What one thing should marketers do to close out 2020?

All must bow before the One Problem.

Have you heard? Marketing is different now. If you’re not discussing how things are different in a weekly all-hands meeting, are you even a marketer?

But if you are a marketer, one thing isn’t different: you’re probably focusing hardest on the problem you have to solve right now. In this way, COVID-19 hasn’t changed much at all.

So what’s the one thing all marketers must do to close out 2020? We don’t know. (Sorry about the clickbait.) But if you’re here, you know what yours is. Your One Problem probably popped into your head just now—if it weren’t there already. Do any of these sound familiar?

“I need extra bandwidth to implement a content strategy that was put on pause in Q2.”

“We spent months developing a video series, and now we can’t shoot it.”

“Our business unit solidified our post-COVID strategy—but we lost the design team that would have made it into the 50-page presentation due next week.”

Right now, most companies don’t need an agency to serve as a strategic hub for multi-disciplinary marketing (though if you do, please let us know). They’re looking for a partner to step in and deliver. Here are a few ways we’ve come through for our clients: 

COVID-friendly video production

One of the biggest challenges facing marketers right now is creating original video content during the pandemic. Our Production staff have adapted to shoot contact-free video in a number of ways, following guidelines established by the CDC and national unions.

For Amazon Advertising, we were mid-development on a series of case study videos when the pandemic shut down in-person shoots. We devised a way to film at high quality with remote direction using teleconferencing and equipment kits we sent to interviewees at home. 

While these shoots require patience from cast and crew, we’ve been able to replicate professional sound, lighting, and camera angles while making the process as frictionless as possible. On the post-production side, we’ve relied on upcycling existing assets rather than the on-location b-roll that typically accompanies a customer testimonial. We’ve even used (gasp) stock footage…

Amazon Advertising

Case study: Osmo

Pivot! Pivot!

Last year, we began development on a video for Kobalt Tools that was to be the brand’s anthem statement, featuring a family piling in the car for a trip to their local Lowe’s. Come March, an at-home project seemed slightly more appropriate. We re-cut the footage and recorded new, pandemic-appropriate voiceover to align with parent brand Lowe’s corporate positioning as an essential business that’s there for its customers both in-store and online.

Kobalt Tools

Kobalt and Lowe’s are here for you in-store and online.

A product launch without the same-old same-old creative (or budget)

When renowned designer Jason Wu was launching his debut fragrance, he wanted to tell the story of the experiences that inspired it—not the slo-mo shots of a perfume bottle typical of the industry. But with no budget for an original video shoot, we had to find another way into “The World of Wu.” We developed a series of animated graphics to bring his cherished childhood memories to life on Instagram.

World of Wu

An animated exploration of the memories and ingredients behind Jason Wu’s signature fragrance

Whether it’s COVID-related or not, you need your One Problem solved quickly. No project is too small or big, no deadline too tight. Let us see if we can help. And if we can’t help, maybe we can tell you who can.