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We Need a Recovery Mantra

I have been giving communications a lot of thought lately because we’re into a new phase of COVID-19 — recovery. I know that we have been talking about recovery for a while not but it hasn’t felt real into you hear of other countries and states starting to reduce their restrictions and open up. Since we’re starting to recover, we should have a mantra and maybe even a theme song, to rally around. Something catchy yet instructive that anyone can understand. Any ideas?

If you missed any of the previous updates, this page has a list of them all.

Full details on the Economic Recovery Task Force can be found here.

Summary

I really like the Flatten the Curve mantra to help solidify and make crystal clear what we had to do during the crisis phase of COVID-19. Mantras are essential to any kind of movement. It’s these mantras that you hope to turn into memes so that we can all Keep Calm and Carry On your way to a better world.

I’m not exactly sure what type of recovery manta we need to be Kind and Rewind back to the way things were. My guess is that the Brave New World we’re in cannot be the Just Do It life we had before. Rather, all of us need to be kind and plan ahead for what is to come.

What I do know about communications (albeit not as much as Tom over at Marketoonist) is that, especially in a crisis, it’s essential (actually required) to be clear, concise, and compelling in your comms. The buzzword bingo, boilerplate, tone-deaf corporate-speak won’t work. The same holds true with Recovery.

One of the other interesting things I found is how different generations consume media. It’s a fascinating read that I summarize below (Top 3):

  • Gen Z: Online Videos (51%), Online TV/Streaming (38%), and Video Games (31%)
  • Millennials: Online Video (44%), Online TV/Streaming (41%), and Online Press (36%)
  • Gen X: Broadcast TV (45%), Online TV/Streaming (38%), and Online Videos (35%)
  • Boomer: Broadcast TV (42%), None (24%), and Online TV/streaming (21%)

Clearly any communications must be multi-media and, Repeat After Me, rinsed and repeated so often that it goes viral. In the interesting charts section, is a great graph of what outlets are trusted.

Another excellent post on Stacked Marketer related to social media consumption or rather who’s on what type of social media channel. It’s for brands but still applicable to any type of communications:

  • Facebook: A slightly older audience.
  • Instagram: A mixed audience.
  • Twitter: An adult audience.
  • Pinterest: Adult audience and mostly women.
  • TikTok: Very young audience.
  • Snapchat: An evenly split audience.

Social media channels are perfect for mantra and memes but again, it has to be multichannel or people will be left out.

So, Any Idea for a Recovery Manta?

I’d love to hear what y’all think a good recovery mantra would be. Some of my ideas include:

  • Re(Cover)y starts with me
  • Be Kind and Think Ahead
  • Recovery On
  • (Re)come Together
  • Forward Together

Jobs and Business Support

Vulnerable Populations/Population Health

Economic Development

Things to Ponder or Give a Try

Interesting Chart(s)

Want to Learn More or Help?

Go over to the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force (ERTF) page for more information. If you have not already done so, please take this survey to tell the task force your thoughts on how we can recover from this.

The Task Force is charged with guiding the City’s efforts through the COVID-19 recovery to sustain and revive local businesses and employment, mitigate the economic hardships already affecting the most vulnerable San Franciscans, and build a resilient and equitable future.