By HP Communications Specialist Shruti Sharma

Last Friday PRSASV + SF had a conversation with Edelman’s CEO, Richard Edelman, to talk about “Brand Trust and the Coronavirus Pandemic.”

Richard covered real-time statistics and insights on consumer attitudes towards brand behaviors during Covid-19. We learned where consumers get their news in this time of crisis and who they trust. The presentation revealed who the most trusted spokespeople are and what brands can do to be credible and stay top of mind. This was followed by a Q&A and discussion on how PR professionals should prepare their work for this new landscape.

“This is the moment in time when the people in PR have the most opportunity to be creative and be listened to.”

Richard Edelman, CEO, Edelman

Key Points:

• After health authorities, employers are the most trusted to respond effectively to the coronavirus outbreak

• Solutions, not selling; brands should focus efforts on finding meaningful solutions to the problems people are facing with the crisis

• Business + Government/NGOs is the strongest partnership to have right now

• Create content your employees can share easily – make it short form, visual and viral

• Email is the most effective channel to communicate a brand’s response to the pandemic – target to individuals and base it on individual relationships

• Use social media channels to facilitate a sense of community and offer social support to people

• 71% of people agree that brands and companies that place their profits over people will lose their trust forever.

And be sure to join us on Friday, April 10 from 11-noon PT for “Communications Education in the Age of Misinformation” where educators and comms leaders from SJSU, USF, Stanford and the Navy discuss how they teach and manage communications.

Featured speakers include:

–Joceyln Breeland, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communications, Residential and Dining Enterprises, Stanford University;

–Fay Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Public Relations and Strategic Communication, University of San Francisco

–Shaun Fletcher, Ph.D., Professor, Public Relations, San Jose State University

–Mitchell Friedman, Ed. D., APR, Visiting Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Defense Management, Naval Postgraduate School

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