Navigating COVID-19 Coverage

Padilla’s Insights + Strategy and Digital/Social teams scanned the news media and social media conversations surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic to bring you the week’s noteworthy developments:

Be Proactive, Not Reactive

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday that 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment. From their government to their employer to their retailers, people want reassurance that there are plans in place as they themselves are trying to navigate it all. In a time of such uncertainty and fear, we’re seeing “proactive” news topics covering coronavirus relief programs, work from home, social distancing, drive-thru testing and unemployment.

Social Media Serendipity

We aren’t seeing the same level of panic and excitement that we saw earlier on social media, as the pandemic starts to become our “new normal.”  Social media is flooded with ways to cope with anxiety, stress, parenting and working from home – with short and sharable content. People want to hear, see and share the good and positive ways communities are coming together virtually. Across the board “thankful” and “appreciative” are two of the most pervasive emotions on an ongoing basis in the social sphere.

Thought Leaders + Trust

Brands are still not seeing this as a marketing opportunity but are moving into more engagement – very tactically and mission-driven. Brands that are emerging early as thought leaders are ones that stick to their core beliefs and leverage this time to encourage behaviors while staying true to its values. Overall, companies are responding in two ways: Staying quiet – but becoming more emboldened to find their voice. Engaging – but with health, community safety and educational content. McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Audi and Volkswagen are just a few of the big corporations that are encouraging “social distancing” with space in their temporary logo redesigns.

Taking a look at trust, a recent Padilla Spotlight Survey revealed that despite the general concern for COVID-19, Americans are already feeling inundated about the topic. In general, they trust the information with 64% of respondents believing the information about COVID-19 provided by current news/media outlets to be “somewhat” to “very” trustworthy.

For more insights on this week’s coronavirus communications analysis:

For questions, guidance or support with your brand’s communication efforts, Padilla’s COVID-19 Response Team is here to help.

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