Month: April 2020

What’s Next: Communicating Back to Work | eNews from OWC

Posted on April 30, 2020 by - eNewsletter

OWC is already working on back-to-work communications and donating time and services to coronavirus-related communications for our clients. All businesses need to deliver extra value right now, and ours is insight. We provide writing that is clear and concise and gets directly to answering the questions with humility, intelligence and care. Communications to employees, customers, vendors, investors and the industry have never been more mission-critical, and we’re seeing the best ideas coming out of our clients.

Until now, the COVID-19 focus has been on employee health, working from home and short-term financial survival. It’s now time for businesses to shoulder the burden of the next phase. We are writing our playbook against the backdrop of confusing and conflicting information from governments, scientists, business leaders, economists and the various communities we live in. The questions we must answer:

  • When can we return to the workplace safely?
  • How can we assure employees and clients our decision is safe, and what are the standards employed (e.g., testing, quarantine, personal protective gear, etc.)?
  • What policy changes are to be made in the office environment, such as distancing, communal kitchens, teleconferencing and face-to-face meetings?
  • How will we communicate expectations of returns to work, further furloughs, payroll adjustments, bonuses, sick-day policy and vacation allotments?
  • How will we inform customers and vendors of our return-to-work policies?
  • How will we assure transparency in all our activities, and what commitments will we make to employees, customers/clients and vendors/partners?

Each of these issues requires a clear plan precisely communicated. Every brand or service requires its own voice in an environment of continuing uncertainty with inevitable fear, confusion and suspicion. The tone and actions adopted now will define us. It will reveal our character, our intention and our vision of the future. Companies for whom employee safety is a low priority will be exposed. Firms that seek a responsible role in the marketplace will be recognized.

A crisis reveals the true character of an enterprise first internally to employees, and only later externally to customers. As leaders, we are finding out who we are by testing all our assumptions and making decisions the world will soon notice and never forget. The challenge for us is to get it right. The stakes are high.

Be well.

Miracle Mile Advisors provides insight on what to do with your stimulus check

Posted on April 23, 2020 by - Client News

The stimulus package, aimed at reducing the financial stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, will issue $1,200 “economic impact payments” to all eligible individuals, or $2,400 for eligible married couples. Recent market volatility has made for some good investment opportunities — but only if you don’t need the funds elsewhere during the pandemic.

“Take the bulk of your stimulus check and invest in broader markets,” says Anderson Lafontant, senior advisor of advanced planning at Miracle Mile Advisors. “Given that equities have pulled back from their highs and there will likely be downside, this will probably present some great entry points into stocks. Think about investing in ultra-low-cost index funds both in the U.S. and internationally.”

Read the full article: Coronavirus stimulus checks arriving — should you use it to pay off debt? (Fox Business)

Miracle Mile Advisors speaks with Forbes on how coronavirus could impact retirement

Posted on April 21, 2020 by - Client News

Since the ‘staying safe at home’ order took place, people are realizing that sitting at home with nothing to do all day might not be what they had always hoped and dreamed. Those that have lost their jobs might be wondering if retirement is even an option, while those that get bored easily might be wondering what they will do to fill their time.

“After a couple of weeks cooped-up at home,” says Duncan Rolph, Managing Partner at Miracle Mile Advisors in Los Angeles, “you’ll realize your job is way better than taking out the trash and walking the dog endlessly around the block.”

Read the full article: Will ‘Staying Safe At Home’ Boredom Cause You To Avoid Retirement? (Forbes)

Esalen Institute speaks with San Francisco Chronicle on coronavirus crisis

Posted on April 20, 2020 by - Client News

For nearly 60 years, the Esalen Institute has looked out from Big Sur’s famous bluffs over the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean — a front-row view of the edge of the world.

“You feel it the moment you step in,” says Janet Stone, a San Francisco yoga instructor who leads workshops at Esalen. “It’s like you’ve gone through some invisible doors into a different portal.”

That effect is fundamental to the mystique of Esalen, the countercultural institution that has served as a gathering place for knowledge seekers and thought leaders concerned with questions surrounding the human condition.

Read the full article: Esalen Institute, a Big Sur icon, faces existential question during coronavirus crisis (San Francisco Chronicle)

The Ultimate Approach to Coronavirus Communications

Posted on April 15, 2020 by - eNewsletter

Communications during the pandemic is critical to ensure business continuity and an unblemished reputation. As a crisis PR firm helping brands with their internal and external communications regarding coronavirus issues, we’re already seeing the trickle-down effect of doing it right. We also see blow-back in the media from brands’ communications that fail to address the myriad of sensitivities and issues of this pandemic.

Our professional lives must be just the opposite of our socially-distanced personal lives. We need to build closer relationships with clients, vendors and our colleagues. When it comes to business communications, the most important thing we can give our stakeholders is hope and the assurance that we have a plan. We do this by showing we’re actively engaged and we’re still here for them.

COVID-19 is forcing us to be better at telling our story. Businesses have to assess their situation and report it to the world quickly. There’s no option to wait it out, opt for silence or overthink. It’s the facts that the customers, employees, suppliers and investors want right now, and they don’t want it sugar-coated.

Here are examples of how we are helping clients communicate their values and strengthen their brands during this crisis:

  • Media Relations – Chaos creates necessity. We have worked with a number of clients who have relevant information or services that address different aspects of the coronavirus – from telemedicine to financial advice. See the coverage we secured with Hispanic media, national business and healthcare media.
  • Social Media – Businesses are reassessing the cadence, tone, content and frequency of social media posts. We highlight the danger of following suit with competitors that appear to be tone-deaf to what is going on in the world and identify opportunities to blend brand values with commentary on current events.
  • Community Engagement – We are working with clients to get the word out about how they are helping fight the spread. From pivots to produce personal protective equipment for essential workers to donations of much-needed supplies to helping employees adjust to working from home, we are helping clients build deeper connections with their communities.
  • Employee Communications – From layoffs to employees diagnosed with coronavirus, we are working with clients to articulate the right words for employees, the community and other key stakeholders through newsletters, website alerts and emails.

In the end, when we can meet at a conference, a networking event or a sports stadium, we’ll all have our stories about when COVID-19 touched us and what the impact has been on our families, ourselves and our industries.

Be visible. Be alive. Be present. Be in the business of being in business.

George Smith Partners speaks with GlobeSt.com on co-living after the pandemic dust settles.

Posted on April 14, 2020 by - Client News

Co-living is a modern form of living in which residents have their own rooms, yet share a communal area like college dorm rooms. Californians started this form of living when housing prices became too high. The economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic will certainly shake up the industry, but the undersupply of quality and attainably priced housing should continue to drive demand in co-living once the pandemic dust settles.

“Co-living came out of a need when multifamily rents were so high that people could no longer afford them,” Shahin Yazdi, principal and managing director at George Smith Partners, tells GlobeSt.com. “One of the ways to afford them was to live in a co-living property, where you would have your own room and bathroom and shared living space. In many ways, I think that model will be impacted in the short-term. Multifamily rents will likely come down, and that will have some impact on the vacancy factor for co-living. However, even though that might happen in the short-term, I don’t think this is a recession that is going to last long. Once we come out of it, we are still going to have a housing shortage.”

Read the full article: Where Will Co-Living Land Post Pandemic? (GlobeSt.com)

Saban Community Clinic discusses coronavirus frontlines with LAist.

Posted on April 13, 2020 by - Client News

Saban Community Clinic sits down with LAist to discuss coronavirus frontlines and shares concerns about those who are most vulnerable. Carrie Berlin, part of the Saban Community Clinic street medicine team, shares her concerns for the unsheltered population of Los Angeles, both those who have tested positive and those who run the risk of being exposed.

“Trying to find people is really tough,” she said. “Many of the facilities where we would generally end up having engagement like libraries are closed.”

Read the full article: Diary From The Coronavirus Frontlines: ‘A Few Moments Of Crying’ (LAist)

Cloudbreak provides translation equipment for hospital telemedicine efforts

Posted on April 8, 2020 by - Client News

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and medical providers are leaning on telehealth to serve sick patients. Now, patients can simply call in or video chat with their doctor. Cloudbreak offers an interpretation service that enables the delivery of health services from a distance.

Cloudbreak’s service lets patients talk to doctors from monitors that are carted into their rooms. Like many executives facing the pandemic, the head of Cloudbreak, Jamey Edwards, switched the company’s focus as the virus began to ravage the country to one more relevant to the times: telemedicine.

Read the full article: Can Telemedicine Save Lives? Doctors Hope So. (dot.LA)

Ortho Mattress produces masks for essential workers to fight against COVID-19

Posted on April 6, 2020 by - Client News

Ortho Mattress is repurposing its Phoenix factory to help produce non-N95 face masks for the public. The factory is working to produce 1,000 non-medical face masks a day, according to a news release from the company.

“Our heart went out to our customers in hospitality for the immediate need to protect their workers, and we now are embracing this call to action to support others in our community,” said Ken Karmin, the CEO of Ortho Mattress. “Mayor Garcetti’s plea that people should wear a protective face covering made us realize the imperative to step up our efforts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus to the best of our abilities. It’s a small step, but a needed one that we were happy to make because we’re truly all in this together.”

Read the full story: Ortho Mattress Factory in Phoenix producing face masks for essential workers, seniors (AZ Family)