TIP OF THE DAY

If your company hasn’t formed the necessary partnerships externally or hasn’t done enough actively (hiring, retention, giving), then say so in plain terms, advises Ragan Consulting Group’s Kim Clark. By owning and taking responsibility, you gain significant credibility. It would be refreshing to hear organizations own up to their complacency, she says.

COVID-19 UDPATE

• At the time of reporting, The New York Times showed 1,841,442 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and 106,195 deaths. Bing’s COVID-19 Tracker shows 1,873,498 cases in the U.S. and 107,778 fatalities. Global cases have surpassed 6.4 million.
• Defense Secretary Mark Esper appeared to buck President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying he does not support the use of active duty troops to dispel protests stemming from the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
• Former President George W. Bush described anguish over Floyd’s death in a rare public statement, saying, “It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country.”
• May job loss numbers are lower than estimated, but the recovery will be a “long slog,” economists warn.

Authenticity comes from within on messages about racial justice. As brands and communicators grapple with responses to the protests over Floyd’s death, finding authenticity requires digging deep. Here’s how the experts suggest you go about it.

Quick and decisive action is required in the current crisis. As racial tensions roil and violence flares nationwide, your crisis response should focus on employees and stakeholders. Here’s how to think about your messages during this crisis.

LinkedIn offers tips on how to support black colleagues. Tips were crowdsourced from users and included actions such as asking how they would like to be supported, acknowledging feelings and speaking out on your own platforms. Mentorship of young, diverse pros is also a way to help, some suggest.

Guggenheim Museum called out for inauthentic messaging. As many brands are sharing messages of solidarity around protests over racial inequality in the U.S., some brands are facing questions about their history of discrimination and lack of diversity. The Guggenheim Museum was called out on Twitter for a lack of diversity and inclusion when it tried to join the online conversation.

In regulatory filing, AMC casts doubt on its future. The movie theater chain says the pandemic might force it out of business, depending on the extent of the lockdown. Make sure you are sharing tough messages internally before they are plucked from your financial reports for all to see.

CNN reported:

"We believe we have the cash resources to reopen our theatres and resume our operations this summer or later," AMC said. "Our liquidity needs thereafter will depend, among other things, on the timing of a full resumption of operations, the timing of movie releases and our ability to generate revenues."

Standard Life moves to keep employees remote through 2020. The firm told U.K. employees they won’t return to the office this year, as many financial service companies have joined tech in extending remote work. Start to prepare your workforce for the realities of future work as you make decisions about the rest of your year.

Bloomberg reported:

“One of the consistent messages across the U.K. is that, where possible, people should work from home if they can and this very much applies to financial services,” Mike Tumilty, chief operating officer at Standard Life, said in the note. “It has become evident that while we may see some easing of working restrictions, we do not expect this principle to change materially for the foreseeable future.”

Is your message being ignored? Audiences are facing information overload in the current media landscape and brand managers must institute careful social listening and rely on data to know whether their audience is burnt out. Here’s how you can evaluate your efforts.

New York Knicks owner James Dolan tries to clean up his stance on Floyd’s death. The billionaire sent an internal memo that tried to address employee concerns about his explanation for why he has remained silent in the wake of the death of Floyd in police custody.

The New York Daily News wrote:

“Yesterday, I made a sincere attempt to provide my perspective on a very difficult issue, one that has no easy answers” the memo from Dolan read, according to SNY. “I know how important this topic is to so many, and I don’t want there to be any confusion about where I stand as an individual, or we as a company stand. So let me be clear: we vehemently condemn and reject racism against anyone, period. It is against every value we hold dear.”

Investment superfund SoftBank’s $100M fund gets scrutiny. The move comes after the fallout of a former portfolio leader’s resignation over his history of ties to the KKK. However, the investment seems modest in comparison to other multi-billion-dollar funds the firm manages, revealing the importance of backing up your words with meaningful actions.

TechCrunch reported:

Compared to the outsized nature of the Vision Fund, or even the more diminutive but still multi-billion size of the Innovation Fund, the Opportunity Growth Fund’s $100 million size seems relatively modest for now, and it begs some questions over how SoftBank more generally plans to direct its bigger coffers when it comes to investing in a deeper and more meaningful and inclusive way.

Events aren’t coming back as we knew them. Here are some ways to rethink your strategies for getting your messages in front of journalists, consumers, clients and more—all without the help of traditional events.

Is your memo to employees sufficient? Billionaire tech investor Vinod Khosla pushed back on messaging from Apple CEO Tim Cook recently in a rebuke he offered both online and in print. The message shows the perilous landscape for communicators trying to deliver authentic messages during these global crises.

Business Insider reported:

"I think words on values are easy," Khosla said to Recode. “If Tim Cook professes values, he should be willing to support them with actions that might cost them something. That was my first thought on hearing about the employee memo, knowing Tim Cook cozied up to Trump to get tariff relief. I’d love for him to comment on Trump’s racist rants.”

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