retailers' association Confcommercio estimated that about 30 per cent of restaurants and cafes would have to remain shut. This was echoed in the UK with the British Independent Retailers Association reporting that 20 per cent of British retailers did not intend to open after lockdown.

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Edition 9

May 15, 2020

This has been a transformational week for the UK as the Government eased rules around lockdown, devolving responsibility and ‘common sense’ from politics to the people. In a bid to kick-start the economy and resume some semblance of normality, one sector that all eyes will be on is retail. This week, we take a closer look at the luxury industry. This sector has taken a huge hit with the pandemic but is it all doom and gloom or is this a once-in-a-generation moment to redefine an industry where trends like conspicuous consumption and societal values have shifted in a more dramatic way? The jury is out…

Despite some of the more severe lockdown restrictions relaxing (or even being lifted in places like Germany and France) the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, raising questions about the fate of the luxury market. Just this week, Bain & Company released a report examining the impact of the pandemic on the personal luxury goods market, suggesting COVID-19 “presents an unprecedented crisis for the industry and forces luxury players to jump into the future now.” And whilst they acknowledged that the personal luxury goods market is set to contract by 20 - 35 per cent in 2020, this will be a moment of immense transformation as the industry sets on a path of recovery.

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Edition 8

May 8, 2020

It’s hard to believe that we’re in week eight of lockdown. So much of what felt ‘unfamiliar’ about being in this unusual situation has started to feel more familiar as we adjust our home and work lives in these unprecedented times. This week we take a closer look at technology in its broadest sense. It’s hard to deny the fact that technology has been a saving grace for so many people and businesses in lockdown so, coming from an already powerful position, what will COVID-19 do for the tech world once we emerge?

This week we heard Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, announce the launch of the Test, Track and Trace programme; a new app being trialled on the Isle of Wight that will allow the NHS to track who someone has been in contact with after testing positive for COVID-19. It’s another example of the way in which technology and the digital community have rallied to innovate tools designed to monitor the spread of COVID-19 and facilitate better treatments.

The Daily Telegraph ran a fascinating article this week in which it said that “Big Tech is likely to emerge from the pandemic richer, more powerful and more dominant than ever.” They featured a quote from Eric Schmidt, the long-serving former Google boss, who said that coronavirus should make us more “grateful” to tech giants adding: “imagine having the same reality of this pandemic without these tools...The benefit of these corporations, which we love to malign… is profound and I hope people will remember that when this thing is finally over.” Time will certainly tell…

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Edition 7

May 1, 2020

From exploring behaviour change to looking at life indoors, we have covered several topics in our bulletin. This week we take a closer look at influencer marketing with views from Ketchum Associate Directors Alex Marsh and Stephen Farrell. Social media has been a salvage for people trapped indoors but have the rules of the game changed and what do brands need to keep in mind during this changing time?

With COVID-19 restricting our movements, we have inevitably turned to social media for stimulation. With more people online than ever before, brands are presented with a unique opportunity to engage with influencers, allowing them to stay front of mind in our new world. Even the UK government has turned to trusted YouTubers to combat the global spread of misinformation on COVID-19.

With many people across the world on lockdown and self-isolating, the UK has seen social and digital media consumption numbers soar. In the first two weeks of April, social talent agency UOR Consultancy saw a 76% rise in daily accumulated likes on Instagram #ad posts. As brands pulled back on marketing, less branded content in the social media space meant influencers saw their engagement levels rise as there was much less competition.

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Edition 6

April 24, 2020

This week we take a closer look at life indoors. With lockdown in the UK extended for another three weeks (at least), the nation is becoming increasingly inventive with how it passes its time and we’ve seen countless brands explore unusual ways of bringing the outdoors in.

In a week when we heard that the UK would remain on lockdown for a further three weeks, pressure has been applied to the government to release an ‘exit strategy’ for when we might look to partially return to ‘normal life’. The nation has been tested over these past six weeks and broadly, we’ve seen incredibly compliance. But humans, by their very nature, are social beings, and it’s clear their patience and resolve will be tested, if it hasn’t already.

The Economist ran a fascinating article at the beginning of this month which explored this topic through the lense of several personal case studies. It was clear about the fact that “traumatic events, from natural disasters to war, can damage people’s mental health” adding “the COVID-19 pandemic is no different.” The article also adds that “touch and social networks are essential for humans” and can “slow down the rate of [personal] decay.” It’s acknowledgement of this which partially explains why we’ve seen so many companies play a social role in helping people connect in novel ways with the great outdoors from inside.

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Edition 5

April 17, 2020

In a week when Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave an emphatic nationwide address, where his use of war-time rhetoric was prevalent and united the nation, the COVID-19 crisis continues to grip our world. It has also shone a light on our value system as citizens of this nation and the world, calling into question how much we really value the people powering the frontline and keeping our country going. The revaluation of people and their societal contributions has been enormous and will penetrate the fabric of society in far deeper ways than we might realise.

In an article in The Economist this week, we heard from the former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, about the way in which the economy must now yield to “human values” saying:“value will change in the post-COVID world. On one level, that’s obvious: valuations in global financial markets have imploded, with many suffering their sharpest declines in decades. More fundamentally, the traditional drivers of value have been shaken, new ones will gain prominence, and there’s a possibility that the gulf between what markets value and what people value will close.”

This is powerful on so many levels. Economic and financial gains will need to be assessed against psychological and societal vectors. Coming out of this, brands will need to reassess things like their influencer marketing plans, to avoiding looking crass in the current crisis (and foreseeable future). Might we see the rise of ‘expert’ influencers to combat the ‘infodemic’ happening and people’s quest for the truth? Has COVID-19 made data experts the new-age social media influencers? Lots in flux but with everything still to play for.

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Edition 4

April 10, 2020

In a week when COVID-19 delivered its latest plot twist, with prime minister Boris Johnson moved to intensive care to help manage worsening symptoms of the virus, the grave reality of COVID-19 is a continual reminder. These shifting external events will naturally affect anxiety levels as media coverage of COVID-19 becomes inescapable, and the financial realities set in for individuals and businesses.

However, striking the right tone with media has never been more important. An article published in The New York Times this week couldn’t have made this clearer, offering a stark warning to brands:“at a time of death counts and soaring unemployment and improvised hospitals? A single ill-considered post on social media could result in tar and feathers — both for companies and for brand-name people.”

Now more than ever, defining a communications strategy has never been more critical. From ensuring there are no skeletons in your corporate cupboard which might surface and cause irrecoverable reputational damage, to ensuring ideas and messages are tested for tone, relevance and suitability. Now is not the time for communications negligence.

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Edition 3

April 3, 2020

First the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and now Wimbledon, the latest sporting casualty. As the weeks pass by, we see a continual reshaping and shifting of the things in life we have become accustomed to seeing and partaking in. However, there have been plenty of virtual activities filling the void and several brands and famous figures have come to the country’s rescue with remedial exercise workouts, home schooling tips and free advice for businesses trying to stay afloat. In this edition we take a closer look at behavioural shifts in the new normal and how brands should be looking ahead to a post COVID-19 world because this virus has fast-tracked a generational behaviour shift in a short space of three months…and many of these behaviours will be here to stay.

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Edition 2

March 27, 2020

In a week when we discovered that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be delayed until summer 2021, and when cases of the virus in Europe surpassed Asia, we have seen a heightened response to the pandemic from governments and brands. In this edition, we take a closer look at how brands are pivoting from physical to digital as well as calling out companies who are using their products and services for the greater good of the country and its frontline workers.

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Edition 1

March 20, 2020

When we’re all adjusting to a ‘new normal’ around the globe, it is easy to assume that ‘business as usual’ has been eroded beyond recovery. That the intense focus on one of the greatest global health challenges in a generation means there is no room for brands to maintain a connection with their consumers, or businesses with their stakeholders. Whilst there is no doubt some truth in that, at Ketchum we have been staying in close contact with our media to ascertain the opportunity for our clients to maintain a presence in the media, in a way that is sensitive to the current situation.

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