Tag: COVID-19

Thank You, NBA!

Who does not have anecdotal evidence about the Covid-19 testing failures? It is an immediate Zoom cocktail party conversation starter. This week, we learned hope abounds, or perhaps “rebounds” with the announcement that SalivaDirect’s COVID-19 test received emergency FDA approval. The test, developed in partnership between the NBA and Yale University’s school of public health, has been used in the NBA’s Orlando bubble since mid-July. The NBA and NBA Players Association donated over $500,000 to trial this new COVID test.  The test is cheaper ($10 vs $150), less invasive, (spit vs nasal proctology) and faster (30 minutes vs my 13 day wait). According to FORBES MAGAZINE, “what makes this test unique is that you don’t have to take an extra step to separate the genetic material or nucleic acid from the sample. Therefore, to perform the test, labs don’t need special nucleic acid extraction kits, which have been, surprise, surprise, in short supply during the pandemic.”

Hailed as a game-changer, Nathan Grubaugh, an Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Public Health, remarked to Fierce Biotech “if cheap alternatives like SalivaDirect can be implemented across the country, we may finally get a handle on this pandemic, even before a vaccine.” https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/fda-green-lights-game-changing-covid-19-saliva-test-used-by-nba

This breakthrough is even more remarkable because neither Yale, nor the NBA intend to profit from the protocol. Imagine a $500,000 investment and the ROI could be safer in-school learning, and greater peace of mind for teachers, parents, and students. Or a lifeline for small businesses trying to navigate their retail shops or restaurants through these unchartered waters. Or more reassurance for healthcare workers and essential workers bracing for the dreaded next wave.

During the pandemic, while MLB bickered over money, the NBA took this extraordinary step to protect its players, its staff and now, perhaps the rest of the country. Adam Silver and NBA players, we are profoundly grateful for your leadership and investment. Yale scientists, we are humbled by your brilliance and munificence.  Thank you.  Give everyone a star and a cookie.

Brand Activism Meet Moral Humility

In a recent Hartford Courant op-ed by Joanne Berger-Sweeney, the first Black and female president of Trinity College and professor of neuroscience, and Sonia Cardenas, acting dean of the faculty, vice president for academic affairs and professor of political science, they write “It’s time to go further. In a deeply divided society, we all have a responsibility to practice moral humility. None of us is innocent in the continuum of racism.” https://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-berger-sweeney-cardenas-trinity-0610-20200610-3dxv3stgrffonh3bt4isire6oq-story.html   They offer a thoughtful perspective leaders of corporate America would be wise to consider. Brand Activism meet Moral Humility.

Definition

Moral Humility is a virtue composed of having (a) a recognition of one’s own moral fallibility, (b) an appreciation for the moral strengths and moral views of others, and (c) a moral perspective that transcends the self.

Minneapolis

Collision Course

COVID-19 laid bare the issues in our underserved Black and brown communities. Problems that could not be ignored: higher infection rates due to dense housing, and essential workers without PPE; higher death rates because of a preponderance of underlying conditions; the neediest kids marooned in a distanced-learning world without internet and devices; service employee layoffs; and massive food insecurity. These fault lines compounded with the raw horror of George Floyd’s murder convulsed the Black Lives Matter movement in this country and around the world.

Berlin

Corporate Backlash

Brand activism went on full display in corporate America, as the C-suite was pressure-tested by consumers who wanted to know where they stood. Many posted to their social accounts. ViacomCBS tweeted “Black Lives Matter. Black Culture Matters. Black Communities Matter” while its cable properties went dark for 8:46 on #BlackoutTuesday. Twitter changed its iconic image to black with the Black Lives Matter hashtag. Nike tweeted, “For once, don’t do it.”   L’Oréal tweeted, “Speaking out is worth it.” Each endured backlash for brand hypocrisy and they were not alone.

Throw Money

Others backed up their rhetoric with donations.  Intel committed $1M to address social justice and racism. You Tube pledged $1M to support efforts to address social justice. Peloton and Twitter pledged to donate $500,000 to the NAACP’s legal defense fund.  Facebook pledged to donate $10M to groups fighting racial inequality – but as CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post “I know, $10M can’t fix this.” The sincerity of these decisions was questioned, considering the dismal track record of diversity hiring – especially in the tech sector. In fact, only one Black person was in the room when senior Facebook management chose not to delete or slap a warming on Trump’s post “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” causing employee walk-outs, resignations and advertiser flight.

Compton, California

Bring Change

Brand activism informed by moral humility would be a much more powerful, authentic, and genuine investment of time, talent, and resources. To admit failings and address root causes head on has always been a prescription for forgiveness, loyalty, and sometimes admiration. To thoughtfully create true partnerships which address systemic issues like access to internet, education equality, pay equity, affordable housing, and food insecurities would place brands and their consumers squarely in the position of being profound change agents. Brand activism at this depth would be good for the country and good for business.

Washington, DC

Face Mask Fashion Follows Function

Until a vaccine is created to inoculate against COVID-19, it will be a tenuous toe dip back. The National Academies of Science, Technology and Medicine recently determined that viral droplets could travel farther than 6 feet in certain conditions and live coronavirus particles can persist in the air in bioaerosol form. https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25769/rapid-expert-consultation-on-the-possibility-of-bioaerosol-spread-of-sars-cov-2-for-the-covid-19-pandemic-april-1-2020.  In other words, in addition to social distancing and rigorous handwashing, wearing a cloth face covering was added to the prescriptive list of citizen mandates to help fight the spread. With a market potential of 328 million people in the US alone, the face mask will become the 2020 fashion statement.

In the beginning of the pandemic, with a horrifying shortage of PPE for front line medical workers, crafty and charitable Americans revved up their sewing machines, unearthed remnant cotton fabric and began stitching masks for local hospitals, nursing homes and first responders. But soon the need expanded to all public-facing essential workers. When the CDC changed its guidance to recommend all Americans wear a cloth face covering in public, and many states mandated it, a market was born.  Soon, the plethora of face masks included thongs, bandanas, and gas masks.     

“Face masks are the new t-shirt”

– Mariella Segarra

Seemingly overnight, face masks metamorphized from uncomfortable and awkward to personal and stylish. Mariella Segarra on NPR’s Marketplace suggested this was a new retail category.  https://www.marketplace.org/2020/04/24/cloth-face-mask-new-category-retail-covid19/  Right now, sports teams, causes and designers are seizing the moment to offer American’s a personalized approach to our new normal.

A Mask For Every Vertical

  • Business
  • Fashion Sonson
  • Kids
  • Sports New Balance

However, unlike a racoon, one mask does not fit all occasions. As the evolution of the mask continues, new verticals will emerge within the category. For business – a clear plastic shield to encourage transparency and teamwork, for fashion – fabulous fabrics and accessories, for kids, bright colors and beloved characters, and for sports, ultra-breathable virus- repellent fabric. New Balance pivoted to fill the PPE void for hospital workers. You can bet their fabric engineers and designers are developing masks for all types of athletes. And, if casual Fridays don’t become an anomaly, why not a jean version as well?

Masks are here to stay. After wearing a suffocating, glasses-fogging, beginning-to-smell-a-bit-stale mask for the past few weeks, I am ready to help jump start the economy and shop. Think something with big, funny lips would bring smiles.

Zoom Into March Madness

Who could have anticipated when I posted my last blog on Thursday, February 20th, that COVID-19 would explode in Italy – from a handful of cases on Friday, February 21st to hundreds of cases by Monday, February 24th.  In the space of 72 hours, the world was on the precipice of a frightening, new normal.

After blogging about the 2020’s becoming the great age of content due to the proliferation of paid streaming services, who would have conceived that free streaming would become a powerful connector in a socially distanced, shelter-at-home, world. Zoom…. literally into March Madness

The US and much of the world underwent forced hibernation this week. Chris Martin of the band Cold Play, inspired artists like John Legend, Keith Urban, Rob Thomas and Pink to follow his lead by performing and streaming live mini gigs from their homes to distract and delight live, worldwide audiences, some numbering over 500,000, who watched and interacted from their couches. https://www.instagram.com/tv/B90Ft_knpuT/?utm_source=ig_embed

Companies sent employees home to work, and business bumped along with Brady Bunch streaming conference services like Zoom. Zoomers – Boomers, X’ers, Millennials and Z’ers pulled back the curtain of their private lives in their home “studios.” The challenge for Boomer Zoomers was complementary lighting, while Z Zoomers wondered about screen- appropriate attire, and for Millennial and Gen Z Zoomers, it was where to stash the kids. And everyone looked more critically for the right backdrop – as over-the-shoulder peeking became a fun diversion.

Even live television embraced this streaming phenomenon, with talent reporting from kitchens and study’s as they self-isolated. Jimmy Kimmel streamed “quarantine minilogues” from his family room. Tonight, he interviews his wife and kids. The Today Show’s Al Roker forecasted the weather from his kitchen, while his wife, Deborah Roberts, shot her 20/20 segments from the living room.   

As a world and a country, we were strangely more isolated before this week. Sharing comfy couches and kitchen tables, while bringing the world home, has underscored our common humanity. In the midst of COVID-19 Madness, while our borders are closed, streaming has opened our doors, and reminded us, we are all in this together.