Insights

COVID-19 significantly disrupted the operations of organizations across the globe, and one industry hit extremely hard was the association community.

In June Yes& promoted two veteran marketing communications professionals: A.J. Guenther, to Vice President of Public Relations; and Mark Pedersen, to Vice President of Marketing Strategy.

Yes& was called upon to deliver this year’s 16th annual Chesapeake Bay Report Card during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the question was—how to generate media interest without a live media event?

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 has kept people at home and off the roads.

The question might be gauche, were it not for the fact that all of us have a coronavirus story, just as those who remember 9/11, Pearl Harbor, and the Great Depression have stories about living through those historical events. Our audiences gain insights, and form opinions, by what we choose to show and tell. Years from now, our collective stories will likely include stay-at-home orders, face masks, and toilet paper shortages, and perhaps the background noise of partisan divisiveness and the angst of economic recession. Individually, we’ll expose how these times shaped us, challenged us to do things differently, and hopefully compelled us to do better.

In his recent book, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein makes the argument that combining knowledge and experience from multiple fields is the optimal path to success. He relies heavily on the worlds of sports, science, corporate culture, and higher education to make his compelling point.

While local news has struggled for years to find a profitable business model in the digital age, some PR and marketing shops are finding solid footing with local-centric content and wider distribution options.

The communications foundation and engine for marketing efforts. An essential consumer/member/stakeholder touchpoint. A major organizational investment. A key embodiment of a brand. A transactional powerhouse for sales and services. An organization’s website is all this and more, providing myriad good reasons to optimize its ROI through astute strategy and planning.

These last few weeks have taught us something about the customer journey: it’s ever-changing. What we thought was true a month ago has been completely altered, reevaluated, and, really, blown up! What we once couldn’t imagine, we now see as harsh reality. It’s difficult to navigate as the paths meander and end.

It’s a good assumption that—in the wake of COVID-19—virtual or online events will see a resurgence in popularity.

So, you’ve made the leap and invested in an advisory board—10 former government executives with direct experience in those agencies where you hope to grow your business.

The federal government’s response to urgent national needs has long driven industry innovation. From World War II to the Space Program to emergency response during natural disasters, government and industry come together in our most trying times, not for just another business opportunity, but to fill a critical public need.