Digital transformation during COVID-19
These past few weeks have drastically altered nearly every aspect of daily life. As Americans are instructed to stay home to slow down the spread of coronavirus, people are working from home, avoiding public gatherings, and spending more time on their screens. What does this mean for the world of advertising? While it's clear that out-of-home advertising is out of the question, this unprecedented time is a huge opportunity to move your ad dollars to digital.
A strategic plan may involve shifting some ad spend to these relevant mediums:
Viewers are increasing time spent on social media, messaging apps, & streaming services.
Social media platforms, messaging apps, and video streaming services are all seeing major increases in usage. In fact, Nielsen reported finding a shocking “61% increase in streaming via the TV [during this crisis]". In addition to consuming news content, viewers are looking for replacements to sporting events and cinema outings, causing them to turn to a larger number of entertainment programs on CTV. Targeting your ads to audiences on these platforms will ensure your message reaches a large number of appropriate consumers.
Additionally, we anticipate a decrease in radio listening as the need to commute diminishes with employees being urged to work-from-home. A great alternative is to shift towards programmatic audio opportunities such as podcasts and streaming.
Support credible news sources to reach engaged audiences.
Where would we be without the news today? Millions of Americans are staying up-to-date on the latest coronavirus updates. According to the New York Times, overall visits to news sites has risen 57% compared to this time last year. This means incorporating sources of news into your digital plan will allow advertisers to reach a huge number of users that are online and paying attention.
Not only this, but running campaigns alongside COVID-19 related news means your ad dollars are also spent supporting accurate, fact-checked, and reliable information. Doing so ensures that the public - and your customers - will stay informed and healthy.
At RTBiQ, we have news-based inventory (and more!) available to you. Here are just a few of our latest Private Marketplaces for local news sources available on our platform:
ABC
Buzzfeed
Google News/Politics
Newsbreak
Newsweek
New York Times
According to a study by IAS, consumers are reporting that their sentiment of brands will likely not change by ads appearing near COVID-19 content.
However, if brands are concerned about their advertising on news sites, then we recommend using ad dollars to promote a non-profit with “brought to you by...” messaging. You can help your community and brand by spreading the word about non-profits who are using their resources and services to provide aid during this crisis (see example to the right).
Target your consumers with cannabis compliant inventory.
With anxiety around the country at an all-time high, it's no surprise that customers are ordering from their local dispensaries and stocking up on their favorite products. A cannabis company in the Bay Area, Harborside, reported a 45% increase in delivery requests. Let your community know you are open for business with our cannabis compliant digital advertising.
Clearly, now is the time to run digital. Move your outdoor ad spend to flexible, data-driven programmatic advertising and see your campaigns grow.