Finding the Silver Linings

What a difference a year can make! I came across a Kane blog I wrote last year. It’s dated March 17, 2020, and quite the time capsule for what transpired in less than 365 days. At that time, area companies were just starting to institute work-from-home and no-travel policies; movie theaters and restaurants were still operational;  healthcare systems were just starting to brace themselves for the pandemic ahead. 

It’s been a tough go for small businesses and we at Kane are so grateful for some of the silver linings that came our way in 2020. We weathered the storm, made adjustments and worked our tails off. 

Here are some of the “silver linings” I found at Kane Communications Group in 2020.

Helping Communities in Crisis

We all remember when the first cases of coronavirus began to spread in China and Europe. It was only a matter of time before the impact would be felt in the U.S. Fear was starting to spread across the country. With little clear information available, state, county and city governments were forced to scramble to communicate with the public about the spread of the disease in order to guard healthcare systems and to save lives. 

With Kane’s experience and expertise in crisis communications, the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management reached out for guidance and assistance in communicating about the spread of COVID-19 and what residents needed to do to stay safe.  

The Kane team put together a crisis communications plan within 48 hours that included messaging, creative concepts, media strategies and more. The #StayHomeSaveLives/StayHomeMKE campaign was soon running in-market, with organizations throughout Greater Milwaukee supporting it and sharing it. We developed a COVID-19 landing page to house the latest information, created COVID-19 social media content for the County, and planned, coordinated and hosted media briefings (at first daily, then bi-weekly) for the Milwaukee Unified Emergency Operations Center.

During this time, the City of Racine quickly became a hotspot for the virus with a record number of cases per capita. Residents needed accurate and actionable information to best protect themselves and their families from the spread of the virus and to access resources that are available to assist them.

Kane created a crisis response plan for the City of Racine that included a bilingual public awareness campaign to educate Racinians about the spread of the virus and what steps the City of Racine was taking to protect citizens. 

The #StaySafeRacine campaign became a rallying cry and directed the public to a special City of Racine COVID microsite. The site was updated continually with new COVID stats, information on stopping the spread, resources for families in need and messages from the mayor.   

Kane’s crisis response work for both the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management and the City of Racine received top awards in the 2020 MarCom Awards competition. We’re proud of the awards but I’m more proud that the Kane team took this work very seriously and felt personally accountable for helping to stop the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives. We continue to take it seriously.

Embracing Virtual Work

I have to be honest. I didn’t embrace working from home at the beginning of the shutdown. In my professional experience, most of the companies I’ve worked for only allowed employees to work remotely on special occasions. Working remotely wasn’t the norm in my world. Hello, COVID-19! In four weeks, I felt like a pro.

As part of Kane’s effort to assist other small businesses during the pandemic, the marketing team at Kane created a webinar series featuring discussion and advice from a wide range of resources including local business and nonprofit CEOs, national journalists and academic experts. The series was well attended and helped to foster important conversations to deal with COVID-19 in the workplace.

Kane took remote working to a new level and expanded our internship program for the Fall 2020 semester to include six interns who all worked remotely. We had students from a local college, a Big 10 school and several HBCUs. While many companies suspended their internship programs due to the pandemic, we reinforced our commitment to training the next generation of public relations and marketing professionals.  

Expanding Our Families

I know many friends and families hit hard financially by the pandemic due to business closings and furloughs. I feel very fortunate to work for a company that actually expanded its staff in 2020. 

Steve Jagler joined Kane as director of executive communication in January 2020 bringing more than three decades of journalistic and C-Level communication experience. Carole Pfeil joined the team as account supervisor in September. Based in Phoenix, Ariz., Carole has deep experience in public relations, corporate communications and marketing. Taylor Fisher also joined the Kane team in September as a public relations advisor after working in Las Vegas and Chicago. Now a Bay View resident, Taylor loves the fast-paced world of public relations and crisis communications. Lastly, Kathleen Elsig joined Kane as senior corporate responsibility & partnerships advisor in May. She is leading the development of Kane’s Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability program. If Kathleen looks familiar, make a note that she’s Kimberly Kane’s identical twin!

Katharine Foley and Nora Grace

In addition to the expansion of our Kane team, two staff members expanded their own families. Katharine Foley, account supervisor, welcomed Nora Grace in mid-October.

And, Sarah Fracek, vice president of strategy and marketing, adopted a Shorkie named Jinx in October.

Silver Linings in 2021

2020 was full of challenges. The Kane team worked incredibly hard and we learned some lessons, but there were plenty of silver linings. Our team looks forward to helping our clients through whatever excitement and challenges may be in store for 2021.

Jinx Fracek