Covid-19 lockdown has changed life for families and industries across the board, but one of the most marked changes is in the amount of time now spent in digital environments. With real-life opportunities for play and education now heavily restricted, new pressures are being placed upon families to find ways to educate and entertain young children.
It’s impossible to predict how long these restrictions are likely to be in place, but safe to say that they will significantly change everyday life for families the world over for some weeks to come. All brands are kids and families brands now. More than that, it’s a responsibility we all have to help families during this period.
As you think about your interactions with your audience during this time, there are three key principles of engagement to remember:
Provide value
Parents need you to enable valuable content. They are trying to balance the education and entertainment of their children, not to mention finding the time to work.
Amazon-owned audiobooks service Audible is offering free streams on children’s stories across six languages, for as long as schools are closed. For parents figuring out how to balance education and entertainment, this is an invaluable source of content that enables them to keep kids happy while they find time to work.
Provide relief
It’s a serious, scary, anxious time. Kids need to be reassured by your messaging. Be calm, be funny, be mindful.
Playmobil’s five-minute stop-motion YouTube video, made entirely with familiar Playmobil figurines, provides simple information on coronavirus prevention. The bright colours and kid-friendly language is reassuring and calming, while also managing to be funny. It provides parents with a useful resource that won’t scare their kids.
Provide trust
Be one less thing for parents to worry about. Keep your content safe and compliant. Stay dependable.
JK Rowling and her team have relaxed the usual copyright permissions surrounding the behemoth book series to allow teachers to post videos of themselves reading aloud from Harry Potter. This allows enjoyable digital materials to proliferate, giving parents more safe avenues of entertainment for their kids.
Value, relief and trust might seem like basic requirements in the provision of services for kids and families, but not everyone is accustomed to thinking like a kids and family brand. For companies who are engaging with families during this time, we’ve released a report on best practices and essential data you might want to consider – you can download it here.
