From fashion labels moving to face mask production and spirits distilleries converting alcohol to hand gel, Spring 2020 was awash with tales of brand innovation in the face of the global pandemic. But as nations around the world tentatively re-open for business, it’s time for sporadic bursts of creativity to give way to more long-term, possibly permanent adaptation by brands — to ensure their survival in a world forever changed.

Playing it safe and standing still is at the very least shortsighted; at worst, a death sentence for a business. In our many years of experience as a content agency, we know it’s the brands that can evaluate the landscape, anticipate an audience’s changing needs and pivot to meet them that have the staying power — all while keeping their core purpose intact.

Our recent collaborative projects have all been about the careful treading of that line: preserving a brand's tone and messaging while helping it to evolve and grow to meet unprecedented challenges. As the following examples show, strategic brand repositioning will not just help businesses weather the current storm — it could be the start of a whole new journey.

Airbnb
With the sudden collapse in international travel, Airbnb moved quickly to assist their hosts financially and connect them with potential guests. Aside from traditional travel-related hosting, hosts can now offer online events around cooking, meditation, art therapy, magic, songwriting, virtual tours and many other activities, with users signing up for a modest fee.

This pivot has a broader goal in mind than simply enabling the famous start-up to navigate the Covid-19 crisis; it will help bridge the gap created by travel restrictions but also synchronise with Airbnb’s ultimate journey towards becoming a comprehensive lifestyle platform. With these clever virtual additions, the brand could become more than just a holiday bookings website — and potentially transform itself into a forum in which to learn about and enjoy other cultures from a distance, all year long.

Visit Dublin: Come here to me Dublin campaign
As the capital city of Ireland, Dublin has seen the greatest rate of Covid-19 transmission in the country. Thus a valuable domestic tourism campaign designed to stimulate struggling city sectors has faced massive challenges: why would Irish holiday-makers travel to the worst-hit part of the nation?

Fáilte Ireland’s (the National Tourism Development Authority) response has seen them pivot their latest Visit Dublin campaign towards Dubliners themselves, relying on our editorial support to persuade them to rediscover their own hometown and immerse themselves in experiences normally earmarked for tourists.

The tone of voice for this website is usually clear, open and accessible (to make sure it’s understood by people from all over Ireland and beyond) but for Come here to me Dublin, Dublin-centric colloquiums and sayings serve as a nod to the capital’s natives. A reassuring, welcoming tone pervades, designed to demonstrate that Dublin is open for business again—though with a firm emphasis on health and safety. With many cities around the world struggling to contain their Covid-19 transmission rates, this kind of campaign could prove to be a lifeline for urban tourism.

Rag & Bone
Rag & Bone is an American fashion label that sells clothing, shoes, and apparel for men and women. Along with introducing comfortable “quarantine style” collections, new and improved health precautions and social distancing measures, the brand very quickly recognised that consumers would not be returning to their 42 international bricks-and-mortar stores in their droves, even as cities begin to re-open.

To that end, Rag & Bone has rolled out a number of virtual services like private appointments, live chat, 1:1 styling, and street-side collections (in the U.S), in acknowledgment of the fact that it will be along time before consumers are confident enough to return to the high street. These additions align closely with the brand’s central purpose, but open up a wealth of online opportunities.

Where do we go from here?
This pandemic will test many brands, and force them to reevaluate the way they do business and the space in which they reach their audiences. A successful brand will position itself both as supportive of consumers in the current crisis, while also acting as a bridge into whatever comes next, growing their engagement over time.

As businesses contemplate their next move, a clear, logical brand identity is utterly crucial — a core purpose or story that will light the way forward and retain the trust of consumers, even as offerings are adapted. If you’re thinking about how best to bring your brand to life and help it grow, now could be the perfect time to get some extra help.

Contact the team at ALHAUS for all the brand storytelling support you need to thrive both in and outside of a crisis.