All About Coronavirus.....

Miu Miu created a digital model called Aimee for its TMall launch in China in the hope to increase sales. Prada will probably follow suit.



WWD

 

LOL, true! It's like when breakfast tv panels address guests on the phone without greeting or introducing themselves. Basic manners, which have nothing to do with social standing, wealth or how you look.

I'm surprised at how poignant and *gasp* witty Rousteing sounds! always assumed his wit is limited to embellishment, the Kardashians, and Juvederm.

 

Marketing in the Age of Coronavirus: The Dos and (Many) Don’ts

It's a time for humanity, not an onslaught of promotional e-mails.

By Allison Collins and Kali Hays on March 24, 2020

Thinking about using the coronavirus as an angle to push shoppers to buy your beauty products or natural hand sanitizer? What about repositioning apparel as “WFH style” or insisting there’s no better time to invest in luxury pajamas or blasting out images of Chrissy Teigen in self-quarantine, just to make sure everyone knows what brand her robe is and where they can buy it? Maybe just reminding people that they can get all the fashion they want online and delivered while they’re stuck at home?

For the sake of consumers now going through unprecedented global events started by a true pandemic, not to mention the future reputation of the brand you operate or represent, don’t do it. And stop doing it if you’re among the scores of brands already essentially crop-dusting shoppers, editors and the public at large with product promotions, dubious claims and all of the things we can and should be buying online “while social distancing.”

“When people and companies start capitalizing on an opportunity like this, for the at-home shopper, it reeks of opportunism and strikes the wrong tone,” said Ellen Niven, who’s worked for many years in branding communications and cofounded the firm NivenBreen. “People know they can shop online.”

Yes, retailers and brands across the beauty, wellness and fashion space are facing widespread store closures and sales declines that are only expected to worsen, at least in the short term. But marketing experts agree that using the mass attention on COVID-19, or the coronavirus, as a marketing hook is, at best, unseemly. At worst it will actually harm a brand — even one with years of good marketing practices behind it.

“People looking right now for real information, like what do I do if I get sick, not well, since I’m working from home I should buy new pajamas,” Niven added. “Pushing that is dead wrong.”


An item from British Vogue last week on luxury pajamas to wear while working from home amid coronavirus measures. British Vogue during coronavirus

“It is OK for many companies to just be quiet right now and emphasize communication with employees, and individual, directly affected customers rather than mass outreach,” she said.

The sheer number of brands e-mailing, often repeatedly, is also working against every one that’s decided to do so. Inboxes are flooded with a mix of messages. Some are even signed by company chief executive officers and leadership, trying to seem empathetic, typically in bland, unaffecting terms. Some try to do that while mentioning how important it is to keep supporting business at a time like this (i.e. shop and spend money). Ultimately, it’s very likely for naught. Not least given that millions of people are already facing layoffs and an economic recession, at least in the U.S., is almost a certainty at this point.

“It does start to feel not genuine, and like [they’re] taking advantage of the situation,” said Cecilia Gates, ceo of Gates Creative, a creative agency. “It’s a time to step back. Everyone obviously is scared of what this is going to do to the economy, and consumers are holding purse strings tight right now, but we have to ride out these next few weeks and then take stock.”


A p.r. promotion for a robe worn by Chrissy Teigen in a post of herself in quarantine over the coronavirus.

According to Gates, social selling is a better idea than push marketing for the time being, and getting creative on social media is likely the best way for brands to stay engaged with their communities and potentially generate sales.

“I don’t think you can do any push marketing right now,” Gates said. “As people are trying to stay connected, it’s all through social channels. That’s a way brands can still get out there, but in a more genuine way.” Gates added that with budgets suddenly limited by coronavirus shutdowns, social marketing is going to become even more important.

Niven agreed that social media is the best bet for brands and companies to stay in touch with consumers and fans. Still, she does not recommend the blatant calls to shop and buy that have been rife over the last week or so. The same week companies and political leaders the world over told employees — those that could anyway — to work from home. Companies and people in service industries meanwhile, are taking stock of how likely their business is to survive at all.

“Social media is a place where people and designers can be more personal,” Niven said. “A meaningful, personal message can lift spirits, for example Pierpaolo Piccioli standing strong for Italy. Personal connections are better at these times than corporate speak, which almost always reads as commercial.”

Piccioli, the Italian creative director of Valentino, posted to Instagram a week ago an image of himself at home in Nettuno, Italy, surrounded by his sketch materials. His personal caption reads: “Home. This country has overcome the toughest moments with pride, creativity and optimism. And so it will, once again. There is a time for moving and a time for staying still. Even at home our imagination can lead us anywhere. Such a serious situation will not stop us from dreaming. Our will is strong, our duty is to resist and we will keep on dreaming, harder than ever and we will rise stronger than ever.”

He did not mention fashion, Valentino, or even the coronavirus by name, nor did he say what anyone should be doing during a time that no one knows quite how to deal with. It’s been liked many thousands of more times than his typical posts, which tend to be focused on Valentino designs and related events.

“Marketing is about understanding the consumer mind-set,” Gates added, noting that when people are anxious it doesn’t give them confidence to purchase.

Vic Drabicky, founder and ceo of digital branding agency January Digital, admitted that the coronavirus puts brands and companies in a difficult spot. They do need to keep in touch with consumers, to a degree. Unfortunately, there is “absolutely no one right way, but there are hundreds of wrong ways” to do it.

One good rule of thumb: “Always err on the side of humanity.”

“Far too often, we think our businesses are far more important than they actually are,” Drabicky said. “While our respective businesses do play an important role in some of our lives, they typically aren’t that important to greater humanity. If your first thought is about the broader picture, that sentiment will trickle down and ensure your brand is acting appropriately.”

Still, people deal with stress and anxiety in different ways. Retail therapy is as real as comfort eating. There are people, right now, buying non-essentials online, maybe even paying $450 for pajamas, as suggested by British Vogue this week.

“For some, splurging on a non-essential purchase provides a much-needed break from the stress and anxiety they feel,” Drabicky said. “So while non-essential purchases might not be the most important thing, they still play a role in many people’s lives.”

“[It’s not] a bad thing for brands to send tips and tricks for how to use their products,” Gates said, “or ‘if you’re stuck at home, use a hair mask.’ But it’d be great if they’d be like, ‘here’s how you make your own hair mask ‘… so it’s not just like, ‘buy this product.'”

But make no mistake, a coronavirus-themed anything is not the way to go. “If you are running a ‘Coronavirus Sale,'” Drabicky said, “you are doing it wrong.”

Even the growing numbers of brands sending out e-mails for ways to “pass the time,” with their brand or not, walk a fine line between helpful and profiteering.

An example of the former is Great Jones, an online-only shop of branded cookery. The brand last week posted to Instagram that it was extending the hours of a program it started last year: a text hotline, “Potline,” for recipes and cooking advice. Again, the company did not mention the coronavirus, push its product or offer a discount code. And again, the post received thousands of likes compared to the more typical few hundred its posts get.

On the other end seems to be WelleCo, the beauty supplement company cofounded by model Elle Macpherson. For the last week — as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases soars in the West — the company has done nothing but promote on social and in e-mails its Super Elixir, leading with the product’s purported “immune support” and “complex benefits.” A 300 g sachet of which costs $80. In an e-mail sent as “A note from Elle,” Macpherson is quoted saying: “In a time like this, we begin to appreciate more than ever the importance of our health and well-being… As a trusted friend and formulator of WelleCo’s Super Elixir Greens, Dr. Simone Laubscher helped create our Super Booster Immune System Support with Kakadu Plum to help boost our system to stimulate a healthy immune response.” The note goes on to promote and explain the purported benefits of both products, in the context of warding off illness but without mentioning the coronavirus by name.

There are scores of brands doing things similar to WelleCo and all are running the risk of turning off consumers, possibly for good.

“Typically, people aren’t upset with brands pitching products in general,” Drabicky said. “But the second a brand crosses the invisible barrier by marketing themselves to trying to take advantage of a situation, it’s very hard to turn back.”

Consumers can have a long memory, too.

“We tend to remember the strongest link between two things and to forget details,” said Erik Gordon, professor of marketing and business at the University of Michigan. “If a brand links itself to the pandemic, that link may lead to an unconscious aversion to the brand, even if the details of the link are that the brand claimed it was doing something positive.”

Beauty and wellness brands have been all over the map in terms of their marketing strategies in the past week alone. There was LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s decision to scrap luxury perfume production and make hand sanitizer — seen as a good call all around and one subsequently followed by L’Oréal and Coty. But there was also Los Angeles-based The Crème Shop, which promoted free N95 Face Masks with purchase of a sheet mask. The company later said it would also donate masks to hospitals.

Also on the questionable end, a brand called Save(urpretty)face pitched editors a cell phone filter with “antimicrobial silver ions that keep your iPhone screen germ-free.” And skin-care brand Recess sent out a public relations pitch patting itself on the back for not price gouging Bacteria Fighting Face Wipes, which contain benzalkonium chloride — something the brand claims can kill the flu virus, which experts contend may not be as effective as alcohol. The Centers for Disease Control recommends hand washing and hand sanitizing products contain at least 60 percent alcohol to be effective.

The Recess brand pitch read: “While the big companies are price gouging, we want you to have what you need to take care of yourself and your family so we are cutting the price of our Bacteria Fighting Wipes for the duration of this public health issue (while supplies last).” The price on the face wipes was lowered from $26 to $20.

Gordon noted that certain claims could be dangerous and illegal, especially if they claim to stop the spread of viruses without evidence. Some companies have already been officially warned for making such claims.

The Federal Trade Commission and Food & Drug Administration on March 9 issued warning letters to seven companies that were allegedly selling products that made deceptive or unfounded claims about treating COVID-19: Vital Silver; Quinessence Aromatherapy Ltd.; N-ergetics; GuruNanda LLCl; Vivify Holistic Clinical; Herbal Amy LLC, and The Jim Bakker Show.

If a purely human approach doesn’t seem right for a brand, what kind of marketing can work in a situation that’s new for everyone and could go on for several weeks if not months?

Some fashion brands and designers are already shifting production to medical face masks and soon hospital gowns, while other companies like Alibaba, Apple, Nike, The Estée Lauder Cos., Facebook and many Italian fashion brands are donating millions of dollars and masks and other medical supplies needed by hospital workers facing a critical shortage. While these efforts are not being pitched explicitly as marketing, doing something with a humanitarian bent certainly can create a positive halo effect for a brand. Facebook, having dealt with little but bad press for more than two years over its mishandling of user data, has even created a grant program for small businesses forced to close over coronavirus measures and the company said more efforts are in the works. For better or worse, companies are presented with an opportunity to generate a positive message and feeling around their business, if the moves strike consumers as genuine and not generated by self-interest.

Gates said that asking consumers directly what they want to see from a brand is fair game. It’s a tactic that has so far been taken up by Rebecca Minkoff and Curie, the indie natural deodorant brand. On Monday, Minkoff made an Instagram post asking followers to let her know the best way for “the brand” to communicate. At Curie, the brand scrapped its social media calendar and asked customers what they wanted to see on social media. “They want some entertainment and distraction. There’s enough corona content,” said founder Sarah Moret.

Some p.r. firms took a similar approach, including NisonCo, and Juliette Levy PR, which both sent notes to editors acknowledging the widespread shift in circumstances and soliciting feedback on how editors would prefer to work for the time being.

That type of empathetic approach is something Gates recommends.

Successful brands will “take into account what the mind-set is and what everyone’s feeling,” Gates said. “The brands that act like nothing has happened and continue to move forward — people won’t connect with that brand.”

Drabicky suggested brands can keep messaging around what they are doing, specifically, to help customers and their employees. Like extended return windows, increased online customer service (aiding both workers and consumers) and possibly even a promotion where a decent percentage of purchases go directly to furloughed store workers.

“Something that shows you truly care about something greater than just your business — that resonates with consumers,” Drabicky said.

For Niven, who’s advising a number of brands right now, she said there can also be “an emphasis on looking forward” for brands in their messaging and outreach. That does not mean discount codes for mid-May, when social distancing mandates may be lifted, or other “end of coronavirus”-themed pushes. Rather, simple positive messages around events or happenings that are being rescheduled.

“The phrase we’re using a lot is ‘prudent but positive,’ Niven said. “People want to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

WWD

 

It's hard to think about shopping, and I'm assuming you mean shopping for fashion Sophia, because to do that you have to be able to imagine when you'd be able to wear whatever you're getting. And with some saying this will pass in a month, others in 4 months or longer, it just doesn't make sense to me right now. Will wait until we get the all-clear.

Yikes, just 4 days ago she did this interview for Fashionweekdaily. I have a soft spot for Alexina, wisshing her the best and a speedy recovery! :

TALKING TO HER BROCCOLI AND HELPING OTHERS: HOW VS ANGEL ALEXINA GRAHAM IS COPING WITH CORONAVIRUS

written by Charles Manning March 26, 2020

As part of our ongoing series, the Cabin Fever Diaries, today we are checking in with one of our favorite Victoria’s Secret Angels, the red-haired Models 1 beauty, Alexina Graham, to see how she’s coping with the coronavirus crisis.

So, Alexina, where are you isolating?
Right now, I am with my sister in my hometown [Worksop, United Kingdon]. I live in NYC, but I didn’t want to be on lockdown alone there, so I decided to come here and spend this time with my immediate family. Also, my sister is prepared and stocked her fridge. I was not prepared at all.

Are you living in your pajamas these days, like the rest of us?
I am currently sitting in the garden in my pajamas with my dressing gown on and my big Christmas socks. Bahahaha!

How’s your health these days? Any symptoms?
No symptoms.

That’s good, at least!
I was actually on a work trip in Cape Town before this all went down. The client ended up cancelling the job and it was really hard for me to get back. Thankfully, I took my sister with me, so I had company.
We eventually got on a plane and we were about to take off when we were suddenly stopped and all these cars and ambulances came zooming towards us. A woman exhibiting symptoms managed to get on the flight even though the airport staff had been told not to let her board. She was removed from the flight and tested
and thank god it turned out she just had the flu.
But then, our plane engine decide to break, so we were stuck there for another 24 hours.

What is your isolation theme song?
At the moment, I’m obsessed with Leyla Blue and her song “What a Shame.” It’s sooooooo good!

What do you miss most about life before isolation?
I miss seeing people — just human interaction, with friends, strangers. I usually see my best friend, Nika, every day, so that’s strange, but we have been texting every day and we FaceTimed.

What are you doing to decompress?
Working out, making Tik Toks, socializing with friends over IG and the House Party app and spending as much time in the garden as possible.

You mentioned working out. What are you doing to stay active?
I have been using the Nike training app and doing 45 minutes. I always thought I needed to be pushed by a trainer to actually work out, but so far, with the app, I have managed to keep to my usual schedule of four workouts per week.

How have you been sleeping?
Well. What’s strange is that I wake up every morning at 5am to the sound of the birds chirping. In NYC, I have got so use to sleeping through the sound of traffic outside my window, but here in the country the birds have started waking me up. I guess as it’s just because it’s a new noise.

How’s your hygiene?
It hasn’t changed. I always bathe twice a day, although I have been taking longer bubble baths at night.

What song do you sing to make sure you are washing your hands for at least 20 seconds?
It sounds crazy, but I actually became friends with Gloria Gaynor over Instagram about a year and a half ago, so, of course, I’m supporting her by singing “I will Survive.”

Are you doing anything to help others right now?
When my sister and I flew back from Cape Town, I got to talking with a lovely old lady named June who was on our flight. She was around 70 and she was getting the public bus for a 2-hour trip home after we landed. Knowing the virus was around and her age, I booked her a car home and paid for it. I am fortunate enough to be in a position where I can afford to do that.

What do you wish you had an unending supply of in isolation?
Strawberries. I’m obsessed. I eat the in a morning with Greek yogurt and muesli, in smoothies, on desserts.

What did you probably buy too much of?
For some reason, chicken. Our mum stocked the fridge with a whole cooked chicken, chicken breasts, chicken in foil to cook in the oven, and ready-packed chicken slices for sandwiches.

What are the last three things you Googled?
Worksop weather (to see if it’s a outside garden day)
Coronavirus on BBC news
New series on Netflix

So what are you watching on Netflix these days?
I am following 5 series: Homeland, The Good Doctor, Ozark, The Resident, and The Walking Dead.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve found yourself doing since distancing/isolating?
Last night, my sister walked in on me talking to the broccoli I was washing for dinner.

How is the food situation in Worksop?
I’ve actually been eating a lot more greens. I’m really bad about that when I’m home in NYC. I always get take out. But here, there isn’t really that option, so you have to cook. I also got my favorite chocolate cake from the supermarket and I am making my way through that.

What are you most anxious about?
Paying my bills. Rent is a worry. I keep wondering when It will be over and work can start again.

Do you think this experience has changed you or your outlook at all?
It’s definitely made me slow down and stop sweating the small things in life, and to stop being on social media so much and actually watch the world. It’s also made me appreciate simple things like going for a walk, or going to the shop, or picking up coffee. Just socializing, in general. It’s also reminded me not to take my health for granted.

What has been the most surprising thing about this whole experience for you?
The community spirit and the ways people support each other from afar. People here have started drawing rainbows on paper and putting them up in their windows to spread happiness. It reminds you what’s important in life and that it’s not material things or anything you can buy.

What song would you like to sing to your neighbors from a balcony Italian style?
It would have to be “Come on Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners. A very British song!

 

Shameful!!

Lady Gaga’s dad slammed for asking for donations to pay restaurant staff
By Jessica Bennett

March 28, 2020 | 2:01pm


Joe Germanotta and daughter, recording artist Lady GagaGetty Images

Times are tough for many due to the spread of coronavirus, including the father of pop superstar Lady Gaga and owner of several New York eateries.

The restauranteur, 64, recently created a GoFundMe account asking the public to donate $50,000 to cover his staff’s wages at Upper West Side spot Joanne Trattoria, and was immediately met with criticism from the masses. Restaurants across the world have been ordered to close their doors in an effort to encourage self-isolation and curb the spread of COVID-19.

“I’m doing the best I can but we had to close Joanne for the month. Our staff needs some help financial. Any help for our employees will be appreciated,” Germanotta wrote in a since-deleted tweet, according to Newsweek.

Before being removed, the GoFundMe page read, “As our doors remain closed longer than anticipated, our staff is finding it increasingly difficult to finance the daily necessities to keep them healthy, like groceries and insurance costs — to say nothing of rent, utilities, and other recurring bills.

“Our goal of $50,000 would cover our typical payroll for approximately 2 weeks, and 100% of the profits would go to our hourly workers to provide those necessary items like food, childcare, and medical expenses.”

While a nice gesture, critics immediately noted that his Oscar-winning offspring should be the one he turns to for help. The singer earned $39.5 million in 2019, according to Forbes.

“Lady Gaga is worth hundred of millions of dollars AND is part owner in her family’s restaurant. Yet her also wealthy father has just taken to Twitter to ask the public to help financially the workers they have stopped paying. What the f–k????” wrote Perez Hilton.

Reporter Laura Lyne added, “You’re asking people that are more than likely worse off than you to pay for your staff. Come on, you can afford to pay them.”

The MTA recently sought to evict Grand Central’s ArtBird and Whiskey Bar — also owned by Germanotta — after giving him two weeks from Feb. 27 to pay $260,000 in rent and fees.

Page Six

 

I know Page Six can be unreliable sometimes, but they've got a backlink for every claim they're making in that article, with the main one implicating her father leading to Newsweek.

I think it's disgusting, especially considering he's got access and ways to come up with the money other than running a GFM campaign.

 

"The pop star's father told Fox News the tweet did come from his account but he stressed he never authorized it. I don't write my own tweets for the restaurant," Germanotta told Fox News. "Everything has been deactivated. There was a small amount of money that was donated. If the crowdsourcing page is able to return the money then that will happen. If they cannot, then I will double the money and pay it out to the staff."