Digital communication and content guidelines in times of crisis

2020 was a year full of surprises with the coronavirus pandemic. A lot of brands that are not prepared live a hard time adapting the business strategies to the situation. Hospitality and tourism are definitely one of the severest impacted sectors. Here we have specifically focused on these industries, and summarized the digital communication and content recommendations across different stages of the pandemic development, to help you figure out what is the best way to communicate to your consumers during uncertain times. 

“This crisis has made us realise that we are, quite literally, all in this together. As the impact of COVID-19 is felt across  country, race and socioeconomic lines, we’re compelled to let go of outdated distinctions between markets and consumers or between brands and audiences. In this moment, we are all simply human. “

Amy Cotteleer from Duncan Channon summarized COVID-19 on Adweek

Economic instability: People’s lives and livelihood are impacted

As the situation escalated, Among G7 countries, 7 in 10 say their household income has or will be affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Other immediate changes to support social distancing and increased hygiene are already in play.

The path to recovery

Depending on the industries, there are not a lot of brands that can capture the very few market opportunities that are still available during the international lockdown. For most of the other brands, there is nothing more important than building a strong foundation for future growth.

It is especially critical for leaders to stay resilient in a crisis. Deloitte identified the following 5 qualities as most important for a leader during a crisis:

1. Design from the heart: Demonstrate to your employees, customers, communities and ecosystem that you have their best interests at heart.
2. Embrace the long view: Stay focused on what’s on the horizon to instill confidence and steadiness across your ecosystem
3. Own your narrative: Paint a picture of a compelling future and path forward that your stakeholders can support and rally around
4. Speed over elegance: Decisive action – with courage – is often more essential than getting it perfect.
5. Mission First: Stabilize today, and harness both the energy and the constraints of volatile conditions to spark innovation tomorrow

While some countries may come across the recovery earlier and some may take longer time, we can observe that a similar pattern of consumer behaviour is replicating across different markets. We have studied the change in consumption pattern in China as one of the earliest recovered markets and here are our learnings of what communication action needs to be taken and the areas that need to be focused among different stages of recovery:

Phase 1: When COVID-19 hits the rest of the world 

Recommended Strategy: Watch and Respond

Businesses must demonstrate their corporate social responsibility by seeking to understand the facts, and being transparent in regards to the knowns and unknowns – bringing accountability to ensuring the wellbeing of their employees, clients, and broader community. Thoughtfully supporting local efforts to contain the spread and follow local government guidelines on social distancing will garner longer term community support.

Brands can be proactive changemakers in their community by taking positive actions and stepping up to the challenge.

Communications Strategy of Phase 1

Targeting Strategy:
Focus on domestic markets as international travel is reduced or stopped

Content Strategy:

1. Inform what you are actioning  in line with Government advice
2. Reassure on hygiene & cleaning practices within the hotel
3. Reinforce Brand Values  & Corporate Social Responsibility
4. Demonstrate unity with the Community 
5. People over Profit – don’t insensitively push campaigns too hard
6. Reinforce safety:  additional cleaning and hygiene
7. Support social distancing: don’t show crowds of people
8. Demonstrate unity: people over profit

Channel Strategy:  

1. Reduce awareness-building activity to reflect the reduced market  demand
2. Continue OTA campaigns, MetaSearch, Paid Search to increase the share of existing demand to support RGI
3. Focus on the increasing conversion of websites and other booking channels
4. Monitor ROI of all activity & adjust accordingly.
5. Lean on SNS & CRM to reach your most engaged community. 

Phase 2: Stage of Containment 

Recommended Strategy: Pivot and Adapt

As social distancing, working and schooling from home continue over a period of weeks or months, isolation and self-sufficiency become increasingly lonely and tiring.

Hotels should pivot and adapt to the new situation, tailoring their services to meet people’s changing needs and their communication to reflect consumer sentiment.   There is an opportunity for hotels to set themselves apart with creative and thoughtful solutions, whilst also taking the opportunity to focus under-utilised capacity or resources on longer term projects – content development including videos, exploring new social platforms,  new technology, SEO, website upgrades and UX optimisation. Monitor ROI – if it’s still delivering a return don’t cancel it, but make sure your message reflects the situation.

1. Adapt Service to meet new needs

2. Deliver Content to reflect sentiment

3. Closely monitor ROI of activities & optimise

4. Focus on long term  initiatives: New technology, SEO, Website Upgrades, UX and Content Development

Communications Strategy of Phase 2

Targeting Strategy: 

1. Focus on domestic markets as international travel is reduced or stopped
2. Give greater focus to R&B if demand for Rooms continues to be low

Content Strategy:

1. Deliver content that’s  inspiring & uplifting
2. R&B: Showcase creativity & delight in  new offers or  services relevant to current needs.
3. Rooms: Shift from ‘visit now’ to ‘visit later’, keeping  destination top of mind for future.
4. Provide genuinely engaging &  useful content  that’s likely inspire a visit ‘later’ 
5. Feature services that reflect changed guest preferences. 
6. Stay positive & inspire to ‘visit later’: Video content for those at home

Channel Strategy:  

1. Test & Optimise awareness building campaign for ‘visit later’ bookings
2. Leverage loyalty of members and CRM data  for  the offer right  for them
3. Set-up for success in  longer term:  Website Upgrades, UX Optimisation, Content development, SEO, CRM and new technology
4. Leverage the power of community via social media

Shifting of Media Consumption in Phase 2

As people spend more time at home, social media, content and digital channels become more important than ever before. Hotels will need to reduce the focus on offline media to reflect this change. The below are the media channel consumptions where we have observed a growth/decline in.

Growth in online media consumption:

1. Digital news sites
2. Search engines
3. Social Media
4. Digital video platforms
5. Short video apps
6. TV and Video streaming platforms
7. Music apps
8. Online & mobile gaming
9. E-commerce
10. Social commerce
11. Podcasts

Decline in offline media consumption:

1. Out of home advertising
2. Transport media
3. Billboards
4. Print media
5. Cinema
6. Experiential media

Phase 3: The Market Recovery

Recommended Strategy –  Be first to recover

Stay tuned for signs of travel recovery – when new cases of COVID 19 reduce,  Governments ease restrictions, Airline flights resume, positive press sentiment in the news headlines, positive consumer sentiment in travel surveys, Google travel search and travel website traffic increases.  This applies to both domestic & international traveller markets.  Identify inbound markets that are likely to return first.

Hotels to increase activity and consider the consumer experience and the uncertainty that is likely to still exist in regards to the virus threat being under control or removed. Maintain communication and offers that support social distancing and increased hygiene protocols. Remove barrier of uncertainty through flexible travel date change and cancellation policies.

1. Watch for signs of recovery
2. Be first in line 
3. Adapt to the new normal
4. Be flexible

Communications Strategy in Phase 3

Targeting Strategy:

1. Focus on domestic markets  plus  inbound markets that are showing signs of recovery
2. Bring focus back to Rooms 

Content Strategy:

1. Bring focus back to ‘visit now’ as people look to take overdue trips
2. Inspire people to ‘Seize the Day’ and celebrate  the return to a (new) normal
3. Remain thoughtful to people’s caution of the virus returning, and need for maintaining social distance and strong hygiene
4. Provide flexibility on date changes/ cancellations
5. Content guidelines
6. Ignite interest: To take that overdue trip ‘now’
7. A new normal: Be considerate of continued caution 
8. Be Engaging: Tell the story of your people and community 

Channel Strategy:  

1. Increase awareness building activity to reflect increased market demand
2. Reinstate Programmatic (Prospecting & Retargeting) & Paid Social to increase share of new demand via lower cost channel
3. Continue OTA campaigns, MetaSearch, Paid Search to increase share of existing demand 
4. Test & Learn new creative/offers and optimise campaign towards better performing
5. Reinstate activity to support direct bookings

What can we expect?

In the past few months, a lot of brands have done a good job in transforming their businesses and keep up with the rapid market changes. Even we are not able to predict when is the end of the outbreak, we still have a positive outlook for the future. 

To know more about the expected comeback time of different travel sectors, contact us to get our full version of digital communication and content guidelines for hotels to see the learnings from the Chinese hotel sector.