Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau confirmed that the Canadian lockdown will last “many more weeks” and that reopening the economy will happen gradually. Though not unexpected, the announcement still felt like a gut-punch for those of us in the digital marketing and wider business community. Many of our bottom lines are hurting, and every day that the economy stalls only adds to the pain.
Yet there are glimmers of hope in this bad news world. On a macro level, the rate of new COVID-19 infections and deaths appears to have stabilized in some of the hardest-hit nations, such as Italy and Spain. South Korea was able to hold elections last week, and Austria and Germany announced steps to ease lockdown restrictions.
On a smaller scale, evidence suggests that consumers remain open to online advertising. Last week, eMarketer compiled the results of several surveys on the subject. Seventy-three per cent of respondents to a GlobalWebIndex survey said brands should continue advertising as normal or were neutral. Only eight per cent of respondents to a Kantar survey said brands should stop advertising during the crisis. Research conducted by Ace Metrix showed 86 per cent of US ad viewers are open to brands mentioning COVID-19 in their advertising. And 78 per cent of US internet users said they wouldn’t think worse of brands whose ads displayed alongside COVID-19 coverage.
Even though consumers remain open to digital marketing, it’s still a good idea to review your strategy. Messaging that was appropriate in January may not be appropriate in April. Seventy-seven per cent of respondents to the Kantar survey wanted ads to talk about the brand’s contributions to the new everyday life, and 75 per cent said ads should provide information about the brand’s contributions to the fight against COVID-19.
As a Google Premier Partner digital marketing agency with access to valuable insights on Google’s preferred practices, GrowthEngine Media can help you weather this unprecedented storm. Consider our team a resource for your business – if you have questions about your ads strategy, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
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