Uncertainty has left many marketers unsure of how to proceed during this constantly changing environment. At Primer, we’re seeing some important trends emerge in the recent weeks, as COVID-19 has shifted our realities and our behaviors.
Here are actionable key learnings from across our entire portfolio of hypergrowth partners that you can use to improve your marketing without being tone deaf to the environment around us:
Spikes in social usage are driving CPMs to historically low costs.
If we can learn from China’s experience with the Coronavirus, “time online in China rose 20% during life under quarantine,” as reported by Nate Ives of The Wall Street Journal. We’re starting to see the same effect here in the United States.
We have seen a 23% decrease in CPMs across our partners’ campaigns in the past 7 days.
Individual brands have seen CPM decreases as much as -40% in the past week.
Consumers are still spending on DTC brands.
The impact of more exposure to a wider audience during this time of increased social media usage is having an impact on conversions. Some DTC brands have experienced 50%+ decreases in CPAs, while increasing spend.
Beginning on Sunday of this week, we have seen consecutive daily decreases in CPAs in aggregate across our portfolio of partner brands. Tuesday and Wednesday saw double-digit CPA decreases, -28% and -23%, respectively, compared to the same day last week.
We expect this trend to continue for some months. As we’re all navigating the changes impacted by Coronavirus, we expect things to continue to change.
Instead of restaurants, pharmacies and gyms — people will need grocery and food delivery, telemedicine, and at-home gyms and workout classes. DTC and digital experiences will be needed more now than ever to continue everyday life. You can find more insights on the impacts of the Coronavirus in this eMarketer article.
What You Can Do to Improve Your Ads Today
Try ad messaging that speaks to the current WFH status.
Improved performance is being seen across all existing top performing creative, however, we’re seeing early results showing that “Staying home?”-type messaging is resonating with consumers and driving costs down further.
We recommend testing this kind of time-sensitive messaging along with your top performing creative. Here are five to try:
- “Working from home?”
- “Delivered to your door”
- “Made & Shipped in the US” (focus here is on supply chain flexibility)
- “Skip the store”
- “<Healthy or Fun activity> from home!”
Not a DTC brand? This is a great time to test and learn.
For brands that are not especially relevant during this time, we have seen CTRs decrease. It’s helpful to keep in mind that CPMs are low too. That’s making up for any drop in conversion you may experience. Continue testing and learning, and when demand comes back, you’ll be there for an awesome intersection of cheap CPMs and regular demand.
Stay agile. Keep informed. You will succeed.
Consumers are spending more time on social media right now, and they are buying more from direct-to-consumer brands.
- Have empathy for your customers. Show them you care and are sensitive to their varying situations.
- CPMs are the lowest they’ve been in 5 years. Utilize opportunity.
- Demand for delivery and digital experiences is way up. Acquire a huge generation of new lifelong customers who remember you for helping them and making their lives easier during a time sure to go down as one of the most stressful in their lives.
- Tell them how you can help. Use direct language to explain that you recognize their situation and your service can help.
- Stay informed and agile.
How can we help?
We’re here to help you navigate this constantly changing environment. If you have any questions about how to manage your media spend right now, Primer is offering complimentary growth advice during this crisis. Reach out to Primer’s CEO, Kamo Asatryan, to talk more: kamo@goprimer.com
