Public Relations during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an international crisis, affecting every single company and industry, whether positive or negative. It has increased the need for public relations professionals because companies have needed to communicate to the world their pandemic measures. Some companies have succeeded with their pandemic public relations while others have failed. The way some companies have functioned during the pandemic is setting the precedent for their post-pandemic performance.

Security or Stress?

In a survey by Buzzstream, 60% of respondents felt confident about their job security during the pandemic. However, 65% of respondents said they felt more stressed at their job. Even though the public relations field was not facing as many layoffs, the need for pandemic communication has led professionals to be increasingly stressful. This caused over 1/3 of respondents to consider changing their career from public relations due to the pandemic. The question is now, is the higher level of job security worth the higher level of stress in this profession?

Though the demand and workload may be higher which affects stress levels, the impacts of the pandemic have caused an increase in stress and anxiety. Four out of ten adults reported feeling anxiety or a depressive disorder during the pandemic. Pre-pandemic, the number was only one out of ten adults. This is important to note when judging whether it was the career alone, or external factors.

Successful COVID-19 Public Relations

Whether a company succeeded during the pandemic or because of the pandemic, either way, it is still successful. Some companies, such as Amazon, Apple and Tesla have prospered during the pandemic due to the circumstances from closures. Specifically, Apple alone grew over $219 billion during the pandemic. On top of this, they had an extremely public relations campaign, Creativity Goes On.

Creativity Goes On - Apple

This campaign was created to inspire and keep people hopeful during the pandemic. It encouraged the world that even though most of it was shut down, it did not have to keep people from being creative. This message was especially appropriate because creators worldwide took the time during the pandemic to focus on their craft, whether it be music, art, writing etc.

Apple also was one of the leaders in making virtual meetings and conferences, which the rest of the world followed suit with. They were one of the leaders of the pandemic due to their adaptability to the economic and social climate, but also due to being a technologically-based company.

The Getty Museum Challenge

The Getty Center is located in Los Angeles, California and is famous for its permanent collection of famous works of art. Their museum is free admission and boasts close to two million visitors annually. However, due to the pandemic, they were forced to shut down indefinitely.

Through this campaign, the Getty Center inspired social media users to recreate some famous works of art. It became known as “The Getty Museum Challenge” with thousands of social media users taking to their respective platforms to show their reinterpretation of art. The Getty is now a household name for many individuals who did not know what the Getty Museum represented.

Though they are still closed in Los Angeles, they may expect to have an influx in visitors due to the success of this campaign.

Positive PR from Charity

Some companies took a different route when promoting their organization during the pandemic, in which they chose to make charitable donations to those in need.

The Barstool Fund

Barstool Sports is a controversial social media company headed by Dave Portnoy, an infamous figure in pop culture for his sometimes unpopular opinions and behavior. The company itself made its name from posting videos and pictures of people’s controversial behavior, such as drunk college students doing inappropriate things.

However, Portnoy decided during the pandemic to form the Barstool Fund, a charity funded by the public that will go towards supporting family-owned restaurants and businesses struggling during the pandemic closures. So far, this fund has been a massive success for Barstool Sports, as so far, they have raised 37 million and helped 233 businesses. Though Barstool Sports is usually viewed negatively, this campaign has certainly helped their name in the eyes of the public. Especially for Portnoy, who was famously kicked out of the Super Bowl, he has been able to paint a more positive picture of himself in the public sphere.

Personally, I believe this campaign was the most successful in having a huge change in public perception during the campaign. There were hundreds of companies that made massive donations to help during the pandemic, but Barstool Sports and Dave Portnoy managed to gain the respect of many who previously did not. Though their company still has a controversial message, their intentions were true when it came to helping those in need.