Dear Friends,

No message can adequately address what our colleagues, clients, and friends have experienced during these last few weeks. This pandemic is a dangerous enemy threatening our health, our communities and the global economy. Moreover, it’s an entirely new type of threat with no template for an easy fix or quick solution.

Navigating the world of COVID-19 is not just a challenge, but a source of confusion and complexity the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

You know Siegel+Gale has battled complexity for years, using the transformative power of simplicity to build brands. Well, we’re carrying on, understanding that simplicity in today’s context is empathy: listening more actively, working harder to understand each other’s needs, and doing whatever we can to truly make things easier. Leading with empathy may be the greatest defense we all have against this new insidious enemy.

Here’s how we’re going about it…

We’re looking out for one another. We’ve been hugely encouraged by the way our colleagues have rallied to support each other. For some, that’s meant pitching in to help with teammates’ projects. For others, it’s meant inventing new business processes to support teams working remotely. For many it’s been supporting their communities. For all of us, it’s meant living our values—smart, nice and unstoppable—like never before.

Empathy also means putting ourselves in our clients’, that is, your shoes. We’re reminding ourselves that you’re confronting the same problems we are, in your business and your lives. We’re listening even more attentively, to understand the underlying problems your brands face, not just the symptoms. Most importantly, we’re bringing new ideas that will help your brands come back faster and stronger once this crisis passes.

Finally, we’re reminding ourselves that extending small acts of kindness to people in need has never been more important. Doing so will help us all emerge from all this a little kinder. A little more aware of our similarities than our differences. A bit more understanding of people who are worse off than we. And we’re proud knowing our S+G colleagues will do the little things well: smile at their grocery store checkout clerk, helping their favorite local business with a small donation, calling their neighbor to see if all is well. Simple small acts indeed, but powerful.

We see the difficult road ahead as a clarion call for simplicity in branding. We see the obstacles in our path as an invitation for kindness. And as our world faces down this common foe, we’re ready to take complexity out of the challenge.

In this spirit, please reach out to either of us directly with any questions or suggestions for how we can help you or your business. We’re keen to contribute.

#SimpleisSmart

 

With warmest regards,

David and Howard

Siegel+Gale Co-CEOs

[email protected]