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It’s no secret that the global pandemic sent shockwaves through the marketing industry, leaving leaders scrambling to find ways to reach their customers with their already dwindling budgets. Digital CX has become so much of a buzzword over the last several years, it’s almost lost its meaning, but that doesn’t negate its critical purpose now as we adapt to the “new normal.”

In a socially distanced society, it’s challenging to engage customers in the full experience that your brand has to offer, but there are some integral ways organizations rose to the challenge in order to remind their customers that their safety is valued, along with their business.

From sports to fashion, companies have utilized technology to make customers, fans and followers feel more in touch with the brand. For instance, the NBA created “crowdless” games with virtual “tickets” for fans to appear as a cardboard cutout in the stands, which provide fans a more intimate experience than they would just watching on TV.

Iconic brands like Michael Kors live stream fashion shows, making them more accessible to customers who may not otherwise have attended and reinforcing the value the company sees in them. These livestreams also providing the “wow” factor of being able to see a designer fashion show from the comfort of your own home.

This coming weekend, Outside Lands, the largest independently owned music festival in the United States, will be streaming a free online festival called “Inside Lands” that will feature live performances, previous years’ showstoppers, and exclusive interviews with artists.

[Related: Join us September 23rd for our webinar, "Shifting the Content Game." Register here!]

In short, prominent brands have utilized and expanded their digital platforms to deliver content that under normal circumstances may have never been created: and it works.

A recent report concluded that consumers feel brands are doing more to earn their loyalty during these uncertain times, and are adding value to them through their digital content. With this major shift toward online marketing, brands have leveled the playing field with their customers in providing a more intimate customer experience. It has been proven over and over that customers are more likely to buy from brands they feel a personal connection to and things like interviews, behind the scenes operations and live streams do just that. Not only are they extremely affordable for the brand, but they provide invaluable returns in that relationship building.

Although the pandemic has thrown a major wrench in marketing strategy, this “reset” has enabled marketing leaders create super innovative tactics for increasing accessibility, while also staying top-of-mind for their customers. A silver lining, if you will, to this crazy, unpredictable year.