Originally posted on Digilant.com.
It’s a complicated time where brands must balance between being empathetic toward the stress real-life Americans are feeling and the need to move forward with business for the good of their employees. For those brands that remain in-market, there is a window of opportunity to drive business value.
We’re in the middle of an election cycle, which historically has inflated the cost of media as much as 10%. However, the Coronavirus outbreak has turned this reality on its head. During this unprecedented time, there are two key trends advertisers should be aware of:
Supply
The daily routine of consumers has shifted. Consumers are consuming more content online, on social, or on Connected TV.
Demand
Many advertisers have stopped spending either because their industry is being seriously disrupted, or the uncertainty has caused them to pause.
Simply put, there is more opportunity to reach consumers and fewer brands opting to do so. The law of supply and demand dictates that this is a buyer’s market. Advertisers should be able to reach consumers at a lower cost, and it’s during a period of time where advertisers should have been spending more because of the election. Essentially, paid media is having a flash sale.
And this is exactly what we are seeing at Digilant. Over the past few days, even though many of our advertisers are shifting to lower funnel tactics that are more costly, we’ve seen CPMs dip:
Source: Facebook (average of all Digilant campaigns across all verticals and tactics.)
Savvy brands are using this window of time to share a positive message and to test in areas they would not usually test.
A few ideas:
- Consider a campaign that spread positivity, shows the empathy of your brand and illustrates how you’re helping those affected by the crisis. Build brand equity.
- High-risk populations need access to goods and services they usually shop in-store. Make them aware that you are there to serve them in their time of need.
- Consumers are already financially impacted. Reach those consumers who may need a discount more than ever.
It’s important to use this opportunity to do good and be useful. And be sure to act quickly. It’s only a matter of time before we all take a collective deep breath and realize this is just a passing cloud. Stay safe out there.