The Covid-19 crisis has certainly changed the entire creative and communications industry. Agencies nowadays are not only creating campaigns remotely but are also pitching for new businesses. The travel and commuting time saved in a day has resulted in improved efficiency and productivity. While there has been an impact on storytelling because of the lockdown; our advertising folks have converted the crisis into an opportunity by taking storytelling to the next level.
In an effort to continuously innovate around the Covid-19 coverage on the Media, Marketing and Advertising universe, Medianews4u brings to you creative veterans who share their views on how storytelling has changed and evolved in times of Covid-19.
The Storyteller of Isobar India, Anadi Sah, Executive Creative Director, talks exclusively to MediaNews4U about storytelling in times of Covid-19. He also leads the innovation wing of Isobar – Now Lab, he strongly believes in blending innovation with the use of Art, Science and Technology.
Edited Excerpts.
Tell us about how the business for the agency has been shaping up? Which are some of the recent campaigns/communication credited to Isobar that you would want to highlight?
Businesses are the reflection of the market sentiments. We as agency partners have been supporting our clients to steer their businesses through the turbulent storm, and thankfully the ship has been pretty sturdy until now.
The optimistic mind-set of our client partners has kept us on our toes. The recent campaigns that we worked on are as follows #InsureCare for Max Bupa, #RewindKia for Kai motors, and QuaranTime for Titan. The KIA campaign was listed under the most watch PSA ad leader board released by Google. The latest addition to the list is the Doctor’s day campaign for Max Bupa.
https://www.facebook.com/KiaMotorsIN/videos/243852459991489
While you #StayHome and take care of the people around you; we #InsureCare and assure you of our unwavering support and services – all to be enjoyed from the comfort of your home. #StayHomeStaySafe
Know More: https://t.co/6cHIbQH31Z pic.twitter.com/wiHqZnrcn3— NivaBupa (@Niva_Bupa) April 27, 2020
Talking about how COVID-19 has struck all of us very hard, brands are still being a part of the conversation… What have been your recommendations to clients?
On average, a human interacts with 140 odd objects in a day, and I believe most of them are by an individuals’ choice basis some external influence or stimuli. Also, brands have always had a role to play in that external stimulus. Long back, it was unidirectional, but now it is more conversational, which is why brands will always be a part of conversations. My recommendation to the clients is that as long as you are empathetic, relevant, authentic, and do something meaningful for the consumer, you will always be in the count and conversation of your customers, then that may be in times of COVID or post COVID.
Has storytelling been hampered by content production coming to a standstill? What is Isobar doing to ensure a continuous flow of content for its clients?
Yes, to an extent, as the quantum of content has considerably reduced, we have also found newer ways to narrate stories. The situation has opened opportunities to experiment with the craft that goes into storytelling. Having our in-house production setup helps us a lot in these experimentations and churn out content that involves graphics 2D and 3D animations, stop motion, repurposing old branded assets, and even shooting and directing remotely over minimal equipment or on the phone.
In these times, how are you keeping up the morale of your teams that are working remotely? What are you doing to make sure that the mental health of employees remains stable?
There is a lot that everyone is going through personally and professionally, and we, as leaders, are supporting our teams in every possible manner. This ranges from being empathetic to them, guide and counsel them, and be approachable for them in any need that they may have in the time. It is not just us, but the support has been even extended by our HR, who have organized various virtual health and wellness sessions conducted by medical practitioners and experts for employees.
How has your experience of working from home been?
For me at the start of it, it was nice, but as moved from one month to another, I am starting to miss my workplace. I believe the same applies to others who are finding it extremely difficult to sustain in the environment where the line between work and home seems blurring.
As a Creative veteran what are some of your learnings from this crisis?
The situation of crisis leads us into challenging times that call for novel ideas and solutions. It is time to be more creative and innovate real solutions to real problems. Time of crisis can play to be the best testing ground as an idea or solution that can sustain in crisis can sustain forever.
According to you, how will storytelling shape up post the lockdown? Do you see any ‘new normal’ being adopted post the lockdown?
The beauty of stories and storytelling is that it is always in the evolutionary state. As humans, we get exposed to newer experiences and weave them into stories that are recited and passed over to generations. By the same construct, yes, there will be stories that will be told of these times in formats and mediums that best fit the new normal we progress into.
