The COVID-19 pandemic threw the world a curveball. It impacted every facet of our daily lives. The shift forced entire industries to adapt faster than ever before to keep pace with consumer needs under uncertain circumstances. With face mask mandates in public spaces to employees working remotely for the first time, there’s almost nothing it hasn’t touched. At Aces Marketing, we know first hand that includes the marketing industry. From the changes in the average customer journey to unprecedented spikes in media consumption, the marketing landscape looks completely different today than it did a year ago. Here’s a look at how COVID-19 has altered the marketing landscape and how digital marketers are adapting.
A Shift in Priorities
45% of Americans have reportedly changed brand preferences since the onset of the pandemic. Consumer shopping habits swiftly transformed to adapt to safety measures and an entirely new set of priorities. Brand loyalties, once-comfortable routines, and buying preferences have all been disrupted in the face of COVID. Today, consumers expect more from their brands and businesses. Nine out of ten customers now say they prefer buying from businesses that prioritize customer and employee safety. Additionally, nearly 80% say they prefer to shop with brands that can clearly define “how they are helping” on the long road to post-pandemic recovery. In the current marketing climate, consumers expect to see brands step away from shameless self-promotion and toward more humanized messaging.
Shorter Buying Cycles
The typical journey from initial brand discovery to completed purchase is another area that has seen significant changes. Consumers are looking to take immediate action. Direct response TV advertising has been capitalizing on this for years and still stands as one of the best platforms to quickly reach and engage with customers. With more companies adopting various platforms that utilize this shortened journey, it leaves little room for error as customers have come to expect faster service and more efficient checkout processes in their shopping experience.
Virtual Events
COVID lockdowns and social distancing protocols saw all in-person events placed on hold.
A change that left those who rely on trade shows, and other events for lead generation scrambling to find new avenues to generate contacts. The upside to this is that large budgets have been freed up for virtual events, oftentimes requiring the help of dedicated agencies to produce content.
Reallocation of Budgets
As businesses began to see financial losses while the pandemic unfolded, marketing budgets began to be reallocated. As mentioned above, people were spending more time than ever consuming media, often television. Shrinking budgets forced companies to look to performance advertising formats to meet their clients where they were, watching television. Given this reallocation of budget, many companies got more involved in the direct response tv space, seeing significant gains over traditional marketing practices.
Outsourcing
As staffing issues continue to rise, companies in need of marketing are reaching out to agencies to handle the workload. Working with an agency like Aces Marketing is a cost-effective strategy for any business dealing with the current market. For direct response TV advertising, the pandemic has amplified existing customer behavior, particularly in people’s response rate. In some markets, the demand for local e-commerce and home delivery services has intensified the way consumers engage with direct to consumer (DTC) advertising and boosted the impact of B to C transactions. That’s because, with more people at home, direct response TV marketing matters more and has a more extensive reach. Contact us today if you’re ready to see what Direct Response TV Advertising can do for your brand or product!