When making decisions on advertising campaigns, the two primary areas to consider are changing consumer behaviors and impacts on individual industries (from supply chains to point of sales). Strategically thinking through the below thought-starters will be crucial in making the right decision for your brand or clients.

Consumer behavior shifts and impact

1. Increased “work from home” periods will naturally lead to an increase in the time spent online for personal use. With all else equal, this will potentially lead to an increase in ad inventory across several platforms. As a result, it is possible to see the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) decrease across auction-based platforms, especially as some businesses scale back on their marketing spend during this time. If ad inventory increases and ad purchasing stays the same or declines, then the cost to buy that inventory will naturally fall.
2. As many people opt to remain in their homes, online shopping and delivery services like Jumia, UberEats, and Glovo delivery are likely to see increases in demand due to their ability to provide products and services directly to the consumer’s door.
3. With the economic downturn, consumer behavior is likely to change drastically. For those without significant disposable income, those planning for or are in retirement, and for small business owners, an economic downturn might result in a sharp decline in their disposable income to spend. While consumers could take a “wait and see” approach, advertisers should consider their target audience and how their buying habits may change as a result of the current economic climate. Marketers should continue to look at their performance data and quickly adjust campaigns as needed.

How industries are affected

1. As events and outdoor campaigns or, as Twitter would say “Everything”, is canceled, a trickle-down effect on the businesses participating in or located around those events is likely to occur. After major conferences, sporting events, and other large gathering events have been called “off” and travel restrictions are placed globally, travel and local-based businesses are struggling to generate previously anticipated demand. Additionally, as consumers are less likely to go into malls, movie theaters, and other public entertainment venues, the ability for brick and mortar businesses to generate profits becomes more challenging.
2. While there is a potential benefit for delivery companies previously mentioned, other services such as Uber, Kenya Airways, public transit, air travel, and companies that put people in close proximity to others will potentially face challenges, as users are choosing to avoid close contact in exchange for staying home. This will not only impact those company’s bottom lines but also their employees’ work schedules and employment status.
3. Industries or companies that are supply-chain reliant on China,Asia, Europe, or other highly affected areas might encounter shipment slowdowns. Understanding current product inventory and future production ramifications will be important in planning marketing campaigns throughout the next few months.
4. Businesses need to produce clear direction on how they will proceed in light of the Coronavirus. As the overall concern for personal health continues to grow, brands will be forced to communicate how they are not only taking precautions with their own employees but also how quality control mechanisms are increasing to ensure no contamination or spread of the virus to their consumers.

How marketing will need to shift

1. Marketers will have to do what they have always done best – adapt. Staying on top of the latest trends, watching the data for insight, and understanding new consumer behaviors will be key in driving successful marketing strategies moving forward.
2. As mentioned, in-store traffic and demand are falling daily as users stay home in the Kenya and the world as a whole. As this trend grows, in-home online and TV activity will increase and advertisers can reach their target users during this time by investing more heavily in television (traditional or Connected TV), digital marketing, and direct mail advertising over in-store, out-of-home, and physical advertising due to decreases in public foot-traffic.
3. As the world pushes through this challenging time, compassion in advertising will be critical to ensure that brands remain in positive light. Businesses should be a resource for their employees, consumers, and other key stakeholders. Ensuring that brands take a compassionate approach to digital advertising and online marketing will ultimately lead to long-term consumer trust, satisfaction, and loyalty.

As the impact of COVID-19 continues to unfold, brands and agencies need to keep a close eye on the changing consumer behaviors and impacts on individual industries to ask the right questions, ensure they are prepared for any outcomes and find new opportunities.

What to consider for your brand or clients

• What industry is your business in?
• Is your business brick and mortar, eCommerce, or both?
• How are your core target markets or users impacted by COVID-19?
• How is Coronavirus influencing your consumer’s buying habits?
• How can you provide more value to those customers at this time through your products or services?
• Is this an opportunity for your brand to go above and beyond to give back?
• Are your employees safe and are you offering safe consumer experiences?

Dodwell Solutions Limited is working to adjust all current and future campaigns to best fit the needs of brands and consumers in as close to real-time as possible. If you are looking for support on how to make a quick turnaround during these challenging times, please contact us to learn more.

Above all, Dodwell Solutions urges everyone to be as safe as possible and refer to Minitry of Health Kenya for more information.

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The big question is how long will all of this go on for and how will it affect the marketing sector? Here, we are taking a deep dive into how corona virus might affect marketing in the next few weeks if not months.

Traditional marketing forms take a hit

With the cessation of movement enforced in Kenya’s major cities including Nairobi the capital city by his excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta, the advice to stay inside and limit all unnecessary outings is likely to lead to a notable decrease in out of home ad spend, with brands opting to focus on online, digital ads instead.

TV has also been affected, with many businesses cutting TV ad spend as a precautionary measure. This is so much so that despite media personalities being providers of essential service as allow in the presidential curfew order, most media houses have so far placed their employees on salary pay cut, it is estimated media houses will see a 30% decrease in revenue due to corona virus.

This is also on top of the fact that large sporting events and tournaments have already been cancelled, and sponsorship deals have been cut, resulting in a TV ad market that is naturally in a decline.

Online marketing may increase

Dodwell Solutions is predicting a huge increase in digital ad spend over the next few months as consumers will naturally be spending more time online, especially choosing to shop online versus leaving the house. These predictions are supported by research from Dentsu Aegis Network, who found that of 155 clients and client leaders surveyed, 14% said they were moving budget online, from offline media.

Additionally, as people travel less and work from home more, we also expect to see mobile and social opportunities increase. Research by Global Web Index found that we are seeing a huge increase in people checking social media across all age demographics; 27% among Gen Z, 30% among Millennial, 29% among Gen X and 15% among Boomers. This may be not least because people will be checking for news more frequently!

Social media ad spend is set to increase

Due to increased use of social media, spend across the social platforms is likely to increase.

With more people on their phones, looking for engaging content to keep them busy as they try to tackle the emotional burden of self-isolation, social media will become a daily routine that people need to keep them grounded, give them a sense of community and regular updates on the global crises.

It’s therefore thought that social media spending will rise by 22.2% as a result of corona virus, as consumer-led brands harness the power of social media to engage their audience. We have already seen a huge jump in digital marketing engagement, with a recent study finding a 76% increase in daily accumulated likes on Instagram #ad posts over the past two weeks.

What is your competitive advantage plan as a marketer? Engage has to put your brand and products and services live in the eyes of your customers. We do this by producing and promoting content that creates engagement between brands and their audiences. And we use hard-core analysis to measure the engagement that our content and platforms facilitate

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