 Hi there. Thank you for joining ad week together. My name is co-im. I'm the community editor and podcast co-host We are so happy to share all these conversations with you, and we hope you're enjoying them, too If you are valuing this type of content We ask that you sign up for our subscription at ad week comm slash offer And you can get a pro subscription from there and have access to all of our essential content and resources for marketers and advertisers and partners worldwide Without further ado today, we are joined by a very dynamic and special guest We have Amanda gets VP of marketing at the knot and the wedding wire. Happy Thursday, Amanda. Happy Thursday, co I'm excited to be here This is gonna be a great conversation about marketing at all levels marketing through the crisis I want to start with You know the wedding season is upon us right supposed to be upon us June going forward. So I guess Looking back at when the pandemic really started to hit us What was your thinking with the teams that you see across the wedding wire and the knot? How did you start to to strategize at a very high level? Yeah, I mean this happened so quickly it was that week of March where things started to Start to shut down But we didn't know if it was going to be shelter in place and then one morning we woke up and it was shelter in place And so we had couples all around the US and all around the world That had to postpone their weddings immediately and so as a brand marketer We had to really Reprioritize our goals, right? Rather than talking to a pre-engaged audience and being a relevant brand for people and be top of mind We had to come up with a whole suite of Resources and services we opened a 24-7 hotline To service the couples that needed us most and That was to make sure that they knew how to postpone their wedding. What was the latest CDC? We were updating in a One piece of content like 20 times a day It was just constantly being updated and then we made sure that we were being super sensitive And so our social channel just turned a hundred percent to be there for being empathetic and just being a resource rather than talking about Inspiration and getting people excited or memes like we had people Really really in like a heightened emotional state at that moment and we wanted to make sure we met them there Yeah, especially because this stage in life is already such an emotional stage so I Guess I know that when I went to your site I just saw a lot of resources a lot of COVID-19 kind of tagged pages and verticals Now I guess, you know, are you going back to that kind of inspirational? Positive branding or are you also trying to stay very service oriented? How do you kind of balance that? It's definitely a balance But we are starting to see couples who are thinking about what a wedding during COVID does look like like we saw Elaine from through Vogue if you followed Elaine what what works Stoop wedding in Brooklyn like people are figuring out how to still have their weddings right now And people want to be inspired by that content But there is a reality of some people are postponing and they still need the resources of how to communicate that how to order change the dates So it's a balance of empathy But we are starting to see and we're listening to our users and even just asking them in community forums If they're ready for to be entertained again or for a little laugh And so a lot of it across the are you know owned? Brand channels has been testing and seeing what is resonating and as we start to see people Really wanting to be inspired by some of the stories of couples who are navigating coven That's working but then also like the reality of being at home with your significant other and what that Brings to the table. There's also fun But then we're leaning on relationship advice and we have an amazing app called lasting that helps with you know Relationship health so kind of meeting people where they are both inspiring them But constantly being there with resources when they need us Yeah, we hear a lot about, you know, this is the time for experimentation. This is the time for listening I know you've been at your current position and the company for five years Has it been more difficult for you as you know a strategist as a thinker? Yes, I mean this has been a joke like I've planned personally over 150 weddings I was a wedding planner two lives ago and I've never had to think about weddings in this new light So it's like a moment of like a change in a cultural tradition like how we think about what does a ceremony look like? What does a reception look like in a world of social distancing? And so the past three months I feel like I've worked more than these past three months than I have in three years But it's also forced us to really rethink like how we speak to our users and and how we approach them and What our brand can be for them and for the industry? So it's been Both the stressful time, but also a really motivating time I think for our teams internally to the Inbound messages we get from couples when we've helped them navigate this really stressful time Are we have a slack channel that we're constantly showing when a bride is like I don't know what I would have done without your community specialist who talked to me through and stayed on the phone with me for You know an hour an hour and a half to just help me figure this out. So that's like been pretty rewarding Yeah, what's also been like we know that what's been important is you know community and You know external relations and customer service for many brands and companies and consumers Have there been other any surprising things that you've seen any trends even immediately that you've noticed with couples With couples with branding just industry-wide even and I also do want to say I did see that Elaine wedding and just beautiful way to have you know a flower wall on your stoop and it was very inspirational and emotional to Kind of experience that with her, but sorry go ahead stunning like we are all just like amazed by it, but So I think across the industry a couple of things I noticed when COVID first started to to happen and the shelter-in-place happened. It was fascinating I was doing teardowns of all the top brands to see What they were doing on their social channels like who was going radio silent who was putting up a COVID message Who was kind of business as usual and then so I think that there was this immediate response of like People need to hear from the CDC. They don't need to hear from us like what are we gonna do, right? Then it was this shift to how can we help? And that was really interesting. So we're two-sided marketplace. So we obviously have Hundreds of thousands of small business owners who rely on weddings happening And that was important for us to make sure that we were there for them on the B2B side And watching like Verizon's pay it forward and all of these, you know Brand campaigns that come to life just to show like we see you and we have the opportunity to make a difference right now And it it was really fascinating to watch like The the brands that did that authentically It really resonated really well. Um, so now I think we're starting to phase into People are slowly adjusting to this like new normal. I hate that phrase, but um, So how can we be there to entertain provide great content again and um be the brand that people will like remember you to be Yeah, and as we kind of look forward and I also hate that phrase the new normal for some reason And I have a a calendar saved the date for February for a wedding in in Argentina But what are kind of your predictions, you know, um for the industry and for weddings going forward Are we're going to continue to see creative solutions from both sides of the market and um with consumers? Absolutely, like the vendors are getting oh, sorry. There's someone at my door Life is still happening Um, but yeah, we are definitely seeing creative solutions vendors are coming up with like satellite dance floors or you know blocking off major parts of their outdoor space to allow for Standing ceremony viewings. So you're not sitting close to each other There are so many ways to think about still having a wedding We're talking about a new term called the shift wedding Where you have your guests in groups of 25 in three different rooms. I'm sorry. I'm going to walk and get this because I think she's going to keep knocking I apologize everyone. This is real life Oh Yeah, I mean, um, that's a really interesting concept about Shifting and uh, you know having people That you know, you almost bring in the idea of experiential into Individual experiences. So that'll be interesting to see what people Bring in conceptually uh from a marketing standpoint and from a consumer standpoint Yes, definitely like like I was saying we have been promoting that weddings are still Going to continue to happen for all of our vendors and for couples too There are so many couples in the stage of life that you know Want to continue to have these moments and they don't want to postpone them So it's our job to make sure that we give them all the inspiration ideas how to make it their own And it also goes into experiential marketing, right? We've been talking about how our influencer events are going to change in the next year We we we bring our most influential weddings couples together for influencer activations throughout the year What are those going to look like? Are we still going to do those? So there's lots of things to think about in this new world of social distancing, but Yes, absolutely. And I also want to turn the conversation To your kind of internal teams and your leaderships there as you're Um You know trying to to manage all the zoom meetings and the back-to-backs and people's, you know, very real emotions at home People's emotions about work even What are some tips that you have that you found that have worked for you and your teams? so The biggest thing right now is empathy and trust and clear communication so Communication I think was the biggest thing for us because we woke up and all of our marketing plans were just done like we weren't going to continue to do Plans that we're celebrating weddings because weddings weren't happening at that moment. So We started this thing where I would do an Like a email that was just my thoughts at the beginning of the week And a bookend email on fridays of what we decided and what was happening So those became major kind of tentpole communications for my team Then we started to do daily stand-ups to just say what's what's the 10 minute update that everybody needed to know So that over communication helped immensely Right in the beginning when everything kind of was in flux, but then we started to consolidate that to um What's our clear goals moving forward once we actually had a handle on what our brand was going to do and what We're going to be saying Then it was important to kind of Create an actual strategy and okay ours for the rest of the team Because everybody down to like a coordinator level needed to wake up and know How does my work affect what we're doing as a brand and how can I impact that? Because it was a lot of anxiety right if you wake up and you have nothing to do You're nervous about that So it was communicating communicating all the decisions then making sure everybody understood what their new job was And that meant a lot of shifts to be perfectly honest I had consumer marketers that I shifted over to help social and be responding to dms So everybody just had to be very flexible And then the third thing is just empathy and trust so as a single mom I have only from 10 to 4 p.m Where I can actually be on zooms because I have to teach first grade in the morning And then I got to be on dinner and bedtime duty at in the evening So people are now understanding that I need to just communicate what's working for me And then trust that I'm going to do the job that you are trusting me to do and that actually has been the silver lining of this whole thing Yeah, I really enjoy the transparency and I like the idea It sounds so obvious and simple but the idea of the monday and friday emails because it really provides Clarity and direction and closure from the start of the work week and the end of the work week So I do like that idea a lot and I appreciate your honesty You know with with everything. I want to go to some of our comments on linkedin First of all, we wanted to know the update on what the delivery was. Who was at the door? So I'm at an air bnb and it was amazon. I didn't know that they just didn't Set the package down There's a great tiktok about all the different delivery workers and how they deliver packages I will try to find it and send it out. But yes, it was My nespresso capsules from amazon that I so desperately need for my coffee Oh, yes, I I really enjoy those capsules a lot and we need more coffee drinking a lot of coffee at home, though Samantha commented and said it is a beautiful time for innovation and then mary as um, and maybe this is For a friend or for herself, you know, what are the best consumer options delay until next spring mary quietly now Throw a party on your first anniversary. I know you're not, you know, uh, you did plan weddings But you know, what's kind of the expert advice would you give now? Yeah, hey mary. I'm sorry. You're going through all this. I'm sure it's a stressful time But honestly, there's no one right way to do this and we do see a lot of couples doing mini monies right now Where they're getting married privately and in their homes And then they're planning the big celebration and wedding and reception with all their friends and family I have my best friend is choosing to just do a 25 person wedding because she Is like ready to start a family and she you know wants to keep the show on the road But then I have three people that report to me that postponed it till late 2021 So we're seeing everything and so you just need to figure out what Honestly is right for you and don't feel guilty about anything do what works best Yeah, I think um, we also have to extend that forgiveness and understanding and flexibility to ourselves Absolutely. I think that's the hardest one, but absolutely. I'm so glad you said that Yeah, so um I guess I wanted to to know, you know, how You're balancing Leadership with your own kind of boundaries and where do you go for inspiration? If you have time for that How do you clear your head? Yeah, so I get up early and I go for walks when I can or a run if I feel motivated That is my morning time and I don't allow myself to use technology during that time Because I want to see where my brain goes. It's kind of like meditation, but I'm not very good at meditation to be honest So I do walks and I see where my brain goes during that time Then I usually come back and I always have Like I call it this like power hour list, but if I set aside one hour before I open my email What are the big things that I want to kind of be on offense for like what strategy do I want to think through? That's during my like I have my coffee. I feel zen. I just went for a walk Like let me knock something out so that if I get nothing else done the rest of the day I moved one thing forward And then I go into how can I support my teams? How can I help remove roblox for them and be in meetings? And during that time Just navigating the mom life Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I want to get one more question from our linkedin audience um Ruth asks what can a catering company do in order to market for postponements or virtual weddings? I know you mentioned, you know working with small businesses and thinking really about b2b as well Yeah, they should definitely reach out. We have an amazing b2b marketing team That is just on our wedding pro community. So she doesn't already connect with the wedding pro blog So many vendors are doing q&a's there of just like what they are doing to reach couples and how they're rethinking If she if she's a caterer. I think you said, um How they're thinking about incorporating like plexiglass and in different ways to serve the foods that way people feel really good about Going to an event Great. Um, and I know that in our pre record pre conversation we talked about tiktok a bit Are the wedding wire and the knot uh on tiktok and what's kind of your hope or strategy for that? So i'm a huge fan of tiktok huge fan of co on tiktok to be clear So it was interesting like tiktok has evolved so fast in terms of their demo Over the past six months right like six months ago It was not millennials on tiktok and now that we're starting to see more and more millennials come to the platform And the the age the median age skew We are definitely starting to think through ways to partner with other brands, but also Reach influencers that are organically on tiktok So we have a couple right now who had to postpone their date and they're using tiktok Their tiktok audience to pick their new date Which I think is really fun. Um, we're thinking about future dance challenges because as people start to attend weddings You know, i'm guessing guests are going to know the savage dance. So Are they going to perform it at their wedding? Maybe let's see. So lots to come there, but I definitely see it as a An opportunity to just continue with brand relevance not necessarily acquisition Oh, yeah, that's a good thought maybe in february I will have to reprise the the savage dance on the floor Or maybe people make, you know, virtual videos and string them together. Who knows? I do want to give you one, um, random question Yes from myself a millennial on tiktok. Um okay I don't have my deck of cards, but uh If you were a color, what color would you be right now and why? Oh I would say white because when light hits it, it's all the colors right white is a Um, comprisement of all the colors and I think right now More than ever, I feel all emotions at all parts of the day And so I can't pick just one ever. I have to just allow Um, that speck full spectrum to be a part of me. So I would say white White that's very on brand two Um, um, I just want to ask one more question because it's not for me Um, we didn't talk about honeymoons. Jonathan's asking. What's the trend as states have phased openings? Are you guys watching everything closely the news closely? Um about that and and guiding people that in that way? Absolutely. So many moons are Had been a thing progressing that people were taking small honeymoons right after their wedding That were close by and just like a weekend getaway and then planning for That big exotic vacation a year or two down the road We're seeing that go Even more right like people are still Figuring out how I can get like an Airbnb in the mountains or at the beach And social distance but still get away and celebrate even on their original wedding date. We're seeing that So I think many moons are going to be on the rise and then when it's safe to travel people will do their big honeymoons then Great. Well amanda gets a VP of marketing at the knot and wedding wire I hope we will get to see each other in person sometime soon And then I want to thank you Uh for your time and your insights, of course. Thanks go And for all of our viewers out there, thank you for tuning into another episode of ad week together for the rest of the series you can log on to adweek.com slash Adweek together and then tomorrow Please join us as we have agency supporter minda smiley speaking with alan trinkel president of m-6 about positive dynamics in the Home workplace and of course if you value our conversation center journalism head to adweek.com slash offer For your subscription and access to all of our content. Thank you so much and have a great thursday