 Good afternoon everyone. It's Wednesday April 29th and welcome to another edition of ad week together I'm senior editor Nicole Ortiz and I oversee our voice column It's our community of brand marketers people in the media agency in tech world and they offer advice and best insights for Others in the marketing industry during the coronavirus Pandemic we've had a lot of people reaching out and writing op-eds and offering advice to others during this time So it's been a really great asset for that Today we're going to be talking to one of our voice contributors Kristen Kelowna who's the chief track strategy officer of OMD North America and she's going to give us some of her tips for success. But first here's a sampling of some recent voice contributions Brands that strike the wrong tone may be perceived as cynically exploiting a catastrophe in these uncertain times Brands can be either destroyed or elevated the outcome depends on their response Roger Roger Menard chief marketing and communications officer and president health care at Mastercard As we move through these next weeks It will be critical to reflect on how we can deploy what we learn Not just to address the coronavirus pandemic but also to recognize severe hardship Insecurity and inequality in all forms as we rebuild and we will rebuild Lisa Sherman president and CEO of the ad council The world we know looks different. So it follows that the way we visualize our new realities must also shift There's an incredible opportunity for creative contributors to capture the elements of life today on behalf of businesses and brands around the globe big and small Paul Foster senior director of creative content at iStock by Getty Images The odds against making a successful creative campaign around COVID-19 are staggeringly higher than normal For every campaign that might succeed you have a hundred cringe worthy ones behind it wasting time money and resources The time constraints here are insanely high, too The best thing to do is really just tell brands and marketers to not focus on those Creating a new campaign and instead do something to help Mike Shaheen copywriter who lists his food Despite the harshness of the situation this experience gives us a lot of hope Indeed it shows that as long as mankind is here with desire courage and enthusiasm Then nothing can be destroyed the richness of an agency is its people as long as its people are present Even if they are in different places the agency exists in a strong and incarnated way Jean-Francois Sacco CCO and co-founder at Rosa Park So Kristen, thank you so much for joining us this morning Thanks for having me happy to be here Great. So how has quarantine been going for you? We're hitting about week seven now on my end and Are you creating any new routines or habits for yourself? Yeah, work work seven work from home looks very different. I think for our entire workforce Certainly for me that spends probably 30 to 50 percent of her weeks traveling to one of our other offices But I think that in the beginning it felt very round the clock and what we're trying to encourage Ourselves and our employees to do now is to establish some boundary and routine Around when they work and and when they don't given that both of those activities are taking place in the home OMG's culture club has been really instrumental. They're leading the agency through stretch sessions yoga Pilates providing tips and tricks for homeschooling Getting folks involved in some charitable Activities, it's been a really big Undertaking but a really strong showing by our folk folks that run our culture club initiative and in some ways I feel that our employees feel more connected than ever That's awesome And can you tell me a little bit about your role at OMG and how long you've been with the company and everything? Absolutely. I am our chief strategy officer overseeing our strategy and planning practice throughout all of North America Represents a pretty sizable chunk of our employees. I have been with the company in some form for what will be 18 years this July I've certainly made the rounds of all the agency functions or at least most of them and and really Right now my focus is on to help develop product for the agency that'll future-proof our business model Help clients find new and untapped areas of growth An opportunity to better reach their consumers and to essentially Stand up a strategic and planning practice That supports all of our employees and their delivery of that to our clients every day So in this pandemic time, we've doubled down on a lot of our points of view a lot of our Guidance that we're issuing to teams how we share how we Circulate best practice even though they're emerging on the fly minute to minute. So That's that's what we've been focused on over the last seven weeks Great So now I want to talk a little bit about the piece that you wrote for us and right in the beginning of it You mentioned that there are some local businesses that you're drawing some strength solidarity and inspiration from Can you give me some examples of some of those local businesses and what they're doing that caught your attention? Yeah, I think as we were in the midst of Experiencing what the first few weeks of the pandemic and the crisis looked like for consumers Of course those of us in marketing where that that dual marketer and consumer had at all times And I was just astounded by the ability of local businesses To quickly pivot as we wrote in the voice piece You really caused a different level of appreciation or respect for local businesses who are Inherently tied to the communities that they serve right those are their employees. Those are their customers And what's happens to the community happens to them? And I think that that authentic position Really came through and how closely for instance the restaurant industry pivoted on a local and a national level The the pivot of major qsr's to for instance delivery and drive-through only but then of also local businesses To quickly standing up new menus take out options I've even seen some makeshift Drive-throughs erected that allow the restaurants to still serve customers, but safely protect customers and their employees I think the the local restaurant industry that we know is being hit so hard by the pandemic and will continue to be I think has been a Real source of Optimism and positivity also in their communication Reminding people that we will be able to commune again that we will be able to dine together again and have a drink at our Favorite bar and that in the meantime they're here So I've drawn a lot of strength and solidarity from the resilience of the restaurant industry big and small Yeah, it's honestly been very heartwarming to see how people have been able to bounce back so quickly in my opinion Absolutely the entrepreneurship is is is astounding. We've even seen Some high-end restaurants out out here pivot to butcher shops Because that is how they receive the meat and they and they often are butchering those cuts themselves So now they've they've turned into kind of pop-up butcher shops, which is just amazing to see people put that Level of quick action into their business model. Yeah, I've seen a few in Brooklyn that have Cafes and bakeries. They've turned into like little party shops, right So what are some brands that you think are marketing kind of the right way? Not that there is a right or wrong way I guess but during this pandemic Yeah, I think To your point, it's so hard to say what's right and what's what's wrong. I think where I'm a Lot of Browns require a round of applause is any brand that's stepped up and altered any aspect of its manufacturing to make Gloves to make masks to make other kinds of much-needed PPE hand sanitizer and Then also brands that perhaps can't pivot their manufacturing but can pivot with their wallet And we've seen a tremendous amount of brands step up and raise much needed money for a myriad of good causes We've seen the insurance industry at large and one of our clients state farm Give back billions of dollars in premiums on insurance policies We've seen QS ours like McDonald's and others provide free meals for health care heroes and frontline workers and I think the NFL a really storied in legacy Organization deserves a round of applause for its virtual draft Which continue to engage fans despite the fact that there's uncertainty around that NFL sees in a bit of a delayed schedule announcement there Not only were they able to have a virtual draft That by and large fans enjoyed but they raised money in the process and it was a pretty astounding figure Over a hundred million dollars. So what have any brand that's giving back whether it's an ability to pivot their supply chain fit pivot their manufacturing capabilities or simply give Or inspire consumers to give alongside them. I think are some of the best actions we can expect in marketing right now And kind of building off of that It's it's interesting to see because there's not really a playbook in place for how to deal with a point a pandemic So do you think that moving forward brands and agencies are going to need to create like an emergency or a pandemic playbook? Look, I think I think we do simply because on the beginning of this there are many conversations I was involved in where we where we tried to start our mind to a parallel to help us anticipate what might occur What might be needed and and this is unprecedented but you know, I think we've all been exposed to a lot of information that's educated us on how and when it could occur again and I do think that it's something That we should be well poised to create a playbook around more because it is revealed to many agencies and and and marketers Where there's a lack of flexibility in our mutual business models and where we need to increase that flexibility and agility All right, and those are big buzzwords before the pandemic those were things a lot of people were trying to figure out When you say playbook for a pandemic, I don't think it's color by number I don't think there's you know steps one through ten But what the pandemic required was a lot of quick assessment quick decisioning Pivot to new strategies or untested tactics and I think for those things we can have process and protocol in place And we can have principles in place. So principles around making sure we know who we are as a brand how our voice Is heard what kind of role we believe we play in consumers lives Right a pandemic has no time to be sorting that out And I believe a lot of brands were put in the spotlight to try to determine that quickly As they consider different actions they could take different ad campaigns. They could create different initiatives that they could get behind so some principles around not only who your brand is but where where your core set of learnings and performance insights on what drives your business and Really assessing if those performance insights hold in this kind of pandemic reality, right? That's the kind of foundational information everyone needs that they're ready So that they have a solid foundation and make decisions on right and perhaps different decisions or better decisions in a much faster time frame And then on top of those principles, I think we need operational process in place. How do we quickly surface an issue? How do we get it resolved? I think you've probably seen as much as I have Nicole that as people have turned their attention from You know coping with the confinement to starting to adjust to the pandemic Consumers are becoming even more vocal and critical as time is going on So I think now is the time to truly get Our playbooks in place about who we are as a brand how media behaves on our business How are our brand behaviors our communications our media investments contribute to business performance? And how those things do or do not need to be adjusted in light of a pandemic and what the kind of operational team and processes to make that happen Right and you kind of touched on this but in your article you mentioned how tone and Sensitivity to what consumers needs are in this very kind of new and wild time Is very important for most brands and agencies So what are some ways that brands can kind of watch their tone and watch this sensitivity to their consumers? Yeah, I think I've seen it live on a spectrum as I'm sure many of us have I think A big no-no of course is anything that seems truly As if it is exploiting the situation for the good of business and not the good of the consumer And the irony is that you know with a ton of uh, you know commerce enabled enabled platforms that are fingertips It's very easy for someone to launch and start selling goods and services um, and I think in any in any Arenas where that's been deemed business first and not consumer first with regard to price gouging or with regard to You know trying to take advantage of the situation shortages of anything from twillipy to cladding supplies Right, that's been a major no-no But for bigger brands that I believe are smarter than that and no better You know, I think it really is just an adjustment in tone and message. That's so critical So if you're not out there to exploit the consumer Double check that your tonality and your message to make sure it doesn't feel like you are because in these sensitive times even a simple sale Can seem like it is Not consumer first, right or the very act of being open for business Is eliciting questions from consumers about what companies are doing to protect their workers, right? um So, you know a really small example But I thought so beautifully written that I featured in the article was from a winery in nap valley and every year they offer a Pretty deep discount and promotion on some of their of their best wines and It was just a simplicity of the of the email notification That acknowledged one. We've always done this promotion Two we've thought long and hard about whether or not we should do it again during these times Three we're from nap valley and we've experienced all sorts of adversity and natural disaster in the last few years And we've learned a thing or two about resilience So we know we'll come back We know that you'll all come back and in the meantime, we just want to extend this promotion again It's the same offer But it feels so different than a 25 off fire sale available for the next seven days And I thought it was a really You know well penned Example of how just a simple pivot in your messaging Especially when you have anything that feels promotional or offer based because consumers have become so sensitive To the constraints of time, right and their decreased flexibility So nobody wants to feel that there's you know an ultimatum over their head about when they can access value or some of their favorite products or services So right there it was at the end of the day It was still 25 off and they still want to sell some wine But it just felt so much more empathetic and genuine to acknowledge the times we find ourselves in Versus, you know berate me with our friends and family sale, uh, you know once a day for seven days Yeah, totally. I think that we're seeing across the board just consumers want to acknowledge what's going on And they just want to hear a brand say like hey, we're we're also human. We're dealing with this as well Absolutely And how going further than that, how do you think consumer? Expectations are changing and what can a brand do to help like how can that help brands upcoming marketing efforts? Yeah, I'm not even sure consumers fully understand how their expectations are changing yet Um, we've done a lot of research that's revealed that consumer behavior is shifting from prepare right preparation for the pandemic, which really Took place in the first several weeks to learning to cope with confinement And develop new ritual and routine I think that as we as we move forward in this new normal, which has already become a very Significant buzzword. I think personally we need to think through as brands how long the new normal will remain And how much of this pandemic behavior will be internalized in a way that will create permanent Changes in routine or behavior. There's a lot of interesting things about the pandemic that have caused a bit of a um Throwback in terms of the way people are socializing and the way they behave at home You know the preparation of our meals versus going out and take out and the ability to Socialize virtually and still have it be meaningful And I think that as americans voraciously tear through all the content on the internet to help them cope with confinement There's going to be a huge opportunity for brands to continue to support Whatever that new normal looks like whatever those routines and rituals become around how we entertain ourselves How we connect how we socialize how we cook how we work out Um, I think so many of those things will be ample opportunity for the brands who are truly experts in that space To help america find its footing as we come out of the crisis Yeah, I totally agree with you and um, this will be my last question to kind of wrap us up for today But how do you think the pandemic is affecting how consumers view these brands? Specifically ones that they trust or have favored in the past Yeah, I mean look we we're definitely focused on doing some more research in that area for me There's been some very interesting at-home side-by-side comparisons unintentional where perhaps I wasn't able to get A favorite brand in a certain category and I was either disappointed or delighted By that alternative I brought home and consumers due to scarcity in the supply chain and and and the new routines And access points for things they need are probably going to inject some Experimentation into what may have been some kind of well established routines or norms So I definitely think it's an it's an interesting time for brands To be experienced by consumers perhaps ones you would never Have previously brought into your household, but I also also think as we move forward It's going to be really critical for all brands To restate their value I think value is going to be as it will be an as it is in any recession Um as we definitely spend some time in a in a recession or a recession minded Economy um that the value of product or service brings is going to need to be well Understood by the consumer um as they potentially Explore different alternatives Yeah, and um as Nancy Rodriguez on our linkedin live pointed out There's been a lot of brands on local and global levels that have been amazing at doing this kind of outreach without coming across as tacky or cringy Yep, I completely agree. I think it'll be really interesting to see um, you know where consumers um Revert to routine, which will be so much of our desire once we're able routine can be very comforting But routine I think will be reappraised against not only the backdrop of our recession But potentially different public health and safety concerns, you know Some of the things that we're we're really keeping an eye on and could be amazing opportunities for our brands are You know, Nicole will we run back out to a bar to meet friends when able or will we feel safe or entertaining them at home Will that cause us to put a different level of pressure or expectation on our cooking ability or cookware? Are you know the um the the concept of You know, we'll travel be reimagined, right? Perhaps international travel may not be the first thing everyone jumps to But road trips to see family that they've been estranged from may be very high on the list and will be a very I think interesting Long-term effect how of our youngest generations internalize the pandemic and will that change any of Their behavior specifically in the digital and mobile space As they have come into probably closer contact with the four walls of their home And their families than they have in quite some time So it'll be interesting to see where how america's values and those behaviors Emerge from this as well. And I think a lot of opportunity for brands for brands to think through that reappraisal also and add value Yeah, definitely and even speaking of like how travel might change like Jeff blue said that they're going to have people travel with masks now and that's going to just kind of become a new normal Absolutely. Yeah, I expect I expect that that will be um and look Resuming our normal activity guiding brands through this crisis There's a lot of pent up consumer demand right now. So when it comes back, I do believe it's important that your brand Thanks through the right way to drive salience and be top of mind, especially as our our new routines resume So hopefully that's the point that we can begin to look to as well as just anticipate what new levels of brand engagement And our support will be wanted by consumers Yeah, definitely. Um, well, thank you so much for joining us today christin. Thank you And um on tomorrow's show my colleague jester faris our audience engagement editor Will be joined by full screen general manager don holgridge with a social media playbook So tune in tomorrow noon eastern time for that. Thank you and have a great day