CASE STUDY

Communicating Through COVID-19

Insight

One clear result of the COVID-19 crisis is the sudden increased value of the communications role with the C-suite, as business leaders are now expected to frequently engage with their stakeholders. Strategically, communications have become more important than ever, with brands being scrutinized by their customers and the public over their behavior. W7Worldwide decided the best way the agency could offer meaningful support was to create a dedicated Covid-19 Resource Centre, bringing together a series of Communications Best Practice Guides, reports and articles to help organizations navigate the crisis successfully and with their reputation intact.

The W7Worldwide COVID-19 Resource Centre was a first of its kind in the region created by a Saudi communications agency. Since the deadly virus hit, we have produced over 10 reports with authoritative and valuable content developed by industry experts from W7Worldwide and its network. The Covid-19 Resource Centre provides businesses and organizations with free tools and expertise to communicate effectively during and beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

W7Worldwide continues this effort throughout the various phases of the COVID-19 crisis through to recovery, as part of its endeavors to support the business community whilst reinforcing the value of the communications profession as a vital practice for business survival.

Methodology

The strategy was to provide clear guidance at a time when businesses were scrambling for reliable information on communicating with their customers, employees and stakeholders through uncertain times.

As a local agency with international reach, W7Worldwide wanted to establish their thought leadership as the go-to source to help brands bridge their communications knowledge gap with continually updated quality content. In creating a regular series of expert guides, we are taking our target audiences by the hand to support them throughout every stage of the Covid-19 crisis with our insights and easy to follow guides.

At the same time, the campaign is designed to educate target audiences about the importance of PR & Communications as a vital business function.

We designed our strategy around several touchpoints to maximize audience reach, deploying the following tactics:

Dedicated COVID-19 Resource Centre
7-Step Expert Guides
Press Releases
Media Relations
Direct Mail
Social Media

The top challenge for us that still persists to this day is to always stay one step ahead to be able to develop the right communications guidance around a constantly changing situation that is still evolving. Additionally, we also needed to ensure accurate and up-to-date information about COVID-19 from the right official sources.

To date, over 10 reports have been produced covering topics including employee engagement, CEO leadership, crisis communications when under a cyberattack (in partnership with VirtuPort), public affairs, digital PR, healthcare communications and others.