People opening box of knowledge

Support During COVID-19

Open Rate

To some, the current public crisis can be scary and unsettling. For us, it’s an opportunity to support our clients and the communities we serve.

If your recent experience has been anything like ours, you’ve spent the last 3 ½ weeks navigating what many of us consider to be a truly life-changing chain of events. Weekday mornings used to mean cruising through a necessitated routine so that everyone could get off to their respective destinations and responsibilities. Since the recent pandemic caused New York to change its collective status to “on pause”, our routines have been altered in almost every way imaginable. While some of us are finding new ways to establish a balanced work/life ratio, all of us are struggling to maintain some semblance of normalcy.  We recognize this and want you to know we are here for you.

Admittedly, we are all living with feelings of fear and uncertainty in these trying times, but we’ve chosen to channel our anxiety into unwavering purpose. Now, more than ever, we are hyper-focused on servicing our clients. Whether it’s providing communication advice, making sure our clients’ customers are aware of policies, or proactively making shifts in business strategies, Brawn Media has recommitted ourselves to redefining what a world-class advertising agency does for its clients…while still producing amazing results.

With that, we thought we would share a few key pieces of advice that we have found to be helpful to us AND our clients:

  1. Stay Positive. It’s Going to Get Better – The Great Depression and The Great Recession have two key things in common. Both changed the world as they existed prior to and both ended. With that in-mind, plan accordingly. While sweeping cuts may make sense based on your business’ financial situation (or ability to operate), this is a perfect time to refocus your communication and marketing efforts to connect with your community and provide true value to your customers. A Harvard Business Review study of 4,700 public companies analyzed three years before, during and after recessions, found that “firms that cut costs faster and deeper than rivals don’t necessarily flourish. They have the lowest profitability of pulling ahead of the competition when times get better.”
  1. Connect with Your Customers During This Critical Moment in History – Even if you’ve been a staple in the community for 75 years, now is a great time to re-evaluate current trends and happenings of your target audience. Right now (while the “day-to-day” isn’t so daily), take the time to do some active social listening and engagement. Go beyond looking over a few reviews and take the time to analyze your social followers. Listen to their needs (goodness knows they’re sharing them right now) and take action when you can, and if you can’t, let them know that we’re all in this together. Assure them that before, during and after the crisis, your business is here and ready to support the community in any way it can. We advise you to tread lightly here! If your voice lacks authenticity or empathy, you run the risk of generating negative sentiment in a time when EVERYONE is online.
  1. Make Sure Your Business Can Be Found Online – Assessing and resetting your search strategies is a VERY smart move right now. Undoubtedly, there will be a surge in “bounce-back” behavior. Your customers will have spent countless weeks socially-distancing. The moment they get the green light, they WILL start shopping, eating and “doing” again, but this won’t be spontaneous behavior. In between countless hours of binge-watching the Tiger King and the 3rd season of Ozark, they planned, and planning means searching! Did they find your business when they picked up their phone to find a bathroom renovation company that specializes in 1950’s ranch homes or did they find your competition?

While we’ve never fancied ourselves as sages or soothsayers of any sort, there is something to be said for “willing” an idea into reality; so we will leave you with this thought and we hope it helps to keep you as laser-focused as we are: Normalcy will return, so plan accordingly!