{"id":14140,"date":"2020-05-26T14:22:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T14:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/?p=14140"},"modified":"2023-08-17T17:21:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T16:21:09","slug":"empathy-in-action-brands-excelling-in-empathy-during-the-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/empathy-in-action-brands-excelling-in-empathy-during-the-covid-19-pandemic","title":{"rendered":"Empathy in action: brands excelling in empathy during the COVID-19 pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Both as individuals and society as a whole, we\u2019re facing a crisis on a scale that we\u2019ve not seen for generations. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Businesses are feeling the effects of this, and they\u2019ll continue to do so. Yet, it\u2019s crucial that brands do whatever they can to offer practical support and kindness to people during this time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At The Social Element and Polpeo, we often say that the right words, delivered in the right tone, are important during a crisis, but that the brand\u2019s actions give them their full meaning. Businesses may be stretched to their limits right now, but action is more important than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In this post, we want to showcase some examples of brands being kind and taking empathetic action in this crisis. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It isn\u2019t about brands shoring up goodwill for the future; it\u2019s about doing whatever you can for society. It\u2019s about being inspirational leaders in a time when people need help, and to see good things happening in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, how are brands helping tackle the COVID-19 pandemic?<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Shifting production and services to support health services and charities<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>French luxury goods group, <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/coronavirus-louis-vuitton-owner-to-make-hand-sanitiser-for-hospitals-11958170\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">LVMH<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (which owns many brands including Christian Dior, Guerlain, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton), announced that it would start using its perfume and cosmetic production lines to produce hand sanitizer gel. LVMH will deliver them to French hospitals for free.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>In the UK, independent brewer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2020\/mar\/18\/brewdog-begins-making-hand-sanitiser-shortages-uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BrewDog<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>,<\/strong> has started making hand sanitizer in its Aberdeenshire distillery. It announced that it would be giving them away to charities and anyone in the community who needs them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Liquor company, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/news\/488237-liquor-company-pernod-ricard-usa-to-make-and-donate-hand-sanitizer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pernod Ricard USA<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (makers of alcohol brands like Absolut Vodka) said it would switch all of its production sites to make hand sanitizer. It will work with the US government on distribution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.campaignlive.co.uk\/article\/brands-help-during-coronavirus-crisis\/1677588?bulletin=campaign_brands_bulletin&amp;utm_medium=EMAIL&amp;utm_campaign=eNews%20Bulletin&amp;utm_source=20200319&amp;utm_content=Campaign%20Brands%20(187)::www_campaignlive_co_uk_ar_3&amp;email_hash=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Premier Inn<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> hotels<\/strong> are, of course, experiencing issues with cancellations. But, in place of guests, the hotel group is giving its space to local hospitals for them to use if the need arises.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>In Spain, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rte.ie\/news\/business\/2020\/0323\/1124831-inditex-help-offer\/\">Inditex<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> (which owns fashion chain, Zara)<\/strong> has seen many of its retail stores close due to the virus. It has offered to use its textile factories to manufacture scrubs for Spanish hospitals (thanks to Rosa Riera for sharing this example).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Italian organisation,<\/strong> the Institute of Studies for the Integration of Systems (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.isinnova.it\/easy-covid19-eng\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ISINNOVA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">), is working with\u00a0 French company, Decathlon to create low-cost ventilators. ISINNOVA is using 3D printing to make valves to attach to Easybreath snorkeling masks, which mean that the masks can be used as ventilator masks by hospitals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>In the U.S., <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2020\/03\/24\/business\/ford-3m-ge-ventilators-coronavirus-duplicate-2\/index.html\">Ford<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> is working with 3M<\/strong> and GE Healthcare to make respirators and ventilators, which are in short supply. They are in discussion with federal, state and local officials to understand exactly what\u2019s needed and where.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some <strong>local restaurants are also doing their bit for the NHS<\/strong>. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.birminghammail.co.uk\/whats-on\/food-drink-news\/kings-heath-takeaway-dishing-up-17974978\">Sylhet Spice Cuisine<\/a> (in Birmingham, UK) are offering free takeaway meals to NHS staff in the B14 postcode.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>UK bed and mattress company, Eve Sleep<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>,<\/strong> has been working with its suppliers to donate beds to staff in hospitals in nearby areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Vacuum cleaner and gardening machine<\/strong> manufacturer, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/coronavirus-extraordinary-uk-effort-to-produce-thousands-more-ventilators-11961559\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gtech<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, switched production to ventilators and presented a prototype to the UK government in late March.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Italian sports car maker, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamborghini.com\/en-en\/news\/covid-19-lamborghini-is-producing-surgical-masks-and-medical-shields\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lamborghini<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>,<\/strong> is shifting production from cars to surgical masks and medical shields.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tradewindsnews.com\/cruise-and-ferry\/msc-group-hospital-ship-delivered-to-genoa-as-part-of-virus-relief-effort\/2-1-777711\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MSC cruise<\/a><\/strong> delivered to a hospital ship to Genoa<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iit.it\/iit-vs-covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ITT4<\/a> has decided to <strong>share it&#8217;s technical and scientific knowledge<\/strong> to help with the battle against COVID-19<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2020\/03\/30\/burberry-making-gowns-masks-nhs-12479187\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Louis Vuitton<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> has reopened<\/strong> its workshop to make PPE masks and gowns for H\u00f4pitaux de Pari.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/fmcgmagazine.co.uk\/mondelez-international-uses-3d-chocolate-making-technology-to-make-medical-visors-for-nhs-and-frontline-staff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mondel\u0113z International<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is <strong>working with 3P Innovation<\/strong> to make thousands of medical visors a day by repurposing its 3D printer technology.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gq-magazine.co.uk\/fashion\/article\/fashion-fight-corona-virus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fashion industr<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>y has come out in force<\/strong> to help fight the pandemic, with brands including Armani, Gucci, Acqua di Parma, L\u2019Occitaine and others donating money or resources.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gq-magazine.co.uk\/fashion\/article\/fashion-fight-corona-virus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Armani <\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>has said all its manufacturing plants<\/strong> will switch production to making single-use medical overalls. The group has previously donated \u20ac2 million to organisations in Italy including the National Civil Protection Department and various hospitals. Gucci has also donated a similar amount to to fight the pandemic. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The FDA is reviewing plans submitted by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2020\/5\/12\/21256265\/belkin-ventilator-partnership-fda-university-of-illinois-flexvent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Belkin and the University of Illinois<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> to make ventilators<\/strong>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2020\/5\/15\/21260593\/fitbit-emergency-ventilators-covid-19-james-park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fitbit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is in the process of <strong>submitting plans to the FDA to manufacture ventilators<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Ensuring vulnerable people get the food they need<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.finance.yahoo.com\/news\/coronavirus-uk-covid-19-morrisons-amazon-pay-food-delivery-083318442.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADU0R9QSnOQvOuRLASHuh-18Gl5jUfjYeqqiwcdkCRZ1WcARfxeWPD10Bt9LStc_tDoZkc6mDIwRU64WNKJ0qxt6wkitr7mrwLubvbOgNXra0FcBhy7ivkKecSYSimbYRHCt_L9S-d7NUlYGRj83QkeHScacApYFqoaRaOtir74M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Morrisons<\/a> changed its brand purpose to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingweek.com\/morrisons-changes-core-purpose-in-response-to-coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">feed the nation<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>\u201d.<\/strong> It announced that it was setting up a customer call centre for shoppers who don\u2019t do online shopping, allowing these customers to shop over the phone. It\u2019s also setting up a hardship fund for its employees, partnering with Amazon to expand home delivery, guaranteeing fast payment to suppliers and planning to hire 3500 new staff to cope with increased demand. Morrison\u2019s is launching \u2018<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingweek.com\/morrisons-changes-core-purpose-in-response-to-coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">food parcels\u2019<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> which will be an easy way for people to order everything they need.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/life-style\/coronavirus-sainsburys-elderly-shopping-hours-supermarkets-stockpiling-a9408006.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sainsbury\u2019s<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> introduced a shopping hour<\/strong> dedicated to the elderly and vulnerable only. The supermarket said that it would stay open for one-hour longer as a result. It\u2019s also prioritising the elderly and vulnerable for booking online delivery slots and shutting down <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.essexlive.news\/news\/essex-news\/asda-sainsburys-tesco-morrisons-rules-3961807\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">fresh food counters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to reallocate staff to keeping the shelves full.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneysavingexpert.com\/news\/2020\/03\/supermarkets-introduce-purchase-number-limits-on-some-items---fo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tesco <\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>announced that some larger stores<\/strong> would have extended opening hours, while 24-hour stores would work to normal hours so that staff had a chance to restock shelves. In an email to customers, and on social media, it also said that it was expanding click and collect so that it could prioritise deliveries to the elderly and those who are self-isolating. It\u2019s also dedicating 9 to 10am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to in-store shopping for elderly and vulnerable customers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/coronavirus-takeaway-firms-justeat-and-deliveroo-in-talks-with-government-on-providing-care-packages-to-elderly-11958494\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Just-Eat and Deliveroo<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> are both in talks<\/strong> with the UK government to help deliver care packages and food to vulnerable people, those self-isolating and people living in remote areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As people have been advised <strong>to stay away from restaurants<\/strong>, some establishments are introducing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/life-and-style\/food-and-drink\/coronavirus-restaurants-respond-with-takeaways-contactless-payments-delivery-1.4202192\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">delivery services<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for the first time. While some will set themselves up on delivery apps, others are using their staff to deliver the food &#8211; ensuring that people who are self-isolating are fed and helping people keep their jobs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Some <a href=\"https:\/\/dcist.com\/story\/20\/03\/15\/these-businesses-are-offering-free-meals-to-kids-and-seniors-during-coronavirus-shutdowns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cafes and restaurants in America<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> are offering free children\u2019s menus. Many families will be struggling to feed their children while school is out, so these services are vital. Meanwhile, in the UK, charities started making <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2020\/mar\/09\/charities-feed-children-if-coronavirus-shuts-uk-schools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">preparations to feed children<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> weeks before schools were shut down.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>In America, <a href=\"https:\/\/sg.asiatatler.com\/dining\/chef-jose-andres-turns-restaurants-into-community-kitchens-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chef Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has turned his restaurants into community kitchens and will feed families who can\u2019t pay for meals.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Keeping people connected, productive and healthy<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.socialmediatoday.com\/news\/linkedin-makes-linkedin-learning-courses-on-working-from-home-available-for\/573963\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> made 16 of its courses free.<\/strong> It\u2019s also giving people advice on how to stay productive, and how virtual teams can collaborate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Among other things, <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/inside-google\/company-announcements\/covid-19-how-were-continuing-to-help\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> made Hangouts Meet free for its G-Suite members<\/strong> to help larger remote teams keep in touch.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the UK, <strong>mental health platform, <\/strong><\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/mental-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Unmind<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, is giving all NHS staff free access throughout the COVID-19 crisis.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EXNnk4LAtw8&amp;feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Webmart<\/a> are re-purposing laptops<\/strong> for low income households so their children can do schoolwork at home<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meditation and sleep app, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.calm.com\/take-a-deep-breath\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Calm<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, has made some content free for people to help support their mental health during the crisis (thanks to Claire Panter for the tip).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Footballers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/video\/2020\/mar\/18\/coronavirus-gary-neville-says-nhs-staff-will-stay-at-his-hotels-for-free-video\">Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> are allowing NHS<\/strong> workers to stay at their hotels for free. They co-own Hotel Football and The Stock Exchange in Manchester, England. These hotel rooms are vital for members of NHS staff who cannot stay with their families during the pandemic (thank you, Anne McNamara for sharing this story).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>KCKD<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> is offering free open coach sessions to students<\/strong>, parents and educators. They\u2019ve designed the sessions to support GCSE and A-Level students through the stress and uncertainty they\u2019re going through. (Thanks to Katie Atkinson for the tip.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>US luxury fashion retailer, <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivela.com\/charity\/save-the-children-partnership\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Olivela<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, already supports charities. It\u2019s also helping families during the Coronavirus crisis. Olivela is giving 20% of proceeds on various items to Save the Children, to help the charity feed vulnerable and hard-to-reach children during the pandemic.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/5218e4ea-7023-11ea-89df-41bea055720b.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Fashion brands<\/strong><\/a><strong> are finding creative<\/strong> ways to fight COVID-19 and producing facemasks\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.aboutamazon.com\/community\/amazon-donates-8-200-laptops-to-seattle-public-schools-families?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=li&amp;utm_term=amazon&amp;utm_content=COVID-19_laptopdonation&amp;linkId=85915017\">Amazon<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> have donated 8,200 laptops<\/strong> to Seattle Public Schools families to help those students without devices to continue online learning at home<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/technology-52318984\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TikTok<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> is donating \u00a35m to the Royal College of Nursing Foundation<\/strong>. The money will go towards helping nurses facing hardship.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/news.nike.com\/news\/nike-air-zoom-pulse-hospital-donations\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Nike<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> is donating 140,000 foot care products<\/strong>, including pairs of Nike Air Zoom Pulse trainers and compression socks, to frontline healthcare workers around the world.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the UK, <strong>Ocado has opened up its \u2018Rapid Router\u2019 programme<\/strong>, a free education resource that teaches children to code at home &#8211; to the wider community, to help children who are being home-schooled continue learning computing skills. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Helping Employees and contract workers<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In America, <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiercehealthcare.com\/tech\/starbucks-has-teamed-up-startup-to-offer-u-s-workers-free-therapy-sessions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Starbucks<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong> is extending its employee mental health<\/strong> programme for employees and their family members. They\u2019ll be able to get up to 20 sessions a year from a mental health therapist\u2019s online platform.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>American company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2020\/03\/10\/darden-restaurants-is-offering-paid-sick-leave-to-all-employees-amid-coronavirus-outbreak.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darden Restaurants<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (owner of Olive Garden) is extending paid sick leave to hourly workers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2020\/03\/05\/microsoft-will-pay-hourly-workers-regularly-as-it-faces-coronavirus.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Microsoft <\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>will pay its hourly workers<\/strong> their usual income, despite them having to work fewer hours after permanent staff were told to work from home.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>In Germany, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com\/retailers\/aldi-mcdonalds-make-staff-sharing-deal-germany\">Aldi Sud, Aldi Nord and McDonalds<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> have partnered to redeploy interested McDonalds staff to work for the supermarket chain on a temporary basis; this keeps people in paid work, while shifting manpower to the most crucial sectors during the pandemic (thanks to Rosa Riera for sharing this example).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These are just some of the ways that brands are giving back to society during the COVID-19 pandemic. I know how important it is to share good news at the moment, so The Social Element team will update this blog with more examples as and when we find them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Have you seen a great example of a big brand, or small business, helping people through the crisis? Let us know and we\u2019ll add it to the list.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Both as individuals and society as a whole, we\u2019re facing a crisis on a scale that we\u2019ve not seen for generations. Businesses are feeling the effects of this, and they\u2019ll continue to do so. Yet, it\u2019s crucial that brands do whatever they can to offer practical support and kindness to people during this time. At&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":14141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[290,289,283],"tags":[71,273],"series":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kindness-1197351_640.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Genuine-Humans.jpg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/3abc34c3-ff60-4a78-b347-6119461b7ed1\/GENUINE-HUMANS","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/genuine-humans\/id1561811296","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVzb2NpYWxlbGVtZW50LmFnZW5jeS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Q?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiQz-mM7dzvAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7jkfw0qeUlwrauhfy2pCGU","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/feed\/podcast","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"gkFxHiDyy9\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/empathy-in-action-brands-excelling-in-empathy-during-the-covid-19-pandemic\">Empathy in action: brands excelling in empathy during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/empathy-in-action-brands-excelling-in-empathy-during-the-covid-19-pandemic\/embed#?secret=gkFxHiDyy9\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Empathy in action: brands excelling in empathy during the COVID-19 pandemic&#8221; &#8212; The Social Element\" data-secret=\"gkFxHiDyy9\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/*! 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