As the world adjusts to social distancing from the makeshift home offices of kitchen tables and bedrooms, brands are adapting to this unprecedented time—and some of them are doing it right. Successful brands have taken Mr. Rogers’ wise advice of
looking for the helpers in difficult times to heart, cutting through the chaos by:
- Putting aside an opportunistic mindset
- Ensuring all communications are positive, meaningful, and useful
- Bringing people together through activities or messaging
Brands at the top of our “COVID-19 Helpers” list are offering free resources designed specifically to make people’s lives easier throughout the outbreak. Here are a few of the best resource hubs that address their unique customer bases’ interests.
For Pet Owners
Rover.com, in partnership with a veterinarian from their Dog People Panel, created a guide for pet parents with answers to everything related to COVID-19 and pets. It has answers for everything from how to keep your dog active while indoors to how your dog can help
you during this time to whether pets can come down with coronavirus (no, they can’t!).
For the Anxious and Struggling
Going from seeing coworkers and friends every day to complete isolation can take a toll on mental and emotional health. Headspace, a popular meditation app, created a COVID-19 hub on their website to show their dedication to users. With a comforting “we’re here for you” message headlining the landing page, Headspace created toolkits for employers, healthcare workers, and educators that include articles about how to talk to kids about COVID-19, free access to Headspace Plus for healthcare professionals, mindfulness tips, and webinars and articles on how to lead a team mindfully through a crisis.
For Parents
Sesame Street was one of the first organizations to create a COVID-19 toolkit, quickly pulling together online resources to help families settle into their new normal. The toolkit, which is part of the show’s Caring for Each Other campaign, includes helpful videos in 19 languages for kids about what is going on in the world and how to stay healthy, infographics, and information to help parents talk to their kids about COVID-19. The overall campaign emphasizes the importance of taking care of ourselves so that we can take care of our families and each other.
For the Health Conscious
Staying active while staying socially distanced is difficult, but important. Thankfully, some workout groups are helping the world make health a priority.
Peloton and
Orangetheory Fitness are both offering free workouts. Peloton is giving new users a 90 day free trial, while Orangetheory is posting new workouts each day to their app, website, and YouTube channel. Both have workout options that use minimal equipment or suggest different household items that can be used as substitutions.
For Students
As schools across the country go virtual, many families are worried about how students will progress as teachers figure out how to take lesson plans online. Instructure and Canvas have created a COVID-19 hub that includes checklists, tips, and live streams to make sure parents, students, teachers, and schools are equipped to take on a new way of learning.
When organizations work to help their customers in the midst of this crisis, they build goodwill. In this unprecedented time, these companies are showing the world how to stay afloat without being opportunistic—customers will remember that throughout this crisis and into the recession likely to follow.
Written by
Emily Castellanos
