How to survive & 'Superbloom' in the midst of a global pandemic.

We are deeply saddened by the Global Pandemic Covid 19 & we are taking the updates domestically & internationally on this matter very seriously.

We want to take a moment in particular to thank & celebrate the momentous efforts our national care, health & medical professionals are making to support & treat the influx of patients who are in need. We send a message of solidarity to our clients & industry partners, particularly within hospitality, who are taking steps to alter their businesses in the fight to prevent the spread of Covid 19. We stand with you.

We are looking to support you, our friends near & far at this time with kindness & self care. We will be sharing our updates & messages of positivity across our social media & we remain fully open to any inquiries as to how the Partner & Bloom team may be able to assist during these challenging times in which we are all adapting to change. Our founders Scarlett & Rosa would be delighted to hear from you: businesses large & small or in pre-launch phase, in a place of stagnation or concern, or in the midst of navigating new opportunities under present circumstances. We’d like to offer an initial 1 hour consulting call where we would love to learn more about you & your business, impart more information about our bespoke services & follow up with a tailored crib sheet including valuable practical advice, free of change.

It has been a real privilege speaking to entrepreneurs over the phone as we have done over the last few weeks, at a time lacking in human connection. In turn we have been able to unravel what they are excited & worried about & strategise their future success. This often involves adapting the ways in which they are engaging with their current audience, who are craving very different engagement & reassurance from businesses at this time. By the end of the call, there is a clear shift in mood and often a plan of action too! This ability to add value is so rewarding for us.

Businesses of all sizes have undeniably been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, in a variety of different ways. Below we have outlined some of the considerations that you might find helpful when navigating this period of change and uncertainty. For a more bespoke and detailed plan that takes into account your nuanced business needs , please get in touch as we’d love to chat. 

Marketing

Many brands are opting to wait for the storm to pass before investing in marketing activities. While this may be an option that some entrepreneurs have justified making in a world of unknowns, there are several difficulties that businesses should consider when taking this approach. The first is that once a sense of normality resumes or is redefined (& when this will be, no-one quite knows), businesses will be flocking to pollinate media channels with marketing material, so it will be more difficult to be seen & heard in among the sheer volume of activity. 

In fact, audiences are looking at businesses both big and small, local or international NOW for an indication of how to behave from their local artisan bakery to the spa at their favourite hotel they’re due to visit over the August Bank Holiday! Audiences are craving a genuine show of kindness at this surreal & difficult time, which will play a part in guiding them what to invest their time in now so they can bring a sense of normality back into their lives. This connection with your audience is very valuable and will itself play a key role in how consumers adapt now to the changing lockdown landscape & their behaviours moving forward. Invest in standing by your consumers during this transitional period & develop a relationship that will transcend the current unease. 

So it makes sense that now is the time to be engaging with your consumers in a more interpersonal manner than ever before. Think about moving the budgets previously allocated to events, TV or outdoor marketing materials and external campaign shoots to connecting online with your consumers. Our world is more virtual than ever before & so utilising this digital landscape is of paramount importance.

Story: consumers want to invest not only in brands & products, but stories to build lasting connections & trust. Package your message, core values & reason for developing the company, into a story that evokes emotion, educates & challenges the status quo. Shy away from clichés or typical 'business branding' statements. Before you can create your legacy, you have to tell your story. But make it count.

Charity: during a time of global adversity, consumers are looking to businesses for ways that they can help where help is needed. Many individuals feel powerless but understand that collectively, they can make a difference. Shout about what you stand for not only during business-as-usual, but during the coronavirus lockdown too. Big or small, creative or simple, ensure that the message of what you’re doing & how your customers can get involved in your charitable gesture is clear. Perhaps you're donating a portion of proceeds, PPE, or hampers to NHS workers per sale. It's also important to note that consumers appreciate honesty, many small businesses cannot afford to make grand generous charitable gestures, but they can offer discount codes for key workers or highlight staff-led local initiatives. Every little bit counts.

Innovation: perhaps your supply chain has been disrupted (see below) & you cannot start production of your Christmas or Fall ranges without incurring huge costs or delay. How can you innovate what you're currently doing & make it relevant to the current climate. Is there a local supplier who you can partner up with to create something new? Can you re-brand (temporarily) a hero product to acknowledge the current situation? Could you look to draw attention (or create) a gifting option for consumers who want to send items to family and friends to let them know they are thinking of them? Could you collaborate with local suppliers to offer subscription hampers of essentials (& self-care products) for delivery. Could you enhance your 'wellness at home' initiative?

Normality: many consumers are naturally anxious about the future & the uncertainties that the world faces. How can you provide light-hearted relief, education & entertainment among the chaos?

Content Creation

With usual content creation methods such as photo-shoots & campaigns suspended until further notice, brands are having to get creative until lockdown significantly lifts. One option is to utilise the multifaceted capabilities of digital influencers, who are used to creating branded content as a one-person team. With the benefits of many capacities under one roof; influencers create content in-house, edit, publish & promote too, if required.

Here at Partner & Bloom, we are not only established content creators in our own right (with a combined social reach of 121,000) who share the multitude of capabilities required to create engaging & powerful material, but we are masters in matchmaking brands with digital-first-talent who share similar creative visions, tone of voice or photography/videography styles.

If you are opting to collaborate with influencers on this basis, bear in mind that you should negotiate image rights & usage up front & be clear on how you wish to share the images to mitigate any relationship souring further down the line.

Similarly, global brands such as GIFFGAFF have paved the way for virtual content creation, utilising smartphones & detailed briefs to record content remotely. Zoom & Skype are being employed to conduct interviews & Money Supermarket Expert Martin Lewis has invested in a professional-grade camera to bring his home office to life as a temporary studio. 

Going one step further, New York based photographer Guy Farrow has even been utilising FaceTime to shoot 'virtual portraits' (source - https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/virtual-photographer-coronavirus-trnd/index.html) under lockdown!

Don't let lockdown stump your creativity! Feeling uninspired? We’d love to chat through your ideas - get in touch!

Media & PR

At a time when brands are usually preparing for Christmas in July prep, getting experimental with creative & quirky campaigns, & announcing seasonal trends to long-lead press, there has been a natural shift from reactive PR to brands choosing to showcase how they are making a difference during this challenging time.

The media are calling out for stories that respond to consumer behaviour changes during the pandemic but also light-hearted relief from all the anxiety inducing headlines, so for brands who are looking to shift their media & PR focus, it can be a challenging time to know what on earth to do.

Creativity: 95% of the news is about one subject & one subject only, so to cut through this & capture the attention of journalists, creativity is required.

Strategy

Businesses are coming to realise there isn’t a short term fix to pop a plaster over the current situation & instead a need to adapt is key, as we will see brands reallocating & scrutinising their current budgets, processes & strategy for the year ahead. We are already seeing a shift in business processes, products and marketing. Similarly, as consumer behaviour changes, there becomes a greater need to adapt, measure & monitor. There may be a need for businesses to reincorporate some processes back in-house or, as we believe, nurturing the right partnerships & competencies for tailored support - such as with Partner & Bloom. We are coming to understand the need for a bespoke consultancy who are able to support, provide kindness & nurturing guidance at this very challenging time, operating as an approachable extension of an in-house team.

As we take the opportunity to highlight the importance of partnerships - & indeed, the right partnerships at this crucial time, we should also pay credit to fitting collaborations, in order to support other complementary businesses & use the power of connections to adapt. Whether this is collaborating with a local supplier, or a company with shared values who are based 100’s of miles away, we believe that there has never been a better time than now to utilise the power of collective creativity & collaboration. 

The successful entrepreneurs we know have often taken measured risks that have fuelled their tenacity & business milestones. Innately, an entrepreneur expects turbulent times, challenges & change, however you may need reassurance in the direction of your adaptive strategy & that’s understandable. Whether you’re utilising your manufacturing processes to develop PPE or you are a luxury skincare brand who is adding hand sanitiser to your product list, or you’re looking to expedite the launch of your particular product or service which is currently in high demand. Be receptive to new ideas & consider all avenues. 

Supply Chains

The average UK manufacturer has 190 suppliers (WGSN, 2020) with over half of these sourced from Asia & the US. This widespread supply chain is vulnerable, not only to global pandemics such as the one we are facing, but also to extreme weather or political unrest. To ensure your business can survive supply chain disruption for whatever reason, you need to seek to introduce greater flexibility & efficiency for better authority.

In the short term, this could be a case of reaching out to local suppliers (who invariably will be struggling too) in order to establish whether there is potential synergy or scope for a collaboration. This could be a case of utilising unsold food stock, material or raw ingredients, which you could turn into developing a new 'Superbloom' hero product, which has been brought to life in the face of adversity. In order to mitigate risk, spread out your suppliers both locally & internationally & develop a back-up supplier list if you haven't already. Consider whether you could bring the creation & manufacturing in-house in any capacity, even if it's just for your hero product or trans-seasonal ranges.

Partner & Bloom are here to help you weather the pandemic & ensure you turn this period of adversity into a powerful tool to re-assess & evaluate your strengths (& weaknesses) in order to SUPERBLOOM.

Superbloom - A superbloom is a rare botanical phenomenon in which an unusually high proportion of wildflowers - whose seeds have previously lain dormant - germinate & blossom at the same time. A superbloom is associated with an unusually wet rainy season or a period of adversity which jeopardises growth, where the resulting 'bloom' is even more spectacular than usual.

We look forward to connecting in isolation! Among the fabulous entrepreneurs we know, including experts in their field have never dealt in a world of certainty while running their own businesses! However, understandably the shock of this global pandemic & changes to our daily lives has held back the momentum of even the most exciting of growth into the early new year. We have loved speaking to our current clients & a number of new connections made over the phone or Zoom calls in lockdown. We look forward to helping you bring back your momentum & plant the seeds of a Superbloom. 

From Partner & Bloom with love & well wishes.