Impact of COVID-19 on the Online Advertising Industry

Impact of COVID-19 on the Online Advertising Industry!

Introduction

• Needless to say that the current COVID-19 outbreak is in its full swing and has taken over every aspect of our day to day living and seems to be the only topic of discussion around the globe. As many countries were in complete lockdown and the impact was felt everywhere, naturally in areas like out of home, cinema and the advertising industry have found this period very challenging as the global economy is also suffering. As the brands are under the pressure of conserving their cash and juggling with the declining revenue, this has impacted the budget they used to spend on the branding and google adwords services.

• Yet, this was just in the initial months of the COVID19 outbreak, some confidence is beginning to return, as advertising agencies and advertisers have started to adapt and plot their path through the COVID-19 crises. The brands have now started seeing some growth though slow along with revenues in some sectors with the adwords services outperforming all other platforms.

Impact because of working remotely:

• Marketing and sales are in a significant decline as the customers are also saving their money with the fear of unemployment. And the sudden shift to working from home has allowed many companies to see endless possibilities. The crisis has affected everyone and every business is still dealing or at least trying to deal with it.

• Although there has been a major decline in advertising spends and their impact is still felt by various agencies, suppliers and publishers.

• Though what companies do not understand is the fact that, if their business can prosper during these uncertain times with the help of an advertising agency, it may forever change their business landscape. There are ways, all parties involved can figure out ways to navigate through these challenging times. So organizations that excel and take their business to another level may choose to adopt the model of online advertising in some form of capacity moving forward.

Are the brands working online taking responsible routes in the current situation?

• From the brand's perspective customers simply are not spending at the moment.

• Traditional advertising has been completely impacted and digital advertising has also seen a great decline across all channels. But there are also some positives which brands are not seeing, as the world is not moving out and spending most of their time at their homes their purchase decisions are being made online, regardless of what they want to buy. And according to some reports, the health and beauty sector have seen some major growth during the crisis.

• Moreover, as the technology has stepped up, tech buyers are also spending more than expected while they are trying to adapt to new measures and moving to work remotely for the months to come.

Some strategies that most businesses are following

• As advertisers and ad agencies are coming in terms with the new reality, they can’t deny the fact that they are facing uncertainty of changing consumer behavior and if the pandemic lasts longer and there is tightening of quarantine restrictions once more or not.

• Given that the majority of the brands are inactive right now and as the customers are making all their purchases online from essentials to luxuries, ensure that every brand can capitalize in this situation. But how? Simply just by pushing their content, that is advertising consistently and being active will keep brands on the top of their minds and increase the brand awareness. So when a customer would want to purchase anything they would turn to them.

• Though it is not necessary to spend as much as brands were doing before the pandemic but to reap great benefits, they are allowing for flexible budget spends. What does this do? This ensures that your brand is seen and recognized by the