BCW helps clients navigate and thrive in this new ecosystem, moving people and networks of influence to solve critical challenges and create opportunities through COVID-19 and beyond. We do this through a modern approach to public affairs we call BCW Nexus.
It’s where data science meets emotional storytelling and shareable content.
Where tree-tops and grassroots strategies integrate seamlessly.
Where we inspire understanding, advocacy and action to further our clients’ agendas.
To successfully navigate through and beyond COVID-19, organizations should pay attention to certain human and societal trends, which underscore the importance of public affairs and shape the way we plan and execute these strategies.
10 Trends & Triggers
- Expanded and Disputed Role for Government at Different Levels: COVID-19 has sparked new debates over which level of government should be in the driver’s seat to address specific challenges and opportunities.
- Unequal Outcomes & Impacts: Coronavirus has hit individuals and organizations unequally, which will lead to intense scrutiny and politics to address inequalities and perceived injustices.
- Populism, Nationalism & Hyper-Localization: The requirement for strong government – and the allocation of extensive national resources – has driven a rise in populism, nationalism and unilateralism. At the same time, lengthy lockdowns and fear of contamination have led to stronger connections within local communities and a hyper-local appetite for solutions.
- Radical Reallocation of Domestic & International Resources: Social, economic and health demands have led to a radical reshaping of government spending, and a lockdown-induced collapse in the economy has demanded a massive increase in relief funding.
- Decoupling & Disintegration, Potential End of Hyper-Globalization: Politicians are arguing that in light of COVID-19 and future pandemic risks, it is simply common sense to have less reliance on global supply chains.
- New Partnerships & Collaborations: The partnership between government and individuals that led to successfully maintained lockdowns, and that in which business was supported by government, will need to be matched by businesses leading economic recovery and individuals seizing new economic opportunities.
- Urgent Innovation, Science & Research: Experts are back in vogue – particularly scientists. But their re-established status might be fragile. During the Global Financial Crisis, economists shaped the rescue of the banks and the avoidance of a global depression, but, soon after, the public asked why they hadn’t seen it coming.
- Business Activism & Engagement: Businesses that stepped up to the plate, delivering on their core societal purpose, will be rewarded. Others may fall under harsh scrutiny for not doing enough to protect their workers and serve their customers.
- New & Powerful Emerging Voices: So much change in a short space of time will lead to new demands for broader social and economic change. A return to the status quo will be both unacceptable and unachievable and new voices – connected and empowered by technology – will rise in influence.
- Accelerated Offline to Online Movement & Technological Connectivity: A crisis accelerates change, and COVID-19 has thrust many forward into a new digital reality which will be accelerated further by the roll out of 5G and other technologies in the coming years.
