What I've Learned About Marcom During COVID-19

Little did we know when the news came out in December about COVID-19 cases in China that this pandemic would bring our entire economy to a near-complete halt and would touch our lives so personally. That we would experience the deepest social isolation we may ever know in our lifetime. That simple visits to the grocery store would bring on extreme anxiety and fear of getting sick. That the smallest acts of kindness, like a note in the mail or a drive-by surprise, could mean so much.

My experience of the pandemic is personal but also professional. I had a chance to work through what was the biggest crisis communication effort in our school's 50+ year history. There are many lessons I learned during this time at Greater Atlanta Christian School that will mark how I approach marketing and communications for the rest of my life. I've seen first hand how these lessons have played out and the positive impact on our school community.

I had the opportunity to collaborate with thoughtful colleagues on creative solutions during COVID-19 and the feedback we received from our community was dynamite. People felt loved. They felt affirmed in their choice of schools. They felt proud of our organization and privileged to be a part of it. And they felt that their most prized treasure⁠—their children⁠—were truly cared for and fully supported during a world crisis.

There is no such thing as overcommunicating.

GAC leadership set the pace for communication during this time, with daily video messages and emails with encouragement from the President to students, parents, and faculty/staff. Students in Middle and High School pitched in, developing weekly inspirational content for their peers. On its social channels, GAC posted daily (even twice daily) content and the engagement reflected a sense of community and a spirit of generosity and optimism in spite of the circumstances. GAC's level of attention and concern meant families were kept informed every step of the way. There was no question that the situation "was handled". GAC established a way to get real-time feedback from families, enabling it to nimbly respond and make changes as needed. By constantly soliciting feedback and pivoting as needed, GAC ensured that its families felt supported. For example, the initial feedback about online classes was that students were online for too long. GAC adjusted the daily schedule, reducing the number of classes, adding in breaks, and also sent students blue-light-blocking glasses as a gesture of support.

Forging human connection in every way possible goes a long way in building brand loyalty.

What do you do when a crisis limits your ability to be near another human being outside your family but you're in the business of relationships and learning? You take advantage of every possibility for connection using digital means. What GAC discovered in the process of adjusting to the new normal is that digital connection, done well, can be as powerful as physical connection. I think through this crisis we have in some ways debunked the myth about digital connection as a lesser form. According to a Forbes article, though, "it's not technology that we should celebrate, but the human capacity to create it, and adapt to it." GAC fully exerted its capacity for creativity, and families responded. One parent said, "it seems GAC should run the country".

GAC used its digital learning platform to maximize human connection and create an effective new normal.

After school closures were announced, GAC activated its online learning platform and brought its 1,600+ students online in a matter of days. This was possible due to its experience running Ethos, its online school (you can read more about Ethos on the AJC). GAC understood the need for structure that both parents and students had and established scheduled times for all classes, with ample time for breaks from technology. With GAC's approach, students were able to stay connected with teachers and peers and have some semblance of normalcy, something that schools doing distance (not online) learning could not accomplish.

Know when it's time to shift.

We’ve shifted from COVID-19 crisis communication to community enrichment and support about halfway through. People were tired of hearing about COVID-19; it was time to focus everyone's attention and energies elsewhere as a way to improve morale and lift up the community. With so much uncertainty about when the economy will restart and when seminal school moments like prom and graduation can be rescheduled, GAC had to think about how to nurture our community, finding ways to connect. Things we’ve implemented include sharing daily inspirational messages from me and other leaders with families, engaging in the #gacfamilychallenge on social media (which garnered 50-60 contest entries), carving out Wednesdays as a day for enrichment for our students and families, dropping off special packages for our seniors, creating a resource hub for families so they have everything they need to thrive in the coming weeks, from learning resources to health and spiritual resources.

Do the unexpected even if it means going against the norm.

A big thing that GAC did which is almost unheard of in the private school space is to give back financial credits to its families. Families received credit for lunch costs, auxiliary services that the school was no longer able to provide under the circumstances, and some athletic fees. And the beauty of this is that many families paid their credits forward to serve families within our community who are really hurting in the current economic crisis.

Like all good marketing and communications, crisis communication response requires a multi-channel approach. There was no one silver bullet that got GAC successfully through the COVID-19 crisis. It took emails, Zoom sessions, help sessions, enrichment opportunities, social media posts, videos, a website resource hub, mail deliveries, bus deliveries, personal visits and drive-bys to enact the kind of connection established during this time. At the end of the day, I believe every single member of the GAC community could say: GAC cares about me. And that was the entire point. It's in a crisis that we find out who our people are. And it's through a crisis that the ties that bind us are made even stronger. But at the end of the day, GAC's relational capital saved the day. The results above were, in the end, a result of a legacy of building a community strong enough to withstand the challenges brought on by COVID-19.

And just for giggles, here are some stats from the three-month shelter-in-place period:

• 63 Emails sent out

• 20,579 video plays

• 11,071 web page visits to community hub