Getting your brand noticed is all about breaking through the clutter to arrive at messaging and positioning that is unique, memorable, and compelling. During the current pandemic, there are many brands – large and small – who have lost sight of this at a critical time. You may have noticed that so many ads look and sound remarkably the same right now. In fact, it’s difficult to tell them apart. If you’re not quite sure what I’m referring to, all you need to do is check out this video mashup, care of YouTube’s Microsoft Sam.

The current disruption in all our daily routines reminded me of a TED Radio Hour episode released almost a year ago. I caught a rebroadcast of it in late February and it turned out to be quite timely. The episode is called “Jumpstarting Creativity” – and the whole episode is worth a listen – but the first segment is what got my attention as especially relevant to our current stay-at-home situation.

There is no global playbook to manage a situation like we’re experiencing now with the COVID-19 pandemic. While every business is different and is dealing with unique implications and repercussions, we are all facing some common challenges. There are certain things that every business needs to consider and address during a time like this. We’ve put together a few recommendations that we hope you find helpful as they may apply to your organization.

Nothing marks the return of fall quite like the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) from Starbucks. Introduced in 2003, the PSL has become the coffee giant’s most popular seasonal drink, selling roughly 424 million worldwide.

It’s long been said that one of the most effective words you can use in an ad is “free.” The idea is that people love getting stuff for free, so offering them something for free will get a big response. It’s a rule a lot of companies still follow. How many TV ads do see that say “buy one, get one free” or offer something like a “free credit report”? How many online ads say “download our free white paper” or “get your free sample” just for giving them your email? And that’s the problem – these days it seems like virtually everyone is offering something for free, so “free” isn’t considered as powerful as it once was.

If you make a product that solves a problem, you need to advertise to reach the people who have that problem and make them aware of your solution. But what if it’s a problem that people don’t like to talk – or hear – about? This has always been an issue for companies that make such products. A century ago, when advertising was done in newspapers and magazines, mixed among the ads for new shoes and automobiles would be discreet ads for products that cured embarrassing medical problems, all very serious and discreet.