The pandemic, crisis and self-isolation have become our new reality. And we have to live in it for some time yet. In these conditions it is very important for companies to show that they are "afloat", manage the information field, search for new ways to communicate with target audiences and at the same time support them in difficult times. And one of the most effective and affordable tools for this is PR. In today's crisis, we have clearly understood and felt that a real classic PR is alive, and it can be used to successfully solve individual tasks of the company: whether it is to increase loyalty, broadcast openness, or attract new audiences and even adepts of the brand.
For example, the multimedia platform Okko reacted to the situation instantly, launching a number of online projects on the website for a wide audience. The 4D team, in particular, is engaged in PR support of concerts within the framework of Show ON!. These are weekly online concerts of pop and rock stars. The results for 1.5 months of work were impressive: 16 concerts were announced, 2210 publications were published as a result of the work, 21,014.2 left the overall media Index of events, 872 million visitors made up the total coverage of all news.
Press events are also going online. Also for Okko we provided PR support services for online press conferences in honor of the premieres of the exclusive film series Nagiev in quarantine and Hotelier's Notes. Both events were held on the Zoom platform and included a press screening of the first series. We believe that this format will remain even after the end of the pandemic, because it has a number of advantages. Among the main ones: the organization of the event takes much less time (in the case of Nagiev in quarantine everything was done in just 2 days) and you can avoid awkward questions – the moderator simply selects those that the speaker will answer.
Another successful strategy for action during a pandemic may be the company's social initiative. For example, the food manufacturer Atria Russia as part of its participation in the charity event #supportdoctors supplies products for preparing 400 hot meals a week for doctors of the city's multi-specialty hospital No. 2 and the city hospital of St. George the great Martyr. Few companies cover such activities but this can provide an additional presence in the media field. For example, despite the fact that dozens of companies have already taken part in the campaign media interest was high: the news was published in the business and socio-political media of St. Petersburg, as well as in the thematic collections of AdIndex, the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets and the St. Petersburg Diary.
And of course the main thing in this difficult time for companies is to remain open and honest. For example, the company Smile of the rainbow successfully continues its information activity moreover it introduces new services for the convenience of customers and talks about them in the media. Only in April the company announced the scaling of the pick up in store service and also introduced a mobile labor exchange service for employees – a kind of Uber for stores and employees which allows you to choose your own schedule and work in shifts in any convenient store.
In conclusion, it is important to adapt to new realities, look for opportunities to do business and work with audiences and very soon all the efforts will pay off in full.
