Mask up

Last Friday, I ran into a colleague at the grocery store. As we’ve all been working remotely over the past month or so, this was my first time interacting with a coworker face to face. We briefly exchanged pleasantries and went our separate ways.

It was a reminder of something we often take for granted. But that’s not the only reason I’m sharing this with you.

What struck me was that we immediately recognized each other, even though we were both masked. The eyes gave it away. They always do.

We can’t escape our true nature, even when we’re masked.

The same is true for brands. 

Now more than ever, we need brands, institutions, governments, CEOs, and all of us as marketers to show up for those who can’t. 

Brands can’t hide behind sleek ads and vague platitudes. We can’t hide behind the mask of crisis. 

Because, here’s the thing about crises. They don’t hide us. They reveal us.

A year from now, the leaders of every organization will look back at how they responded to this crisis and one of two things will occur: they will either be proud they showed up and stepped up, or wonder if they could have done more to help.

Take care of yourself. And if you can, please take care of someone else.