COVID: Should We Stop Advertising?
In this guest post, Jason Renwick (pictured below), a programmatic manager at Dentsu, casts his keen eye over the disruption COVID-19 has caused to ad spends and, somewhat unsurprisingly, argues that ad-tech should be the industry’s answer to all the flux and change…
There’s nothing like a global pandemic to keep us on our toes. For almost all in our industry, none would have had the tools, or the insight, to best understand the consequences and repercussions of pausing marketing activity at the mercy of a virus; but nonetheless, many did.
In fact, according to BlueMedia Research Group some 61 per cent of advertisers significantly reduced budget during the pandemic, and another 16 per cent were unsure whether they would adjust budget in the future. However, let’s look at the cases where advertisers have continued to advertise, and succeeded in times of economic downturn, as well as the massive opportunities this event presented for brands who are still fighting for our attention today.
Firstly, the industries who saw the biggest change to their ad spend as the COVID bell struck in March.
For News, we shouldn’t see this as a surprise as COVID pushed our attention to constant updates from health organisations and articles from our major networks. As for Hobbies and Interests, c’mon we all did a little extra spending when we stopped taking the bus and train to work; Nintendo Switches were sold out everywhere and every second Instagram story was someone building a home gym in April #fitness2020.
For industries like Travel it is not a surprise that their spending would reduce massively, this was inevitable, but for those still standing, should they stop spending? If they spend, are they fast-tracking bankruptcy with almost no revenue flowing into the business? Well, we have a century of proof demonstrating that the businesses that continued advertising during economic downturns yielded a stronger recovery than those who hadn’t.
During the Great Depression of the 1920/30s Kellogg’s doubled its marketing budget, yielding an extra 30 per cent profit and succeeding as the new number cereal of its time and still today. Anyone heard of ‘Post’ Cereal? Me neither.
The Global Financial Crisis in 2007/8 devastated the global economy, yet Toyota advertised aggressively over its international counterparts and in turn became the number one car manufacturer in the world post-GFC.
But the year 2020 looks very different to how it did 100 years ago, even 12 years ago. In our digitised world economy, we are faced with fierce competition fighting for a small percentage of market share. So, how can we capitalise on the current situation?
Look no further than Programmatic. The realm of real-time bidding binds us to the laws of supply and demand, and a partial exit of 61 per cent of the industry presents a massive opportunity. In Australia alone there were 660 million more daily online video ad opportunities in March versus January, as working from home gave us more hours in the day to consume media.
This over-abundance of supply and lower competition means the following:
- Lower CPMs as we do not have to bid aggressively to compete in the market
- We can achieve higher reach as we can spread our bids across more unique users.
A further benefit of programmatic in this space is fluidity in its ability to shift budget to audiences and inventory to match consumption in moments providing advertisers added flexibility in uncertain times.
Industries less affected by COVID have a greater opportunity to win SOV due to the changing media consumptions and behavioural habits, this much is plain and simple. For those who are directly affected; the secret lies in creative relevance and long-term brand building. At a time where sales and ROI aren’t as favourable, making a personable connection with consumers, that outlives the current crisis, becomes ever more prevalent, by means of recourse for success in economic recovery. A great example achieving this is the Qantas drawing of its famous Kangaroo for the last 747 flight of its fleet. So, provided a business has access to the liquidity necessary to sustain a brand message in the market, (either existing or borrowed), they should absolutely continue to advertise during COVID.
As an industry it’s our responsibility and duty to be as adaptive and responsive to market changes as possible and ad-tech is the biggest facilitator of this.
Latest News
The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]
‘It’s The Lesser Of Two Evils’ – NRL Eyes US Betting Market As Aussie Regulators Circle
US betting firms will be delighted by the circa 50,000 Americans who could soon watch the NRL on their favourite app.
A-League In Deep Discussions With New Partner To Keep Games On TV After Production Company Enters Administration
The A-League's insatiable appetite for scoring own goals continues.
TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]
Is The Australian Music Industry In Trouble? Inquiry Launched Following Splendour Cancellation
Earlier this week, an inquiry was launched into the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Australian live music industry in the wake of multiple festival cancellations. On 25 March 2024, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, asked the Committee on Communications and the Arts to inquire into and report on the […]
Liana Dubois, Leandro Perez, Aimee Buchanan & More Gather For Inaugural Compadres Leadership Event
Didn't get the invite? Perhaps you're not as important as you thought.
Cathay Captures The Unforgettable Thrill Of Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Via Publicis
Nobody does rugby like Hong Kong, apparently. Certainly nobody does it as badly as Australia.
Cocogun Nabs Christine Watts, Kirsty Reynolds & Shev Tan Bolstering Management & Creative Teams
Cocogun bolsters its team with new hires. Committed to purchasing a bigger sofa, too.
The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley & Sam Cousins Take The Plunge With Pro-Bono Work For Cure Cancer
B&T chats with The Media Store bosses about their great pro-bono work and sponsored swim.
Hawke’s Brewing Co. Taps Rocket Comms For PR Agency Following Competitive Pitch
We're expecting Rocket Comms productivity to crash in spectacular fashion following this win.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Patties Serves Up A Taste Of Home For Olympians & South Sydney Rabbitohs Recommit To Gambling Reform
While the Rabbitohs commits to gambling reform, B&T reckons the team should commit to a decent auto sponsor.
Google: “Inevitable” That Bad Actors Will Abuse Ads Platform As Advertiser Account Suspensions Double
Google maintains it's simply impossible for it to entirely stop bad people placing & paying for ads using its service.
Quantcast Expands APAC Sales Team With Appointment Of News Corp Account Manager
No pressure at all when you are appointed as a client success manager.
Publicis Sapient Tests Microsoft-Powered Gen AI Search Tool With Homes & Villas By Marriott Bonvoy
Given Gen AI's record for mangling stuff, B&T cannot see the problem with letting it decide your next holiday digs.
Volkswagen & DDB Group’s “Roo Badge” To Reduce Kangaroo Related Road Collisions
Watch out for RooBadge as Cannes Lions' most debated campaign this year.
Twilio Launches Unified Profiles & Agent Copilot Features To Boost Productivity & Engagement
Agent Copilot sounds like James Bond's less interesting cousin.
Reebok & Honda Among New Clients For onetwo agency
OneTwo finally lives up to its name with this double billing.
Ogilvy Report: Throw Out The Social Strategy Rule Book, The Rules Of The Past No Longer Apply
B&T was puzzled that all 'influencers' aren't, effectively, 'virtual', but here we are.
WhiteGREY & AKQA Merge In Australia, Lee Simpson Departs
Fortunately, the combined agencies aren't opting for a trite portmanteau for the new name.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 Music Festival Cancelled!
Music fans all over the country reportedly relieved they can pack away their rain coats and gumboots for another year.
TV Ratings (26/03/2024): “Fairy Bread, F***ing Disgusting”: Gordon Ramsay Slams Aussie Food In Food Stars Launch
Ramsay not one for mincing his words, even when it comes to minced meat pies.
Paramount+ International Boss Doubles Down On Aussie Content, Says Ad-Tier will Grow Audiences And Revenue
Good news as Paramount will not be binning I’m A Celebrity for re-runs of Frasier.
Brent Smart: Telstra Pushing For 50-50 Brand-Performance Split But Warns Numbers ‘Won’t Look Great’ Initially
The old brand vs performance debate continues. But here, Brent is firmly sitting on the fence.
Crowded House, Tones And I & Dom Dolla Win Big At The Shure Rolling Stone Music Awards
B&T staffer reports back with humdinger of a hangover & feeling seriously uncool after mixing with music types.
Opinion: Dyslexia “A Hidden Gem” For Brands & Agencies
Dyslexics offer underappreciated benefits in the corporate field, according to this op-ed.
David Jones Taps Criteo To Power Online Retail Media Arm
Want to see ads for things you probably can't afford? David Jones has got you covered with new retail media play.
oOh!media Sets Up Team To Target Business Audiences Across Airports & Offices
oOh! wants brands to harass you every minute of your next business trip.
QMS Launches Australian First DOOH & TV Partnership With Samba TV
Samba TV, of course, is not a channel dedicated to dancing. Much to our dismany.
Slew Of New Hires At Amplify
Four new faces join the Amplify offices. Team say desk scarcity becoming "acute".
Adobe Announces Content Authenticity Initiative Expansions To Counter Deep Fakes
Try as they might to enlighten them, we suspect Trump supporters will continue to watch and believe Fox News.
The PR Group Appoints TechCrunch Senior Reporter Catherine Shu As Director Of Content & Media
Catherine Shu makes the bold leap from journalism to PR. Says inevitable pay bump was "unrelated".
HERO Nabs Ebony Santin From AMPR
Rumours Santin cleared out the stationery cupboard before departing are as yet unconfirmed.
Karena Noble Checks Out Of EVT Hotels & Resorts To Launch Comms Consultancy
Noble still managed to squeezed in a continental breakfast before departing.
Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity To Bring Professional Design Tools To Every Organisation
Canva & Adobe face off continues. We're not picking sides but keenly aware that Canva's office is next door to ours.
“Lean On Our Team To Help You Find An Audience”: Why Understanding Audience Engagement Is Essential In Journalism
Engaging the audience is critical to journos, apparently. We'd thought self-loathing & alcoholism were key.
Adobe Summit: Major Gen AI Developments, Data Concessions & Partnerships
What happens in Vegas stays there. Unless it's the Adobe Summit and then you get to read about in B&T.