When our Agency was planning client programs for Spring 2020 we weren’t expecting to have to account for the COVID, who was!? As it spreads and there are more and more health concerns it’s begun to create challenges for our campaigns, especially as colleges are switching to online classes, in some cases indefinitely.
No matter what the challenge is; a hurricane, wildfires, ice storms, it generally comes out of nowhere meaning our team is always on our toes, keeping client programs running at a high level, no matter what.
Since we started, success in any type of program, especially anything experiential, usually hinges on expecting and responding to the unexpected.
To maximize efficiency, our team has built a cache of processes that keep our programs running full steam ahead, no matter what. We’ve used our past experiences to help spark this ingenuity, below are a few strategies that help us power through unexpected challenges.
Balance Marketing Needs With Situational Realities
When our Adobe ambassadors at Pepperdine were forced to evacuate due to wildfires in California, we temporarily lost the ability to host learning workshops. Working around the clock we made sure that our students were safe and then turned the events digital, making sure students still had the ability to learn new about Adobe programs and creative techniques.
Letting Social Expand Conversations
Back in 2018, the flooding and winds of a busy hurricane season threatened the whole East Coast. Schools up and down the coast closed, some even evacuating their students. We had about 100 student ambassadors for different client programs now with no way to keep going with their normal responsibilities. Our team implemented online challenges that ambassadors shared with their audiences, making sure engagement and awareness for the programs stayed at a high level. It kept students positive when they were uncertain about how the storm would really impact them.
Expect The Best, Plan For The Worst
When you’re in the experiential marketing businesses, you always need a contingency plan. In 2015 we flew into Austin, Texas for a big GrubHub football tailgate event at UT. An unexpected, torrential storm quickly crushed any hope for hosting the event. Within minutes our team was activating our contingency plan, coordinating with vendors and staff, moving the event to the next home game.
Our point, the Coronavirus is making some things uncertain, but our team isn’t panicking, we always get creative and deliver. We’re confident our team’s creativity and our nationwide access to universities and students, on and offline, can still deliver amazing ideas and results for clients. Contact us.
Feature Image Source: Jessica Predom
