Pivoting in a Pandemic Minute

Creating advertising during the COVID-19 lockdown presented a number of challenges ranging from proper messaging to the physical safety of the production team. Imagery used in the ads had to be adapted to reflect new realities in the workplace. Previous approaches featuring images that highlighted group settings and gatherings had to be replaced with elements that highlighted the need for social distancing. Masks, gloves and other equipment became important elements in any visual representation. There were technical considerations as well, since distancing did not allow photographers and videographers the kind of access to subjects and workplaces that had been typical on earlier projects. One of the major challenges was making sure the ads were in accordance with the latest CDC and government guidelines, which were changing rapidly.

The COVID-19 environment dramatically shifted how people responded to brands. Messaging would need to reflect a change in tone that acknowledged the gravity of the situation but still maintained the character and optimism of Texas Mutual’s brand. Its ON THE JOB campaign had established Texas Mutual as a caring company in touch with the needs of workers and closely involved with businesses in a wide range of industries. Texas Mutual was in a unique position to use its financial strength and nimbleness to offer businesses ongoing information about COVID-19 while providing tangible support through a variety of programs.

We needed to stop pre-pandemic creative that would appear tone deaf in the current environment, and elevate Texas Mutual’s position as a business leader and a reliable source of information from the earliest days of the pandemic. Most importantly, new messaging needed to show Texas Mutual’s concern for its customers and demonstrate the very real, very strong response the company was working diligently to deliver.

A new messaging strategy that focused on COVID-19 information and the company’s swift response became the focus of three back-to-back campaigns that were concepted, executed and deployed within three months. The first campaign was live within a few weeks. All elements of the campaigns were well-received, with a particularly strong showing by the Early Dividends messaging, which resulted in more than 36,000 visits to the landing page. The ads accomplished the stated objectives of showing empathy for businesses dealing with the pandemic, demonstrating Texas Mutual’s leadership and support programs, and spotlighting the service of essential workers.

The pivot to an entirely new campaign in a period of crisis demonstrated our team’s ability to be agile, thoughtful and creative under pressure. This also applied to Texas Mutual, which provided detailed and up-to-date information on their website, through their newsletters and in a variety of social media. Their definitive action was essential to the campaign messaging; their collaboration with our team was essential to the execution of this successful campaign.