Topics

Communications during COVID-19 is fraught with challenges. From communicating to employees about the potential for pay cuts, furloughs or even layoffs, to determining how to notify people of exposure to the virus, communicators have their work cut out for them. Since health care arguably is at the center of most of our lives at the moment, communications in and out of hospitals is in the spotlight.

You know things are bad when a chief communications officer longs for a ‘normal’ crisis. That’s the case for City of Toronto’s CCO Brad Ross as he works to communicate vital messages during coronavirus. At least crises during pre-COVID-19 had a timeline, Ross writes. “Give us a fighting chance. COVID-19 is otherworldly,” Ross laments.

FleishmanHillard said April 3 it will debut a cross-functional global practice to provide communication expertise to organizations as they deal with coronavirus.

With so many of us homebound, consuming news the way we used to scarf Starbucks, there might not be a worse time to do something that could harm your reputation.

The PRNEWS staff comes across many examples of brand advertising and communications every day. We have compiled a weekly assessment, published Fridays, with staff members providing their choices of the most notable, good or bad. We hope these brief examples will provide a learning experience about what works and things to avoid during this difficult moment.

If you post a brand-focused, non-coronavirus update to your social media account, how will your audience take it?
During a recent webinar hosted by PRNEWS, communicators mulled over the question, many of them concerned that promoting goods or services, fundraising efforts or other non-coronavirus content would come across as tone-deaf. To help clear up questions about when, why and whether to post to social in an unforeseen digital environment, we asked seven communicators to offer their takes.

You head outside for a run. Your son works as a cashier at the grocery store. You need to take a trip to the pharmacy. You wonder, is a mask necessary?

As news fatigue sets in, communicators are left with an uphill battle. The situation changes daily, with deaths and infections ever-increasing and new policies and information about how individuals can stay safe being updated constantly. People still need information, the challenge for PR is to make sure they get it.

CNN news anchor Chris Cuomo revealed a COVID diagnosis March 31, posting the update to Twitter and noting concern for his family ahead of his own health.

While in a holding pattern, some organizations are pivoting from content production to information gathering.