UPDATE: 26 March 2020 – Marketing in the time of COVID-19
Apologies for not providing this update sooner. Right now we are in a time of crisis with pretty much the whole world dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s understandable that many marketers are wondering…
(1) Should I stop marketing altogether?
(2) If I carry on marketing, do I need to make changes and how do I avoid looking like a tone-deaf jerk?
Ryan Deiss at Digital Marketer has put together a great video briefing that I think makes a lot of sense and provides valuable guidance.
Well worth watching the whole briefing, simply click on the following link…
“How to market in a time of crisis”.
Here are the key points…
Firstly, be clear (and honest with yourself) if your product or service is ESSENTIAL or NON-ESSENTIAL in the current environment.
If it’s essential…and people want and need what you offer…then carry on marketing. Of course, act ethically and adapt your messaging to acknowledge what is going on and be appropriate for the times.
If your product is in the non-essential category…then now is the time to focus more on delivering value and support to your existing customers…and on audience expansion…NOT revenue extraction.
Now may not be the best time to launch something new, but it is an ideal time to grow your list. People are in information harvesting mode right now, because when uncertainty blends with spare time, what else are we left to do? So, now is not the time to slow your marketing efforts. Now is the time to tweak those marketing efforts to be even more value first than you might have been before, which means…
• More top of funnel content…
• More lead magnets…
• More give, give, give…
In other words…be helpful NOW as far as possible…and prepare for when the current crisis is over.
Some useful tips for marketing communications…
TIP #1: Double-check your messaging and tone. Speak with more empathy and sincerity, and avoid the extremes of being too light-hearted or too scarcity-driven. (People are scared enough…let’s not add to it.)
TIP #2: Double-check your visuals. Professional videos and images of crowds seem out of place and almost offensive in a world where most people are quarantined and the only human connection is through a Zoom conference. So ditch the professional imagery, and start mirroring everyone’s current reality.
I would suggest you double check EVERY email, letter or other communication that goes out…particularly anything that might have been automated or pre-planned.
With that said…back to the original post…
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Here’s our regular look ahead at the month ahead, April 2020…
…and the events, holidays and anniversaries that a smart marketer can use as the foundation for an event-driven campaign or marketing promotion.
Easter is the main holiday and this year falls between the 10th (Good Friday)…
…and the 13th (Easter Monday).
The other prominent event of general interest this month is…
…”April Fool’s Day” (a day for practical jokes and spreading hoaxes) on the first of the month.
It’s also “Shakespeare Day” on April 23 which is also “English Language Day” and “World Book and Copyright Day”.
Other events of note…
April 1 – April Fool’s Day!
April 2 – World Autism Awareness Day
April 2 – International Children’s Book Day (anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen in 1805)
April 2 – Great Lover’s Day (anniversary of the birth of Casanova in 1725)
April 3 – World Party Day
April 3 – Walk to Work Day (first Friday in April)
April 4 – Vitamin C Day (discovered in 1932)
April 6 – International Day of Sport
April 7 – World Health Day
April 9 – Winston Churchill Day
April 10 – International Safety Pin Day
April 10 – Good Friday
April 11 – Pet Day
April 12 – International Day Of Human Space Flight (anniversary of the first space flight by a human, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, in 1961)
April 12 – Easter Sunday
April 13 – Easter Monday
April 13 – Thomas Jefferson Day (anniversary of his birth in 1743)
April 13 – Scrabble Day (anniversary of the birth of the inventor of the game, Alfred Mosher Butts)
April 17 – Ford Mustang Day
April 17 – World Haemophilia Day
April 18 – Record Store Day
April 18 – Amateur Radio Day (anniversary of the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union in 1925)
April 18 – International Day For Monuments and Sites (Heritage Day)
April 19 – Poetry and the Creative Mind Day
April 20 – Chinese Language Day
April 21 – World Creativity And Innovation Day
April 22 – Earth Day
April 23 – World Book And Copyright Day
April 23 – Shakespeare Day (also known as English Language Day)
April 25 – ANZAC Day (anniversary of landings at Gallipoli in WW1)
April 25 – World Malaria Day
April 25 – DNA Day
April 26 – World Intellectual Property Day
April 27 – “Tell A Story” Day
April 28 – “Pay It Forward” Day
April 28 – World Day For Safety And Health At Work (also Workers’ Memorial Day)
April 29 – International Dance Day
April 30 – International Jazz Day
April 30 – Honesty Day
Taking a look at some individual countries…
In the USA…
April 2 – Pascua Florida Day (Florida)
April 12 – Easter Sunday
April 13 – Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday
April 15 – Tax Day
April 15 – Father Damien Day (Hawaii)
April 16 – Emancipation Day (District of Columbia)
April 20 – Patriot’s Day (Maine, Massachusetts)
April 20 – Boston Marathon
April 21 – San Jacinto Day (Texas)
April 22 – Oklahoma Day (Oklahoma)
April 24 – Arbor Day (Nebraska)
April 26 – Confederate Heroes’ Day (Florida)
April 27 – Confederate Memorial Day (Alabama, Mississippi)
April 27 – Confederate Heroes’ Day – observed (Florida)
April 27 – State Holiday (Georgia)
Canada…
April 6 – National Tartan Day
April 9 – Vimy Ridge Day
April 10 – Good Friday
April 12 – Easter Sunday
April 13- Easter Monday (NB, NT, NU, QC)
April 20 – St. George’s Day Holiday (Newfoundland and Labrador)
In the UK…
April 5 – End Of Financial Year (UK)
April 10 – Good Friday
April 12 – Easter Sunday
April 13 – Easter Monday
April 23 – St George’s Day (England)
April 23 – Shakespeare Day
April 26 – London Marathon
In Australia…
April 5 – Daylight Savings Time Ends
April 10 – Good Friday
April 12 – Easter Sunday
April 13 – Easter Monday
April 14 – Easter Tuesday (Tasmania)
April 25 – ANZAC Day
April 27 – ANZAC Day observed (ACT, WA)
Remember to keep an eye out for any local events and anniversaries.
That’s it for this month. Wishing you every success with your event-driven marketing campaigns in April 2020!