(Image Credit: Government of B.C)

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Bending the curve, looking forward to the altered normal

Apr 18, 2020 | 6:47 AM

WE ARE BENDING THE CURVE, Dr. Bonnie Henry told us on Friday.

I’m not sure about the subtle difference between that and flattening or planking, but she did also use the word “flattening” at one point. Whatever, it beats raising the curve.

While continuing to emphasize the need to continue doing what we’ve been doing, she said it could mean easing up on some restrictions as soon as a few weeks from now. It’s enough to get you thinking about life after COVID-19. Or, at least, co-existing with the virus until we invent a vaccine.

The imagination runs wild. Think of it — getting a haircut. Rebooking an appointment with the dentist or optometrist (you known, the one that was cancelled). Going for coffee with a friend. Hugging a loved one. Going to the movies or a concert.

Well, actually, haircuts and concerts aren’t likely in the cards quite yet.

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So how about being able to watch sports events on TV that are less than five years old? Only if the games are played in empty arenas.

But, just as we won’t be getting back to full normal — only, perhaps, partial normal — any time soon, some things will be changed forever. We could call it, the “altered normal.”

The way we plan our cities could change significantly. Pre-COVID-19, building a city was all about cramming as many people into as small a space as possible. In order to reduce the cost of servicing new construction, density has been the mantra of municipal planners for the past few decades.

The experience with physical distancing is likely to put a stop to that. We’ll no longer focus all our attention on the city core, the hallmarks of which are building up instead of out, stacking people on top of each other, ignoring the fact there’s nowhere left to park, no room for green spaces.

Instead, we’ll design our cities around neighbourhoods, making each something close to self-sufficient. Highrise apartments will go out of favour. The corner convenience store will make a comeback. Decentralization will require a whole new way of looking at things.

Sports and entertainment facilities will become more spread out. Instead of being enamored with the concept of “cultural zones” that look good on paper, arenas and theatres will be spread throughout the city.

Digressing for a moment, I suffer from dwindling confidence that the Performing Arts Centre referendum will be held any time within the next several years. The community is not going to be ready for it. If it does rise again five or 10 years from now, the location will move away from the downtown core to a less congested area.

Working from home, once just a concept for most, will become common place, maybe even predominant. Corporations and the self-employed are discovering that it can actually work. What’s more, there are enormous savings to be had. For companies, expensive office space is no longer needed. For employees, they no longer need to keep such a watchful eye on the price of gasoline prices and decaf lattes.

For now, though, we’re approaching a maintenance phase that has yet to be clearly defined. Nesting is still the order of the day. We watch 60 per cent more TV than we did before the invasion of COVID-19. Streaming services are seeing a 20 per cent increase in business.

The evolution of television advertising has been fascinating to witness. Almost no TV commercial fails to make mention of the pandemic but they take very different approaches — some are still bent on selling product while others take a more sensitive approach, offering messages of support to consumers and thanks to front-line workers.

The really good ones don’t try to sell anything at all. They speak of the need to work together, of family. The auto industry was first off the mark. Subaru somehow managed to put together a brand new 30-second commercial within days, using archive photos, thanking those who keep us safe, fed and protected. It was a brilliant move.

Ford quickly followed with its own tribute. Other industries have jumped on board — there’s the A&W guy, whose commercial thanking those who put their health at risk for us purposely looks like it was taped at home on a cellphone. BMO offers gratitude to “the above and beyonders.”

It hasn’t been easy for a lot of advertisers. Coors ditched a campaign that called Coors Light “the official beer of working remotely.” Hershey pulled ads showing people hugging and shaking hands, while KFC called off a resurgent “finger-licking good” campaign.

Unlike the newspaper industry, which has been reduced to begging for change from the public to stay afloat, many other corporations are instead donating goods and cash to the fight against COVID-19. Some execs are even donating a piece of their paycheques.

I was particularly impressed to learn that Telus CEO Darren Entwistle has donated his entire salary for April, May and June to Canadian frontline healthcare workers. He didn’t do it for the publicity — the gesture became generally known only after an internal company memo was shared around.

All those things build brand loyalty. When people are ready to spend again, I suspect they’ll think seriously about who tried to sell us hope, not just products.

We are, indeed, heading toward an altered state of normal.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.