The Case for Maintaining Ad Investments in Turbulent Times

As a result of COVID-19, current market conditions have created a very fluid business and paid media environment. Businesses across the globe are changing their office landscape which has resulted in 84% of the workforce working from home (NRG Coronavirus study, 3/18/20). A recent Neilsen survey indicated that social distancing and shelter in place initiatives could lead to a 60% increase in time spent with media. This shift in media consumption has already revealed a huge increase in activity across devices with increased individual consumption in streaming (+80%), smartphone usage (+76%), and internet content (+78%) (Advertiser Perceptions study).

What does this mean for your media strategy?

There are several compelling reasons to maintain your ad investment during this time frame, and a few considerations worth keeping in mind.

1. Overall category “noise levels” have dropped and have created excellent strength of voice (SOV) opportunities. Indecisiveness by marketers during turbulent times often cause advertising inventory costs to drop, making it a “buyers” market. Additionally, continued advertising provides a critical opportunity to project to an image of corporate stability and maintain or even strengthen a brand’s share of mind. A strong share of mind can be a crucial factor in maintaining or developing an edge in consumer recovery spending.
2. Now, more than ever, it is important to have a deeper understanding of your marketing investment. The shift in media consumption with a heavier reliance on digital media makes it essential to analyze current media investments and creative assets. Both media investments and creative assets need to align with the current environment. Understanding your media mix and redirecting media to a heavier digital presence not only affords you the ability to capitalize on the increase in consumer usage of digital but also provides the agility to shift channels and targets towards tactics that have a greater measurable impact on your business.
3. Any analysis of your media strategy/investment should also focus on audience optimization. This is the time to better define your audience with test campaigns that not only refine current audiences but also identify additional target audiences that may have been previously underserved or not even recognized.

It’s natural to rethinking your approach in turbulent times. For well positioned brands, there is opportunity in uncertainty when planned correctly. At Ammunition e always strive to maximize your marketing investment by combining timely marketing trends and platform data that optimize your marketing mix to drive meaningful results to your business. No matter what.

We’re here for anyone that wants to have a conversation and discuss further.