Our health is more important than ever before! Exercise strengthens your heart and lungs, keeps your immune
system healthy, and keeps your mind from falling into depression. At Gladiator Camp, we are committed to staying
active by providing healthy alternatives to serve you in an unprecedented era
like this (COVID-19), lets stay active.
With our new digital series trainers will have the capability
to guide you through your 60-minute workout. You can catch us on Facebook live,
or with your individual trainer live on Zoom. Reach out to your trainer for a
link to either Virtual site or go to the Camp Gladiator site print out your
home series exercise plan. Right now,
our country is under pressure to stay safe, we have a workout created for Tension
Under Pressure! Let’s continue to be healthy with CG community.
A fitness program designed to have class outside, Camp
Gladiator has a new program called: ‘Hustle from Home”. So instead of grabbing
your mate, weights are water heading to the community park, go to you garage,
backyard patio or inside your home. With the Hustle from Home series we are
better together.
Clutter. We all have it. Maybe it is just a drawer, closet, extra room or office. Sometimes, an entire house. Over the past 50 years, the average size of American homes have tripled (Adler, 2006) and have at least 300,000 things “from paper clips to ironing boards” in them (MacVean, 2020). It gets worse. Twenty-five percent of families with a two-car garage can’t even park their cars inside of them (Becker, n.d.).
I am not a minimalist, but have to admit that I am a simplest. I like things, but not a lot of things. However, I have two children and that makes a huge impact on how much stuff we have in our house. I can’t tell you how many times I have been cleaning up after my two boys have gone to bed and I wonder out loud, “What is this stuff? And, where did it come from?” At one point I cleared away at least of the toys they had accumulated over the years and no one even knew it was gone. Of course, I have that same thought when I walk into our garage too!
Decluttering your space has a myriad of benefits for healthy living. If dishes in the kitchen are clean and stored properly, people are more likely to eat in and cook healthy meals (Crane, 2016). Getting rid of clutter is also good for you because a lot of times it gets rid of dust and toxins that have been laying around for a long time and improve allergy symptoms (Crane, 2016). Additionally, people may experience an increase in mental health as they are forced to get rid of things that carry a lot of emotional baggage (Crane, 2016).
What is the best way to get started in creating a clutter-free life? Marie Kondo, the well-known tidying expert and founder of the The KonMari Method™ encourages people to discard items that no longer spark joy (Konmarie.com, n.d.). Her rules of decluttering encourages people to make a commitment to tidying up, envisioning an ideal lifestyle, focusing on getting rid of what no longer serves you, following a certain order of tidying by category, and focusing on object that sparks joy for you (Konmarie.com, n.d.). I have her books and after a few months of really focusing on intentional decluttering have a much more harmonious house! It’s definitely not perfect, but it’s a good start!
Image from “How to Develop a Content Strategy: A Start-to-Finish Guide” Hootsuite blog article
Anyone who has been a part of managing social media channels understands how challenging it can be to flush out a well-thought out and strategic content calendar that effectively engages audiences. After all, most brands try to post quality content every single day, if not multiple times a day depending on the platform, which just adds to the volume of content competing for attention.
This process is made much easier and more valuable to your brand/organization by creating a content strategy as part of your social media strategy (check out these blogs from Sprout Social and Hubspot to help get you started). A key part of this content strategy is leveraging both created content and curated content. Created content is produced by the teams managing your brand’s accounts and platforms, whereas curated content is gathered from trusted sources that are relevant to your industry (Social Content Curation vs. Creation, n.d.). Curated content can come from both inside the organization, like other departments and employees, and outside the organization, like fans and influencers. One very important thing to remember is that “consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view user-generated content as authentic compared to content created by brands” (Newberry, 2019, para. 5). Additionally, it’s easier than creating your own (Clarke, 2018)!
With all of the Disney Parks across the world currently shut down, the brand’s social channels have leveraged a great mix of created and curated content, including the use of user-generated content. What’s more, the professionals behind these channels have found a way to cleverly integrate this content into an integrated campaign that brings comfort, joy, and a bit of magic into the lives of Disney fans during this challenging time. Let’s take a look.
Here is an example of a video curated from an Animal Kingdom Cast Member named Katelyn, who works at Kilimanjaro Safaris. This video has received 409,331 views to date on the Walt Disney World Instagram channel alone. Please note the use of both the #DisneyCastLife and #DisneyMagicMoments hashtags.
Walt Disney World’s Instagram account also posted a created video about continuing to fly the flag over the Magic Kingdom, also utilizing the #DisneyCastLife and #DisneyMagicMoments hashtags. This video has received 480,945 views to date.
The Disney Parks Blog Instagram account posted a video that creatively combined both curated and created content. They took home videos from fans (external) and put them together in a fun way with Walt Disney World Ambassadors, also utilizing the #DisneyMagicMoments, resulting in 23,785 views within the first 5 hours.
Lastly, the following Disneyland Instagram account video is a form of both internal curated content and created content. It brings the voices of the Dapper Dans into the homes of fans and includes the hashtags #DisnetCastLife and #VoicesFromHome. This video has received 332,422 views to date on this account alone.
While Instagram was the only platform covered here, posts leveraging both created and curated content have been appearing across all of Disney’s platforms and accounts. As you will likely note, these videos are linked through several hashtags, including #DisneyMagicMoments and #DisneyCastLife. Additionally, the tone of all these posts are fun, uplifting, and share that Disney spark with the brand’s audiences.
Other brands/organizations can learn from Disney’s use of created and curated content, both from both a creative and strategic standpoint. Ultimately, leveraging both kinds of content within your content strategy will unlock new possibilities, save some time, and help better connect and engage with audiences.
References
Aboulhosn, S. (2019, September 27). How to craft an effective social media content strategy. Sprout Blog. Retrieved from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-content-strategy/
Clarke, T. (2018, October 24). The complete guide to content curation: Tools, tips, ideas. Hootsuite Blog. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/beginners-guide-to-content-curation/
McGill, J. (2019, December 6). How to develop a content strategy: A start-to-finish guide. Hubspot. Retrieved from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-marketing-plan
Newberry, C. (2019, March 12). A marketer’s guide to using user-generated content on social media. Hootsuite Blog. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/user-generated-content-ugc/
What is Social Content Curation vs. Creation? (n.d.). Hootsuite Academy. Retrieved from https://education.hootsuite.com/pages/content-curation-vs-creation
Disney is temporarily closed due to Covid 19. This pandemic has really changed the world with the social distancing policy being put into effect to reduce its spread. Disneyland has yet to inform people about when they will reopen, but they have to get a loan for $6 billion to really save their employees’ jobs and the company. Everyone is affected by it. Also, Disney has closed all 6 parks around the world. This event is terrifying on a social and economic scale.
Disneyland has taken a stand by donating 100,000 cases of masks for the hospital. It seems to me that most major companies are taking a stand and donating to help combat this situation.
Even though they are losing money, they are still providing great assistance for everyone who has been affected and plans to travel. Disney has been really helpful to their customers. Annual pass holders free periods are being extended, so they won’t lose out on their passes value.
Disney is really helping out and is donating food and any supplies that can help. My sister, who works in Disneyland, also donated a box of food. This advertising emphasizes kindness and expresses a desire for global peace. Disneyland is losing money, but that is not the focus; they are focusing on ensuring everyone’s safety and uniting in our time of need. We are all going to come out of this, and this is a great way to show that the company is taking action when it really matters.
The world of advertising strongly relies on events, sports, movies and television to stay alive. Ads are sold in all verticals to assure brands that their product will be seen by millions of people. Large sporting events like the Olympics or World Cup bring in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of advertising to the television networks airing the program. These ads are sold over a year in advance in preparation for the biggest event of the year. With the 2020 Olympics around the corner, companies started purchasing their ad space with NBC well over a year ago. NBC, the exclusive broadcaster for the Olympics, sold over $1.25 billion in ads for the summer Olympics. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and stay at home measures in place, this worldwide event had to be cancelled, so what happens to all that money?
The television and cinema industries are greatly suffering from measures taken by the government during this time. People cannot leave their homes, travel, or go to work – therefore, sports, filming and all events are on pause. This poses a major threat to the advertising industry as they cannot sell ads, existing or new, since there is no viewership. Movie theaters are closed and television show releases and sporting events are cancelled. Do salespeople cancel deals, give money back, pause or postpone? Can companies on either end of this equation afford any of these “solutions?”
These industries are trying to keep themselves afloat by moving around the already booked dollars and pushing the inventory to air later in the year. As someone who works in the theater ad space, I know how challenging this can be. Companies are working with their clients to pause and shift dollars rather than cancelling their deals all together.
Will this pandemic lead to the long awaited rise in digital marketing? Since people cannot leave their houses and don’t have much live television or movies to watch, what are they doing? They are online. The digital world has been growing and evolving for years and everyone is involved with it in some way. Yet the world of digital advertising is still far behind broadcast and out of home. Based on research I have done at work, digital advertising is always third in line to broadcast and out of home for almost all companies. It seems as though being the new kid on the block, digital is still working its way up the advertising ladder. Why are people so hesitant to pay money to advertise on a platform that the entire world is accessing regardless of where they live?
Although this is a difficult time in all our lives, advertising sales executives have a great opportunity to prove the worth of their digital products. This is the perfect time for them to sell digital advertising and reallocate client dollars into digital and mobile platforms because it is not being affected by closures and social distancing. Since TV shows, sporting events and movies are being delayed it seems online is all that is left – can these companies leverage the growth of digital and keep their advertising and ad spend alive?
Although not currently in the spotlight the neverending debate of violence, video games, and gun control often stirs after the tragic events of mass shootings. The inhumane acts of violence and hatred have made video games become a common target. It has prompted retail companies and video game companies alike to become socially aware of the potential influence video games may have.
After the unfortunate tragedies of the Dayton and El Paso shooting, Walmart employees were asked to remove and material that referenced violence, especially shooting games (Orland, 2019). Although there is insufficient data to prove that video games can influence violent behaviors politicians are quick to blame video games. Criminologist Nickie Phillip argues, “most criminologists are dismissive of a causal link between media and crime,” instead they believe it is a complex process such as a social construct that influences violent behaviors (Romano, 2019).
However, if you have ever played a game online before you would know the toxicity of online gaming behaviors. Virtual lobbies are be filled with hatred, racism, and misogynist language where online-bullying thrives. A recent article from Vice revealed that years ago, video game marketing actually used the ability to trash-talk as an enticing new feature in gaming. In 2002, Xbox released an ad asking if ruining someone’s day made you dance for joy. (Morrissette, 2020).
AN EARLY XBOX LIVE AD, FROM GAMEPRO ISSUE 171, DECEMBER 2002 / RETROMAGS.COM
Today, companies such as Xbox and Sony have refrained from using these unethical marketing tactics to stop promoting aggressive behavior online. Additionally, companies are now trying to make adjustments to combat such behaviors online by using artificial intelligence software (The New York Times, 2019).
A LATER XBOX LIVE AD FROM GAMEPRO ISSUE 220, JANUARY 2007 / RETROMAGS.COM
The question is can companies make adjustments to be more socially conscious of violent imagery in mainstream media outlets. It is evident companies have made changes over the years to become more socially conscious in marketing. Is there a gray-area where violent video game marketing can operate?
The New York Times. (2019). Confronting Toxicity in Gaming: Going Beyond “Mute”. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/learning/confronting-toxicity-in-gaming-going-beyond-mute.html
Orland, K. (2019). Walmart, ESPN pull violent game marketing following shootings. Retrieved from https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/08/walmart-espn-pull-violent-game-marketing-following-shootings/
Romano, A. (2019). The frustrating, enduring debate over video games, violence, and guns. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2019/8/26/20754659/video-games-and-violence-debate-moral-panic-history
The new coronavirus has more than 90% of Americans under stay-at-home orders – some working from home and others out of work until the virus has run its course. This has left consumers both wary about spending money on non-essential items but also needing resources for managing life in quarantine. Many businesses are responding with freebies as a public service and as way to stay connected and stay top of mind for consumers when they are ready to make a purchase.
Fitness
Boutique gym Orange Theory Fitness, for example, is posting free workouts on its website and YouTube channel. Orange Theory has even created an “Orange Theory at Home” microsite to feature these workouts.
More familiar to us, Peloton, has extended the free trial for its fitness app to 90 days because of the coronavirus. Its digital content is both live and on demand. The fitness brand has also introduced Peloton Family through the app – kid-friendly workouts that families can do together.
K-12 Education
With schools across the country closed indefinitely, businesses focused on educational products have also stepped forward with free resources. For example, Scholastic children’s book publisher has created Scholastic Learn at Home daily online reading and activity plans for students in preschool through middle school.
Zoom is offering free remote video conferencing services to all K-12 schools without its usual 40 minute limit, to assist with online learning.
Even individual authors are finding new ways to engage with their audiences. Children’s book author/illustrator Mo Willems, in partnership with the Kennedy Center, is hosting daily “lunch doodles,” teaching children how to draw quirky characters and giving them tours of his studio.
Personal Enrichment & Entertainment
In the realm of personal enrichment, Nikon is offering its online photography classes for free the entire month of April.
On a much lighter note, Bud Light is hosting the Bud Light Dive Bar Tour: Home Edition, featuring live online concerts on Facebook and Instagram with artists like Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley and Fletcher.
So many brands are also pivoting to help make much needed health supplies, like distilleries making hand sanitizer, clothing manufacturers making masks, and others making ventilators.
The main takeaway is that in this time of uncertainty about personal health and the economy, companies are finding they have to take a different approach that is more about meeting consumer needs and less about getting people to buy things. When consumers are ready to shop again, these brands will be banking on the good will and name recognition they’ve earned by their good deeds.
As many of us may know, the COVID – 19 has taken the world to the next level. Many countries have mandated that their citizens stay in doors until further notice, unless they need to go out for essential. The United States is one of those countries. With all this in mind, essential stores still remain open such as grocery stores, some restaurants (take out only), and some retail stores.
All in all, many gyms, if not, all gyms are closed until further notice. Jamie Ducharme, an illustrator for Time, describes an interview she had with Dr. Paul, a medical director of the division of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Paul Sax (2020) states, ” The gym is not a place that’s necessarily riskier than other communal areas. I wouldn’t say there’s anything particular about people sweating that makes them more contagious.” This is not to say take the risk of catching COVID – 19 at the gym because many people will still not go to the gym, even if they were still open.
So what to do in the mean time? Many people have taken to video work outs and finding a way they can work out home in order to still get some type of work out while under quarantine.
Gabby Landsverk, writer for Business Insider, shows a majority of fitness leaders are moving towards the virtual workout and personal training videos, which can be streamed (Landsverk, 2020). Furthermore, many fitness trainers and the leaders of the fitness world are not looking to make a quick buck in these times. For example, Landsverk (2020), explains, “personal trainers, including Instagram fitness influencers, have begun offering their online programming for free or at a reduce cost during quarantine.”
Janine Puhak, publisher for Fox News, shows how one gym organization is providing free videos for members and non members. Puhak (2020) goes on to say, ” Planet Fitness is offering free workouts on Facebook Live to get moving and beat stress during the ongoing outbreak. No equipment is needed and workout classes will be 20 minutes or less.”
Sophie Tanno, a writer for Daily Mail, depicts how Italy has taken advantage of the quarantine that they are under as well. Tanno (2020) explains, ” They followed fitness instructor Gonzalo who stood on a roof in a courtyard as workout music blared out around them, performing exercises including squats, jumping jacks, and reverse lunges.”
Like many of you, I am also stuck at home yet I have been forced to use these videos to get a sweat in. To my surprise, they are harder than what I thought, especially if you just solely lift weights with no cardio. I recommend using these videos if you want to stay in some type of shape while we are under quarantine. If they seem to easy, then add on a weight jacket, tactical vest, or resistant bands, in order to increase your body weight and some type of tension. Trust me it sounds harder than what it sounds.
In addition High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) work outs and other body work outs, remind me of my basic training in MCRD San Diego for the Marine Corps, just without the Drill Instructors in your face and the intensity they want you to do it at.
Overall, we can stay in some type of shape, even in doors. We have to make the best of the situation we are all in. Please do not leave your home unless you really have to. Stay safe Trojans!
COVID-19 is all that anyone (including this blog) can talk about, and for good reason. It is completely changing the world as we know it and is creating a new normal. As we all try to figure out what this means for our futures, advertisers had to quickly adapt to the changing times.
This became emblematic as brands like KFC had to rush to pull their “Finger Lickin'” campaign from the airwaves. During a time when health experts are emphasizing clean hands and avoiding touching our faces – an ad that is all about putting fingers in our mouth in public was certainly not reading the room.
KFC’s “Finger Lickin'” Campaign
Meanwhile, companies like Coors swiftly took steps to adjust to coronavirus. They pulled their out of touch March Madness ads as the event got canceled. Despite this initial success, they then made a mistake by making themselves the “Official Beer of Working Remotely,” which was criticized for making light of the serious situation and those who are isolating to help society survive. They promptly put a stop to the new message after said criticism.
Coors’ “Official Beer of Working Remotely” Campaign
It is understandable that marketers would want to put their best foot forward during this time. As more people are isolated at home, they are watching television in record numbers. Television viewership is up 18% from the same week last year and up 43% among teen demographics. And people are streaming more than twice the amount of content that they streamed during the same time last year. Having access to that amount of eyes is a dream for advertisers who haven’t seen these sorts of numbers in years. But they need to be very careful about what they are putting out.
Amazon continues to promote its swift delivery times, but people around the country are struggling to get anything delivered and two-day delivery windows are turning into two-week delivery delays. As the brand deals with worker strikes and additional pandemic constraints, signs point to deliveries being delayed even longer. They should probably rethink the promises they are making to consumers in advertising, especially when they are consistently unable to fulfill those promises.
Customers are growing frustrated with Amazon not coming through on delivery promises
In these uncertain times, the best thing that brands can do is to switch their focus to social responsibility. The world, and America in particular, is facing unprecedented shortages of necessary supplies. And record numbers of people are unemployed. Some companies are already taking action to help in any way they can. Guinness has pledged to help out-of-work bartenders. And Bacardi has diverted production at eight distilleries and is instead going to be producing hand sanitizer.
Bacardi to Help Produce Hand Sanitizer
The steps these two brands are taking work for them because they are genuinely taking steps to help and they are taking steps that make sense for their brand identities. More companies need to follow their lead and take authentic steps to be socially responsible and help a world in crisis. Brands who take the steps to help alleviate these issues will be remembered much more fondly than those that focus on self-serving revenue gains. In a world that is talking about nothing else, the role that brands take in the coming months could make or break their outlook for the future.
The failure to prevent, contain, and mitigate COVID-19 could wreak more havoc on the global economy than the 2008 financial crisis and so-called Great Recession, Foreign Policy magazine projects. As Rahm Emmanuel, former White House chief of staff under President Barack Obama, famously said,
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that: It’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
The United States economy is likely only in the early innings of what promises to be several highly disruptive quarters, but businesses are already using the crisis as an opportunity to make far-reaching strategy changes. You won’t hear executives admit it, but not all business changes being floated are wholly attributable to the spread of coronavirus.
The coronavirus crisis hit the travel industry early and hard, so it’s no surprise we’re seeing many changes in that category. Still, the airline business is difficult under normal circumstances: The Brattle Group finds that “the good times aren’t good enough,” while “the bad times are terrible.” Perhaps this is why Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic, once said,
“If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.”
It’s no surprise that an industry well acquainted with harsh business cycles is rushing to cut customer creature comforts like food and beverage service. However, industry executives are also considering structural route changes that could leave smaller regional airports with only one carrier—an effective monopoly rarely seen since airline de-regulation created a free-market air transport system some four decades ago.
Some strategic shifts supposedly forced by the pandemic are even more loosely connected to the disease’s spread. TechCrunch reports that loss-making scooter-share services are slashing staff, but observers have long doubted the viability of the business model.
Perhaps most interesting, though, is the announcement that global QSR behemoth McDonald’s will end its high-profile expansion of breakfast to all dayparts. This move is notable because the breakfast all-day campaign appears to have been a popular but costly mistake for McDonalds. The company’s hopes for increased consumer visitation failed to materialize. Instead, the morning day-part became less profitable as breakfast fans no longer had to hurry in to score their favorite fare. And many consumers opted to down-gauge from the lunch menu to less-expensive breakfast options, making all-day breakfast a double-whammy for the company.
The coming months will surely see many more headlines about shifts in corporate strategy ostensibly driven by COVID-19. As you read them, consider whether the companies or industries making these regretful announcements are truly reacting to an unforeseen external impact, or whether they are harnessing the value of a crisis to achieve strategic ends.
