This document discusses how brands need to shift from selling to serving during the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that brands are now in the business of public service and should provide safety, protection, health, shelter, sustenance, and education rather than focus on marketing and sales. The document provides suggestions for how brands can audit themselves to identify relevant competencies and how they can serve frontline healthcare workers, employees, vulnerable groups, and customers by directly or indirectly providing aid and information.

1. Brand as Public Service
Ed Cotton-March 25- 2020

2. Original LinkedIn Post-March 24
• Every brand is now in the business of public service. If they are going
to act responsibly and don't want their interruptions to be ignored and
dismissed and ultimately damaging to their brand. All messaging
needs to change. I don't want to buy a toothbrush from you, I want to
learn how to look after my teeth when there are no dentists available,
I don't want to buy a car, I want to know how to keep my car running,
I don't want to buy a CD from my bank, I want to know how to do
everything I can to save money, I don't want to know your grocery
chain has a great new brand purpose, I want to know if you are open
and how I now need to shop... repeat the above across hundreds of
categories and you have plenty of work for marketers and agencies
to be doing right now.

3. The Switch
• From Selling to Serving

4. What Service Means
• Providing
• Safety and Protection
• Health
• Shelter
• Sustenance
• Education/Information

5. Audit Your Brand
• What are your relevant competencies?
• Do you indirectly or directly provide?
• Safety and Protection
• Shelter
• Sustenance

6. Audiences
• PRIORITY- THE FRONTLINE- Healthcare workers
• Employees
• The Vulnerable
• Customers and Prospects

7. The Frontline- Healthcare Workers
• Can you directly provide?
• Safety and Protection/Health/Mental Health
• Shelter
• Sustenance
• Transportation
• If not- donate to or partner with someone who can

8. Examples
• Hand Sanitizer
• Shoes
• Masks
• Hotels

9. Employees
• Are you constantly making sure they are
• Healthy
• Safe
• Clearly know what they are working on
• Know their job is secure

10. Employees
• “How companies respond to that very question is going to
define their brand for decades. If you rushed in and somebody
got sick, you were that company. If you didn’t take care of your
employees or stakeholders and put them first, you were that
company,”
• Mark Cuban

11. The Vulnerable
• Those in the poverty line/homeless
• Can you directly provide?
• Safety and Protection/Health/Mental Health
• Shelter
• Sustenance
• Transportation
• If not- donate to or partner with someone who

12. Customers and Prospects
• How can you serve them, not sell them?
• Can you easily re-configure your products and services to be
relevant and more accessible?
• Think about how your products and services can directly help
them right now?
• Does it make sense for your brand to provide them with
information that can help their health and livelihoods?
• Is this a brand fit?
• Can you engage them in and inform them of your efforts to help
the other audiences?

13. Examples
• Quickbooks Small Business Fund

14. Thank You