Doing more with less: Communications in the time of Covid-19

There’s no doubt about the fact that these past few months have been disruptive for most industries, including those working in communications and PR. Whether recent challenges have you working with less time, reduced budgets, or fewer team members, it’s safe to say that in-house and agency communications teams alike are dealing with fresh challenges for implementing their communications strategies.

Our team had the privilege recently of listening in to a panel discussion by some of our communications industry colleagues in the United States as they discussed ‘How to do More with Less: A Holistic Approach to PR’ hosted by PR News.

Led by Nicole Schuman, Reporter at PR News, we tuned in as Troy Blackwell of the Biden-Harris presidential campaign, Catherine Hernandez-Blades of insurance giant Aflac, and Lana McGilvray of socially-minded consultancy and movement incubator Purpose Worldwide shared their experiences of working remotely, staying productive, and ‘rolling with the punches’ provided by Covid-19. Here are some of our key takeaways from the afternoon’s discussion.

Utilise tech – but just enough

Since lock-down, comms teams around the world have had to adapt quickly to relying on technology to keep in touch. In-person meetings have been replaced with Zoom calls and in-office Kanban walls and charts converted to online Trello and Planner boards. The panel discussed the reality of ‘Zoom fatigue’ and how in some cases over-communicating has resulted in a more overwhelming situation of messages on multiple platforms, or conversations invading email inboxes.

Discussing his experience of working with a team located across the US, Troy explained how his team has effectively managed formatted check-ins like daily or weekly team or project meetings as well as maintaining constant ‘casual’ conversations and one-to-one check-ins to ensure all individuals on a team feel supported.

Our team feels strongly about the need to keep dedicated message platforms for dedicated purposes.  For example, our daily team meetings have taken place over Teams since lock-down began, but we have also utilised WhatsApp for one-to-one calls and messages, ensuring that our email inboxes are prioritised for client work and do not become clogged up with conversational emails. We have also implemented Microsoft Planner for greater visibility of our own to-do lists and to ensure clarity on client projects where the full team is contributing on different elements.

The panel also discussed how general office ‘banter’ and conversation has been reduced due to all team members working remotely and offered interesting ways for maintaining team engagement in a virtual space.  From team cook-alongs to Friday pizza parties, a shared glass of wine, and learning more about colleagues based on the items in their video backgrounds, digital working has also provide a number of ways for teams to get closer during these difficult times. Since lock-down our team has maintained a social atmosphere through Friday pizza kit drops, walking outdoor meetings, and shared glasses of prosecco and catch ups.

Understand the importance of the ‘Human factor’ within your own team and your brand audience

Catherine offered an interesting pearl of wisdom when she reminded participants that ‘You can’t build culture in a crisis…you have to be able to leverage it.’ The recent challenges presented to teams has really offered a time to shine for organisations with a strong and positive culture already in place, whilst organisations who have fallen short on developing a culture struggle to put this in place with teams working remotely.

Catherine also discussed her theory that the 4 Ps of marketing (product, price, place and promotion) are ‘dead’ and advised communications professional everywhere to take this ‘human factor’ to heart within their campaigns, embracing the four Es: Environment that drives engagement, that promotes and experience that leads to exchange. This human-centric, experience-focused approach to marketing creates meaningful connections which lead to valued brand relationships in a market where consumers are paying more attention to corporate social responsibility, ethical business practices, and brand advocacy when making decisions.

This growing importance of ethics and corporate social responsibility amongst brands is also leading many leading brands and organisations to make big pledges and promises to appeal to their consumer bases, whether they are addressing issues surrounding racial equality, sustainability, or disease prevention. Nicole reminded practitioners tuning in to the panel that whilst a brand may be tempted to make big promises, a recent report from SproutSocial advises that 42% of social media users will turn away from brands who don’t honour their social justice pledges, meaning that brands need to ensure they maintain accountability as they undergo these projects.

No point in waiting to go ‘back to normal’

Through the upheaval of the past months, many teams have been holding on for dear life as they wait for the return of normality, whilst those who demonstrate agile principles like adaptability have thrived. Those who have been able to make step-changes and work with the new challenges presented in creative ways have seen notable benefits.

A fantastic example of this agility in action is the work carried out by Troy’s team as the Democratic National Convention worked to pivot its four-day event to an online experience designed to reach into the living rooms of voters across America. Whilst navigating uncharted waters proved a significant challenge for Troy and his team on the Biden-Harris campaign in the run up to the DNC, the overwhelmingly positive feedback and ratings generated following this adapted Convention format reflects how the opportunity was harnessed by the Democratic Party.

Lana added that this pivot of so many in-person experiences to online formats have provided a moment for Generation Z to set the example.  Whilst many non-native tech users have had to play catch up in these recent months, we are now on a more equal playing field with our digitally-minded younger generation who have engaged in multi-platform television viewing and interactive online experiences for some time now. This experiential economy, Lana predicted, will be the norm as we move to connected TV rather than our traditionally linear TV environment.

Thanks to the panel for taking time out of their busy days to share their personal experiences of working remotely during the Pandemic and lessons they have taken away which can be applied to most workplaces, whether you are operating as a comms team within a larger organisation or a stand-alone communications consultancy.

Team Impact. x