BRAND MESSAGING
Adexchanger (4/20) reinforces the need for brands to “balance awareness with opportunism” when advertising in a time of crisis. Consumers are looking for relevance with brand COVID-19 responses, and examples include brands that know their place, avoid the hard sell, and recognize people’s financial constraints. Also included is a link to a previous article on avoiding a marketing fail.
According to The Drum (4/17), P&G, the world’s largest advertiser, is increasing their spend despite increased coronavirus demand and limited availability for some products. Their CFO noted that the company is “putting its foot down on media spend” because they need “to work hard to ensure that we maintain mental and physical availability.”
RESEARCH
TVB commissioned Dynata to conduct a study, released 4/16, to determine the pandemic’s impact on attitudes about and consumption of media. Fielded April 1-7, 2020, the study looked at 10K+ adults across across 10 states (California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington). Key findings are consistent with other research including the reach of broadcast TV (highest among all platforms; here at 81%, followed by social media at 48% and Radio at 41%), and the trust local broadcast news (#1 across age and geography measured).The study also looked at how the Coronavirus impacted peoples lives by age and geography (e.g. urban, suburban, rural).
Nielsen released OTT viewership trends (4/22; NextTV) for the week of March 23, which found that connected device usage increased in LPM markets when compared to the week of March 2nd. The time period most impacted by these gains was primetime, with younger viewers (2-17) seeing the greatest increases.
An article in The Los Angeles Times (4/20) referenced projections by eMarketer and Kantar that monetized TV’s revenue losses due to the cancellation of major sports events, while recognizing the shifting viewing patterns. “With consumers stuck at home, many find themselves having more time on their hands and thus greater interest in watching TV. But that coincides with millions of newly unemployed or underemployed consumers who will have to keep an eye on their personal finances.”
INDUSTRY RESOURCES
In an effort to provide insight to the broader advertising and media community, the ANA announced on 4/21 that it has opened access to content that had only been available to members. The “Community Access” portal is free through June 5th to all visitors who register. Recent ANA content includes the Marketers Resource Guide to Coronavirus Response, which features brand examples and links to studies on advertising effectiveness.
The latest edition to the Ad Age Data Center (4/17) is an article on the increase in brands advertising on TV. iSpot.TV reports that 26% more brands were advertising during the period March 14-April 12, than the same date range in 2019. The start date represents the first Saturday at the start of the pandemic lockdown without live sports broadcast. With live sports missing, the lower priced inventory attracts a wider range of marketers.
THE SECRET IS OUT!
Last week’s report closed with a link to the chocolate chip recipe from Doubletree by Hilton. Not to be out-foodied, other brands, collected here by Adweek (4/21), are “spilling their secret recipes” during the pandemic, including Disney’s Churro Bites and Dole Whip, Ikea’s Swedish Meatballs, McDonald’s Sausage & Egg McMuffin, and more.
