Last month saw the launch of UK-based Did They Help, a website that tracks companies and public figures in terms of their actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Users can search the site for a brand or celebrity to see a positive or negative score of their behavior. Results include links to the specific actions or policies that contributed to a particular score, such as offering paid sick leave to employees (or not), donating medical supplies, or supporting food banks. The site also ranks tracked brands as ‘Heroes’ or ‘Zeroes’ on a public leaderboard. Visitors can easily submit new figures to track and they can bolster or critique the existing rankings. In the future, the creators plan to continue ranking corporations and public figures on issues like global warming and child labor.
By now, you’ve heard us relentlessly beat the drum of GLASS BOX BRANDS: in an age of radical transparency, your internal culture, actions and processes are your brand. Understanding and reacting to that reality is especially important in a crisis. On their own, people might vaguely remember (or not!) what any given brand did during the COVID-19 pandemic. But now there is a central resource they can consult, even after the pandemic is over, to check a brand’s record. Scary? Yes. Inspiring? Absolutely.
As the world plunges into a recession, a brand’s current conduct will (rightly) affect its future perception. Today’s actions will impact whether consumers want to spend money with and/or work for an organization tomorrow. What is your brand doing to help during the crisis? In addition to supporting essential workers or quarantined consumers, how well are you taking care of your employees?
Check out our new COVIDinnovations.com for 100s of meaningful COVID-related innovations, worldwide.
Stay healthy,
The TrendWatching content team
