Adapting overnight: trends, insights and actions.

Distance Learnings

With life changing overnight, our clients and partners have turned to us to help them adapt. As new trends and behaviors quickly emerge, we’d like to share our insights and guidance to provide inspiration while you adjust your messaging, products, and content production strategy to meet your consumer’s new needs.

Brands adapting smartly

The initial rush of brands proved that if you want to join the conversation, you can’t make it about yourself. But, it also showed that the global sense of unity in fighting the virus extends to brands—as long as they’re willing to take action. Here are some insights, along with examples we’ve spotted, that demonstrate brands stepping up to help.


	Put healthcare workers, small businesses, and employees first

Celebrate employees over celebrity endorsements

In a rare broadcast spot, Sam’s Club highlighted real workers and delivered a brand-agnostic thank-you to, “All the retail heroes across America.”

Provide your services to front line workers

Headspace gave US Healthcare workers free access to their guided meditation app to help them destress.

Pivot production or contribute skills

LVMH switched production from cosmetics to hand sanitizer within 72 hours, while tech and media companies in the US donated media to the Ad Council as creative agencies quickly made PSAs.

Step up your philanthropy

Bumble stepped up their on-brand philanthropy with grants to help small businesses, giving priority to women & non-binary founders.


	Adjust to meet new needs

Give free access to now-essential apps

Nike gave everyone free access to its fitness app with a campaign that acknowledged the situation without mentioning it by name, and Adobe gave students free access to creative cloud, so they can keep using the programs they learn on while attending class at home.

Adapt outdoor experiences

Pokemon Go, initially designed for outdoor exploration, made a quick move to adapt its game for indoor play and saw a 67% increase of in-game spending.

Switch IRL experiences to online

Museums and art institutions have pivoted quick and efficiently to online experiences with walk-throughs, curated tours, podcasts, live Q&As and artist takeovers, and new, interpretive formats. Two of our favorites are The Biennale Sydney and The Broad Museum.

Repurpose existing content

Astronaut Anne McClain shared her NASA training in a mini-masterclass on how to live in confined spaces for long periods of time.

Production from home

While traditional production methods are shut down, brands have an opportunity to adapt their work in ways that speak to the moment. With creating new content still possible, here are some considerations, insights, and examples.


	Embrace the great indoors

Bathrooms are already a popular background for GenZ on TikTok, but with everyone indoors, now, every room is having its moment. Case in point: Nike’s latest work mixed home videos to create a DIY launch spot for their latest campaign. And with livestreams becoming mainstream, keep a lookout for ways creatives are enhancing their home setup with digital design.


	AR/VR still lets you go anywhere

Give your products a second life on virtual shelves with digital clothing, and take your audience anywhere through livestreams and 360-degree virtual showrooms. And keep an open mind about audience crossover— Louis Vuitton found success adding digital items to video game Fortnite.


	Make world-class illustrated and animated work

Animated and illustrated productions can be extremely impactful. Nike delivered a powerful tribute to Kobe Bryant using only repurposed audio with text, and Tokyo 2020 shows how simple animations can be lively and engaging.


	Dig into your archives

With sound stages and sets closed for production, use your archives as a resource to create incredible work like Google’s campaign celebrating the cultural impact of Black Americans.

Platform updates and trends

Social platforms are quickly pushing updates to make content more collaborative and communal. And, with every influencer and creator stuck at home, look out for inventive ways users are hacking features to fit their needs.


	Apps on the rise

Video chat apps like Houseparty, Zoom, Discord and Marco Polo are gaining users as everyone seeks to connect while staying indoors. While Zoom accidentally stumbled into a cultural moment, Houseparty attracts users with games, and Marco Polo targets older, family-oriented users.


	The Classics

Instagram

With serialized streaming finding its audience, Instagram Live has emerged as an opportunity for customer acquisition. With a 526% increase in mentions of Live on Instagram and Twitter in March, companies are now producing weekly schedules of streams from influencers and content creators. Other updates include co-watching, which presents an opportunity to create content tailored for friends watching together.

With record traffic, your content can expect more eyes on Pinterest. Their new “Today” tab features editorialized inspiration and trends, a good way to keep tabs on what content the audience is demanding. Searches are booming for topics like homeschool schedules, indoor activities, freezer meals, kids’ science experiments, and self-care checklists.

Twitch

With micro-transactions, subscription, donation tiers, and affiliate opportunities, Twitch is arguably the most revenue-friendly streaming platform. Started by gamers, it has seen expanded interest from artists and bands streaming concerts and exploring new formats like radio shows and board game nights. With the community already used to serialized content, and publications like R29 taking notice, a broader audience may soon be on the horizon.

Zoom

Zoom is now the default way to connect with friends and work from home. While brands quickly capitalized on with virtual backgrounds, new opportunities are arising. Fitness instructors are using it to facilitate classes, schools are using it as classrooms, and parties are being thrown with open-room invites.

TikTok

TikTok announced a week of nightly streams called #HappyAtHome, featuring a mix of influencers, creators and celebrities. With sports cancelled, sports leagues and players are using TikTok to stay relevant and engage with fans.

Already inspired? Let’s talk about adapting current products, adjusting messaging, and creating fresh content. We’ll help you plan for day one, with new ready-to-launch products and ready-to-shoot campaigns to get you back outdoors.

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Distance Learnings

Brands adapting smartly

Put healthcare workers, small businesses, and employees first

Celebrate employees over celebrity endorsements

Provide your services to front line workers

Pivot production or contribute skills

Step up your philanthropy

Adjust to meet new needs

Give free access to now-essential apps

Adapt outdoor experiences

Switch IRL experiences to online

Repurpose existing content

Production from home

Embrace the great indoors

AR/VR still lets you go anywhere

Make world-class illustrated and animated work

Dig into your archives

Platform updates and trends

Apps on the rise

The Classics

Instagram

Pinterest

Twitch

Zoom

TikTok

Let’s navigate this together.

Kettle

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