KEY TAKE OUTS

Respond to the needs of the community. For brands, what has become only more essential as the crisis lengthens is the importance of listening to their communities. Of not seeking to reassure but instead, as Jo McCrostie, Creative Director at Global says, offering a bit of escapism and “comforting moments of distraction.”

Obstacles are a gift for creative minds. McCrostie believes in the power of creativity under constraint, of using the obstacles thrown your way to push the boundaries of what your creative mind is capable of. “If you’re working with an obstacle, you’re forcing a far better level of creativity,” she explains.

The importance of speed and agility. For McCrostie’s team, working to execute a campaign for Versus Arthritis, begun before the first national lockdown, speed and agility were vital. Home studios were established and cupboards soundproofed to enable the team to create 190 pieces of content. It’s a campaign McCrostie is incredibly proud of; there was a 40% recall amongst radio audiences with 79% of them now saying they would now take some form of action about arthritis. 

Connecting with communities where it’s needed. McCrostie highlighted the shift in brand offering from lockdown one which was all about education and information and lockdown two, which is more about moments in which brands could offer help or entertainment. For brands, it’s about finding the moment in which you can fit. 

New opportunities for brands. In the first 100 days of lockdown one, Global saw over 25 new brands coming onto air and advertising, demonstrating just how keenly audio’s reach was felt. “The fact that people’s behaviours and they’re routines are having to change, this is providing new opportunities for brands,” says McCrostie. 

To read a full write up of the event, visit the dedicated BITE page, Hitting the right tone