It’s become increasingly clear that we are in the midst of not just a once-in-a-generation crisis, but the kind of moment that will probably end up defining all our lifetimes.
We don’t need to go over the detail here – we are all too well familiar with the escalating nature of the coronavirus crisis – but if there is one glimmer of light in this grimmest of sagas it is this: we are all in it together.
Once a slogan used to beat George Osborne’s claim about the impact of austerity, it is now an undeniable truth about coronavirus: we have all seen our lives and most likely our businesses thrown upside down in an entirely unprecedented way.
But while the temptation can be to despair, the reality is that we must – we absolutely must – carry on and pull through together.
First up, we want to know how the crisis is affecting you – so we’d be most grateful if you could complete this short survey here.
Prolific North has of course been impacted as well, and with all our staff now working from home, we are adjusting to the new reality.
We are, more than ever, conscious of our role and responsibility to help to pull our community together and light the way forward.
So today we wanted to tell you a bit more about how we are going to be covering this defining moment for our lives and businesses.
Subscribe to the Prolific North Daily Newsletter Today!
Want all the latest content from Prolific North delivered direct to your inbox daily? Of course you do!
A new live blog: We will be launching a live blog to serve as a one-stop hub for all our coronavirus coverage, keeping you up to date with how the crisis is affecting your industry
How you’re responding: We will be launching a new series of people and business-focused case studies and stories that will shine a light on how the sector is responding to the crisis
The practical side: We will also be looking at the practical side of keeping your business going, from WFH tools to the support available for the media, marketing, digital and creative sector.
Freelancer support: We are very conscious of the impact the crisis is having on freelancers, too, and will be relaunching our Freelancers section, with listings now free to help freelancers get back on their feet
A brand new print title: And we will shortly be unveiling details of a brand new print product that will look to bring the sector together and provide a unique way for Northern brands and agencies to connect
We will be rolling out this coverage in the coming days to ensure that you, the Prolific North community, will stay completely up to speed on the things you and your business need.
We know that for some businesses in our sector, these unprecedented times have led to unprecedented demand for their services.
So while many businesses are having to let staff go, some need more employees – quickly.
We stand ready with our unrivalled platform – 130,000 unique visitors a month and a daily newsletter to 25,000 subscribers – to help those businesses find the resource they need.
And until the end of June, we are offering 50% off any new jobs taken out with us – and if you want to buy a job ad now and use it later, we will be able to hold your job’s listing until the end of the year. Please contact carol@prolificnorth.co.uk for more details, or visit the ‘Add your job’ page.
Our Profiles platform is also an ideal means of keeping your business front of mind at the moment, not to mention very high up the Google search results.
So today we are introducing a £100 discount for any new Profile – £299 instead of £399 – and we will also run it on our Prolific London site. Again, contact Carol for more information.
It is only 10 days since the incredible success of the Digital City Festival, a feat that increasingly seems remarkable given our current restrictions.
It goes without saying that our planned events schedule over the spring and summer has been postponed.
But we remain extremely optimistic that we will be able to reschedule the events – including the Prolific North Awards – for later in the year, and we will be providing further clarification in due course.
We are also exploring a number of different opportunities for bringing the sector together for more niche occasions online – please contact rebecca@prolificnorth.co.uk for more information about these opportunities.
The current restrictions do at least present an excellent opportunity to invest in you or your team’s development.
We will be running our scheduled training sessions (in partnership with industry leaders) online, classroom-style, so people can get all the benefits of a face-to-face training but at a discounted rate.
We will also be introducing some new training courses that will be particularly pertinent in the current climate – please contact alexandra@prolificnorth.co.uk.
Throughout this turmoil, you can be assured that we will be here to support you and keep you abreast of everything you need to know, alongside our usual daily diet of non-coronavirus news.
GET IN TOUCH: We would also love to hear from you, and the ways in which you think we can help you. Please contact us at hello@prolificnorth.co.uk
