Author: Emma Monks

Now that the COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed globally, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A light that, while signaling a return to some sort of normalcy by year’s end, has put pharma companies in the public eye like no other time in recent memory. They are not only confronted with a complex environment of meticulous oversight of industry and government regulators but also a more complicated social media landscape.

For 400 American companies, the new year is starting off with a welcome accolade: they have been named to the Newsweek 2021 list of America’s Most Responsible Companies.

TikTok, the addictively simple video-sharing social media platform, was officially the most downloaded app of 2020. They beat out Facebook for the most downloads last year, which represents a three-spot jump for TikTok from 2019.

For leadership teams and boards, 2020 will be remembered as a time when chief communication officers stepped up and shined in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty. As brand communicators responded to the ever changing COVID-19 landscape, seamlessly pivoting strategy became the norm.

When a crisis is brewing, the public looks to the top of a company for leadership. When handled poorly or completely ignored by the leadership team, an issue can quickly become a full-blown crisis, resulting in boycotts, loss of sales—or worse.

With the first COVID-19 vaccines receiving emergency use approval for frontline healthcare workers and the most vulnerable, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a distant light, admittedly, but it gives us something to pin our hopes on as we look ahead to 2021.