While ending 2020 felt like a feat in its own right, 2021 was supposed to be a year of optimism—transitioning out of the pandemic and into a “new normal” lifestyle with the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, borders reopening, and once again being able to hug your loved ones.

Right person, right message, right time. 

This formula is the backbone of all marketing, right? If I can reach the people most likely to buy my product, with a message that moves them out of need or emotion, at the moment when they are most receptive to that message, I’ve got myself some paying customers. 

In early 2020, many businesses struggled with how to react and respond to the pandemic. It was hard to seem empathetic without being disingenuous; humor didn’t feel “ok” until recently; and appearing to want to make money off struggling consumers just felt plain wrong. 

For some organizations, though, it took little time to find the right thing to do, like when well-known restaurants pivoted to feeding the community when they couldn’t serve patrons. For others, there was no playbook for operating outside business as usual.

Why was that? It’s all about values.