Get Creative with Your Communications During COVID-19
April 24, 2020

Don’t Just Focus on Communications, But Connection

The role of the communications professional is now more important than ever, as every company has been affected heavily by recent events related to COVID-19.

Now is not the time to vanish from your audiences or internal teams in the hopes that things will just resume as normal in a few weeks. Even if the nation-wide quarantine were lifted tomorrow, there’s no denying that the world has changed with how much everyone has been affected. Brands are realizing that how they handle their communications now will deeply affect their perception well after these events.

That means that most brands, naturally, are doing their part communicating. What you want to avoid as a result is just saying the same thing as everyone else. Your audiences have heard the same message countless times. At this point, the purpose of your message is not just to communicate, but to connect.

How to Connect Through Your Communications During COVID-19

During this global pandemic, what we’ve observed is 3 phases of communication:

1.REACTION – to current events

2.REBOUNDING – finding ways to cope to a new normal in our lives

3.REINVENTING – adapting to the state of affairs and developing new services and products to match new needs.

Phase 1: REACT

At the beginning of the nationwide lockdown, what we witnessed is a wave of “reactionary communications” explaining how organizations are coping with the situation. “We’ve shifted our hours”, “we’re working remotely”, “this is what we’re doing to help clients & employees”, etc; these showed that companies are acknowledging the severity of the situation and are pledging the effort to properly accommodate their members and community with the unique situation. This is just the tip of the iceberg of your overall COVID communications strategy, but your message should remain heartfelt and sincere.

Take Galen Weston’s example from Loblaws for example:

Phase 2: REBOUND

This is all about understanding the new normal. The world has changed; how is your brand fitting in with a different lifestyle? Take Burger King in France, for example, who after being closed completely put out ads to show customers how to make a whopper at home

To rebound, you need to think about how you can help people ease into this new lifestyle and entertain them during it. After all, at this stage, we’re a little tired of hearing about all of the negative things happening during COVID and many people are focused on keeping positive and active while in isolation.

Right now, one of those biggest obstacles to staying positive isn’t doom and gloom, but boredom. Searches for the word “bored” has increased by as much as 626% recently.

Even if your brand is entertainment-focused, it doesn’t mean you can’t find creative ways to entertain. Chipotle connected with zoom to create a virtual hangout for 3000 fans with celebrity appearances, and also gave away free burritos. A win-win situation for anyone. What Chipotle did well was focus on the evidently growing audience of virtual meeting tools like Zoom to reach their otherwise-lost markets. So ask yourself as well: How can your company leverage virtual events to connect with your customers or help employees connect with one another? Maybe you have someone at your company who loves food and can lead a cooking class, or maybe you can create a forum for parents to share ideas

Phase 3: REINVENT

Everyone’s now talking about the fact that when all of this is over – and we have no idea when that will be – we will not be going back to “life as usual.” It will be a different world after COVID-19. People have opened their eyes to instant online delivery, online grocery shopping, and new forms of indoor entertainment. This is a perfect time to experiment, or even pivot, with your business as the markets have been turned upside down. We’re seeing pedestrian navigation apps make changes to include social distancing features and companies like sports gear companies like Bauer turning to make medical protective gear.

Today’s business landscape is all about purpose. Now that you’ve reacted and rebounded, it is time to confront the newfound challenges brought forth by COVIID-19. The purpose is more important now than ever. Consumers will be looking for ways to create a more sustainable world.

You may have to redefine your purpose, like Nike’s “Play for the World” campaign. It was a pivot from their usual “Just Do It” campaign which focuses heavily on personal effort and perseverance. This new campaign took that self-same vibe and energy that they’ve built over the years and put it in a global community perspective, all while cautioning their follower base to live safely during COVID-19.

How you reinvent your purpose and branding will have to respond directly to the prevalent emotions of today – many of whom which been sobered by the effects COVID-19 has had on personal loved ones, jobs, local businesses, and the economy as a whole. Right now the brands that are thriving are those that show both empathy for those concerns, and the inspiration to get through it. Those are the ones that will excel even through these times.

Need help brainstorming ideas for your communications and video marketing?

Reach out to let us know your needs with us here.

Self-Recorded Video Production in Toronto: A Simple Process for Scalable, Professional Content

April 8, 2026
Self-recorded video is becoming one of the most effective ways for Toronto-based companies to communicate internally, train teams, and build a strong, authentic brand presence—without relying on full-scale production for every piece of content. But most teams hit the same challenges: What should we say? How do we make it look professional? How do we keep it consistent across teams? This guide breaks down a simple, repeatable self-recorded video process designed specifically for businesses in Toronto looking to scale their communication. In fast-moving industries like finance, healthcare, and tech across Toronto, video has become essential for: Internal communication across hybrid teams Employee training and onboarding Leadership messaging Company-wide updates Self-recorded video allows organizations to: Move faster without production bottlenecks Create more authentic, human content Reduce ongoing production costs Build a scalable internal content system The key is having the right structure and support in place. Step 1: Start With Clarity, Not Guesswork Before hitting record, successful teams align on strategy first. What Toronto Businesses Should Focus On: Define your objective Are you creating training content? Internal updates? Executive communication? Choose the right format Talking head, screen recording, or guided presentation? Work within your team’s capabilities Whether you're a downtown corporate office or a growing startup, your process should fit your resources. Structure your messaging clearly Simple, direct communication performs better than overproduced scripts. Get expert guidance when needed Strategic support early on prevents wasted time later. Clarity upfront saves time, budget, and internal friction. Step 2: Capture Content Your Team Feels Confident Creating Once the plan is clear, recording becomes easy and repeatable. Most Toronto teams are already equipped to film using: Smartphones Laptops or webcams Basic lighting setups What Makes the Biggest Impact: On-camera confidence Professionals aren’t always natural on video but some training can dramatically improve delivery. Simple technical setup Clean audio, proper framing, and lighting matter more than expensive gear. Test recordings A quick trial run avoids common mistakes. Flexible workflows Recording should fit into your team’s schedule, especially in busy corporate environments. The system ensures consistency and quality. Step 3: Turn Raw Footage Into Branded, Ready-to-Use Content This is where your videos become valuable business assets. Post-Production That Elevates Your Content: Edit for clarity and engagement Remove filler, tighten messaging, improve pacing. Repurpose content Turn one recording into multiple internal or external assets. Add branding Graphics, captions, and visual consistency reinforce your company identity. Deliver ready-to-use videos Content that can be immediately shared across teams or platforms. For Toronto organizations, this step is key to maintaining a professional standard at scale. Make Your Video Content Work Across Your Organization Creating content is only part of the equation—distribution drives impact. Teams often integrate self-recorded videos into: Internal communication platforms Learning and development systems HR onboarding processes Marketing and employer branding With the right system, your content doesn’t just get created—it gets used consistently across the business. Build a Scalable Video System (Not Just One-Off Content) The most effective companies in Toronto don’t treat video as a one-time project. They build a repeatable workflow that allows them to: Produce content consistently Maintain quality without slowing down Scale communication across departments Self-recorded video becomes a long-term business tool. Looking for Self-Recorded Video Support in Toronto? If your team is exploring how to implement self-recorded video effectively, having the right structure can make all the difference. From planning and on-camera training to editing and delivery, a clear process ensures your videos are not just created, but actually drive results. Contact us for more info https://www.arcandcrown.com/contact
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Advocate for Diabetes Canada

January 19, 2026
"Volunteer advocates are at the heart of Diabetes Canada’s efforts to bring about positive change. They represent the voice of the 11.7 million Canadians living with diabetes or pre-diabetes and speak for those who cannot speak up for themselves. Advocates help raise awareness of diabetes and the daily burden of living with the disease. They participate in Diabetes Canada advocacy campaigns and events across the country, and they help influence public policy by building relationships with elected officials in their ridings and promoting Diabetes Canada’s policy recommendations through their personal and professional networks. To support and grow this vital community, Diabetes Canada launched a new advocacy training series designed to make it easier than ever for people to get involved: Speak up & speak out Getting involved is easy Introducing Diabetes Advocacy 👉 Watch the videos and learn more here: DIABETES CANADA Bringing Advocacy to Life With Video Arc + Crown Media partnered with Diabetes Canada to help bring this important advocacy training to life through strategically designed animated videos, we helped make the training: 🎥 Clear and accessible Animation helped break down complex concepts into simple, visually engaging sequences, so viewers instantly grasp key ideas — like what advocacy is, how it works, and how they can participate. 📈 Action-oriented and motivating The pacing and progression were intentionally structured so someone watching could move from curiosity to confidence — ready to take action. Our approach ensured the advocacy training wasn’t just informative — it felt welcoming, inclusive, and empowering to volunteers from all walks of life. Why Animated Training Content Works Training and onboarding content — especially for volunteer programs and advocacy initiatives — needs to be engaging, easy to understand, and repeatable. Animation is uniquely suited to this because it lets you: Illustrate abstract ideas visually (e.g., advocacy processes, decision pathways) Keep attention with motion and visual cues Streamline complex information into digestible chapters Adapt content for web, social channels, and virtual learning platforms By combining animation with thoughtful narrative structure and live footage, Arc & Crown Media helped create a training resource that volunteers can come back to again and again — whenever they need a refresher or want to share training with others. How Arc + Crown Media Can Help Your Organization At Arc + Crown Media, we specialize in strategic video production that helps organizations educate, train, and inspire their audiences. Whether you’re working with: Volunteers Clients or customers Employees and stakeholders Advocates or community members …we can help you build animated and live-action video series that turn complex ideas into clear, compelling content. We specialize in corporate and nonprofit video production that supports long-term communication strategies, not just one-off campaigns. Organizations work with us to create: Animated explainer videos Training and onboarding video libraries Internal communications from leadership teams Culture and employer branding videos Educational and advocacy content This is especially valuable for companies and nonprofits that need to communicate consistently across departments, locations, or audiences. For many of our clients, video becomes a recurring communication asset — helping them save time, improve message clarity, and increase engagement. Here’s what we bring to every project: ✨ Message strategy & script development 🎬 High-quality animated and live action production 📊 Content designed for multi-platform use 🤝 Collaborative creative process tailored to your mission Video isn’t just storytelling — it’s a strategic communication tool that scales your training, expands engagement, and aligns audiences around your mission. Ready to Make Video Work for You? If your organization needs: Training and onboarding content Advocacy or awareness campaigns Educational or mission-driven storytelling Animated explanation videos …video can be one of the most effective ways to communicate. Looking for Animated or Training Video Production in Canada? If your organization is planning: Volunteer or employee training programs Advocacy or awareness initiatives Internal communications strategies Educational content for clients or stakeholders Professional video production can dramatically improve how your message is understood and remembered. Arc + Crown Media is a Canadian video production company specializing in animated and live-action video content for training, internal communications, and advocacy. We help organizations communicate complex ideas clearly and connect with their audiences authentically. 👉 Contact Arc & Crown Media to learn how video can support your communication goals. Arc + Crown Media creates video content that helps organizations communicate clearly, connect authentically, and scale their impact. Let’s talk about your next video project and how we can help you achieve your goals.
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