Media and Advertising Amid Coronavirus: Part 1
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Nielsen predicts a 60% increase in the consumption of at-home video content in US homes during coronavirus quarantine -- media that can be targeted to specific markets and demos to keep brand awareness high as other advertising channels may be more limited.
OTT, Connected TV and Streaming TV are seeing increases with SpotX, a leader in the space, reporting a 16% increase in video ad inventory due to additional eyes on screen. Where traditional cable offers great content alignment, OTT has the benefit of additional data layers which maximize targeting ability and ultimately ROI while also allowing the ability to A/B test creative.
Both OTT and regular Cable & Broadcast TV can be tracked using TVSquared or similar analytics that measure spikes in web traffic against spot airings. This is increasingly helpful for any brand that wants to prospect new audiences and alignments while staying top of mind with core consumers during this time.
China saw a 6% increase in mobile activity during quarantine, underscoring the need not only to message on video platforms, but also to leverage audience growth across devices connected within the household.
Interview with Jessica Ragusa, Vice President of Media, Wit Media
Coronavirus has dominated the news cycle for the last few weeks, and it is now impacting the daily lives of nearly all Americans. As the number of confirmed cases in the nation climbs, it is limiting the way we work, enjoy recreational activities, and even interact with our families. Since being declared a national emergency, daily life has changed across the nation.
Amid these fast developments, it is useful to gain insight into how coronavirus will change American’s media habits and what that means for the companies who still need to reach their customers. As an industry expert on omnichannel advertising and innovative marketing strategies, I spoke with my colleague Jessica Ragusa to get a better understanding of what the next several weeks or months will look like.
What do you think the biggest changes will be in regard to how individuals interact with media?
I think the most significant change is the most obvious one; there’s going to be a tremendous uptick in people using in-home media. We’re already seeing this, especially for areas and states that have already implemented quarantines and closed schools. We have the majority of the nation spending far more time in their homes than they usually would. Other activities are limited, so naturally, they’re going to be looking for in-home entertainment - and their first stop is often television and audio sources.
Cable TV and companies such as Hulu and Sling TV are going to be obvious winners. Still, the reality is that after the first week or so, most consumers are going to get bored with their existing media offerings. This means they will be looking for new sources and ones that maybe aren’t obvious choices under normal circumstances. There’s tremendous growth potential in this space, particularly for podcasts and games.
This leads us to another area that I think we’re going to see changes, and that is how individuals interact across multiple devices and platforms simultaneously. Many people do this in the absence of a pandemic. They are on their phone while viewing content. But because the news is so important, many more people will be on their phones or tablets while listening to audio sources or viewing content. So, in households with multiple people, we’re going to see many different content streams across many devices at the same time. Games, TV, audio and smart-speaker interactions, social media – all are going to be happening at the same time.
How can advertisers adapt to these changes? How quickly can they adapt?
I think there are many opportunities here for advertisers to interact with their customers, especially in new ways. But they’re going to have to think creatively and change their media mix to adapt to the changes in the public’s habits. And while concern about the pandemic is taking precedent right now, individuals will still need to get information from companies, particularly those whose products are relevant to mitigating the spread of coronavirus. Advertising is a great way to raise awareness and reach people to help them feel safe and comfortable in a time of global panic.
Viewing times are going to increase exponentially on nearly all channels, and cross-devices use on multiple platforms simultaneously is going to increase. We’ll also likely see bigger audiences in areas that generally have much smaller audiences, such as podcasts and app-based games. These changes present a tremendous amount of potential for identifying your customers and audiences and reaching them while they are a captive audience.
What types of technologies do you think will be crucial in making this work successfully?
That’s the thing - it’s important to remember that we’re not flying blind here. Brands don’t simply have to buy a bunch of digital ads on many channels and hope for the best. We have tons of archived and active data, plus technologies like mobile geofencing that can be implemented to ensure that the most relevant messages reach the audience we want.
The role of mobile geofencing is a particularly exciting concept that I think will be incredibly useful. While it has historically been used for things like conferences, the basic underlying technology allows us to target specific geographical areas. As coronavirus spreads at different rates throughout different areas of the nation, we can tailor messages to address the concerns of each geographic area uniquely.
Additionally, archived data lets us still personalize messages just like we would any other time. While most sporting events are canceled currently, we still have data on who the fans are, and we can still leverage that data to craft messages that work effectively. When this data is layered with the geographical information we have about the virus’s regional impacts, we can definitely create messages that work and help individuals across the nation feel a sense of stability and normalcy in the face of an unprecedented historical event.