How Franklin Mutual Insurance adjusted messages for the COVID-19 crisis

When the coronavirus pandemic brought the economy to a grinding halt, Franklin Mutual Insurance had to make a choice.

Should they go ahead with campaign they had been planning—or should they throw out their plans and try to address the crisis in the moment? They opted for the latter, a move that has paid off already according to Chelsea Vander Groef, assistant vice president of marketing for FMI.

We asked her to share her takeaways from her work during this crisis, and here’s what she had to say:

PR Daily: How are you changing your messaging during this crisis?

Vander Groef: We completely changed our spring campaign just before it launched because we felt the messaging would not resonate during the current COVID-19 crisis. Headlines like “Live More, Worry Less” and images showing groups of people … did not reflect the current situation we are all living in. The “Live In” campaign evolution was created to respond to the way that our policyholders, our agents, our employees and our communities are experiencing life right now—with a focus on remaining positive.