If history has taught us anything, it’s that when the going gets tough, marketing is nearly always the first department to face cuts.
Predictably, research from the World Federation of Advertisers’ Covid-19 response tracker has now revealed that 89% of large multinational companies deferred marketing campaigns in April, up from 81% in March. What’s more, 52% of marketers at these companies said they’ll now hold back ad spend for six months or more, compared to just 19% who considered taking similar medium-term action last month.
At present, only 7% of brands want to ‘seize the opportunity’ to invest more in marketing during Covid-19.
While the need to keep a cap on spend and adopt a delicate approach to advertising is perfectly reasonable given the uncertainty of the current climate, this knee-jerk reaction could in fact be to the detriment of their sustainability and growth in the long-term.
When McGraw-Hill Research studied the 1981 and ’82 recession, it found that companies that marketed aggressively had 256% higher sales than those that did not.
Of course, much has changed since then.
However, studies since then have consistently shown that stopping all marketing activity in the wake of an economic downturn hurts a business’ chance of bouncing back stronger.
While the Coronavirus pandemic has been colossal by comparison to previous crises, it would be shortsighted to say there won’t be opportunities for success in the future.
During the financial crash of 2008, swathes of businesses struggled to stay afloat – on the other hand, job losses in the tech and creative industries saw a surge in start-up activity as talented professionals took their skills to new ventures that flourished to become some of the industry’s most dominant players. Uber, Airbnb and Slack were just a few of the enterprises founded at the time of the credit crunch.
In the next ten years, there will no doubt be a host of new brands delivering solutions for a whole new breed of consumer.
The best-received stories on the news right now are the uplifting ones. From a business perspective, that could mean an initiative your company has launched to support your customers, valuable insights your company has uncovered from research or a successful fundraising campaign it has spearheaded.
When pitching stories to the press, it is of the utmost importance for customers to respond positively to the crisis without sounding tone-deaf. Consumers are more alert than ever (no pun intended) to the companies looking for a quick win in the crisis. For that reason, the severity of the situation must always be acknowledged while the tone must be uplifting: juggling the two is a challenging task to say the least.
Prior to the pandemic, people were increasingly engaging with brands who were honest and transparent in their approach, and little will change here.
A recent study from Kantar shone a light into consumer expectations during the coronavirus pandemic. According to their research, 75% of respondents feel strongly that companies should not use this time to promote their band – yet only 8% of the same group suggested that companies should halt PR & advertising activities altogether.
This leaves us in a grey area.
However, 77% of respondents expect brands to be helpful during the pandemic. In practice, that means choosing carefully what you promote, how you position successes and putting the focus firmly on ways you can genuinely support your customers.
It isn’t about spinning an unrelated victory to appeal to your audience or bombarding your audience with ads about how you can “help.”
It’s not about completely cutting spend, but rather about taking a sensitive approach to PR and marketing campaigns. Only by delivering an authentic message that clearly communicates how your product, service or personnel can help during this difficult time.
In truth, it’s the same approach we’ve always taken to advertising, marketing, and PR:
your goal, above all, should be to earn your audience’s trust. Only a genuine brand who stays true to their values can be successful during this time: if that isn’t your business, it’s best to take a step back.
For more advice, insights, tips and tricks in digital marketing and PR, follow us on LinkedIn or get in touch with our team.
As the world takes its first tentative steps out of lockdown, the cogs are starting to turn again in sectors that were completely on hold. A new type of comms challenge is coming along with it. Customers and other stakeholders are no longer satisfied with a ‘we’re doing our best and our fingers are crossed for the future’ message – they want some certainty.
But with supply chains still fragile, staff numbers low and demand likely to vary, businesses need to be agile and responsive. That makes the task of providing definitive answers to customers and clients a difficult one. Difficult, but not impossible.
Here are three steps to managing your communications in an ever-evolving situation.
Step 1 – Check your existing content
Even small pieces of content could be sending out the wrong message. Businesses of all size and stature have missed key areas on their websites for editing. We highlighted some in this recent blog. But as another example, The Marriott is still promoting spring deals in Copenhagen. The discrepancies can be quite subtle, like saying you will respond to customer enquiries in three hours when it’s unrealistic at the moment.
A content audit is an effective way of finding inconsistencies in your communications. Here are some you should be looking out for:
If time isn’t on your side, we can help you find the gaps and tell you how best to tweak your wording to be more relevant.
Step 2 – Keep your content up to date
Guidelines are changing every few weeks, so your content can quickly become out of date. Once you’ve done your content audit, you should have a clearer idea of where wording will need to change regularly. Keep a close eye on these areas and update them as soon as you know how you’re going to respond to new situations.
As attitudes adapt to evolving circumstances, your messaging will need to follow. CEO updates focusing on ‘protecting our heroes’ with messages of ‘thoughts and wishes’ might not have the same positive impact when all people want to know is when they can place an order. Now is the time to be clear about how you’re adjusting to new ways of doing business. And remember to be realistic about the promises you can keep and the timescales you expect.
Also, don’t forget your internal communications. Your employees will also want to hear from you, especially if you’re not currently in contact every day. We recommend setting up a regular content plan, so you can keep them updated and show that they are your priority. Topics will depend on your business situation, but it’s generally best to focus on how you’re working to keep them safe.
Step 3 – Plan your future comms
The future might look unclear, but your stakeholders are unlikely to score you any points for doing nothing while you wait and see. Scenario planning now will help inform your communications strategy. Think about different eventualities and how you plan to adapt. You can build these messages into your communications and take your time getting the tone right now.
You might also need to start thinking about your corporate reporting. Stakeholders will want to know that you have a working plan, so a clear and open report will help you convey the steps you are taking and that you’re adjusting to changing circumstances.
If you’re keen to win new business as demand starts to increase, being proactive with your marketing will be essential. You should still be careful about over-promising when there could be surprises along the way, but you can get around that by being transparent and honest. If your marketing team is currently low on numbers, we can also help you build up a hub of content to unroll when the time is right.
Rebooting your communications
The best place to start addressing your communications is with an audit, so you can tidy up any areas in your content that are sending out mixed messages. We can help you identify these inconsistencies and give you clear and actionable guidance on how to fix them – get in touch if you would like our help. Or feel free to ask us for tips on how to plan your communication strategy as you navigate the next few weeks.More from us
Responsible for a paid ads budget?
Noisy Little Monkey’s FREE weekly webinar returns this week for a dicussion of ‘Advertising Strategies In Crisis & Recovery’ with Jaye Cowle, founder of Launch Online UK.
The advertising landscape has totally shifted in the last couple of months ?
If you’re responsible for a paid ads budget, the big question is: how should you adapt your ad strategy during this crisis?
At this week’s Business as Unusual webinar, you’ll get the answer to this question and more #PPC insights from the brilliant Jaye. She’ll discuss the opportunities available to marketers right now and the tactics you need to implement in order to keep your ads performance strong ?
Details:
Date: Thursday 28th May
Time: 3pm – 4pm
Location: Zoom
Get access to an entire hour of free advice on PPC and online advertising at this week’s Business as Unusual webinar.
Register here: mnky.bz/bau
Independent marketing agency network welcomes eight new members during lockdown
Despite challenges presented by COVID-19, the positive response by independent agency network Pimento has seen the national organisation welcome eight new member agencies and consultants since lockdown began.
In recent weeks, Pimento has not only joined forces with the Marketing Agencies Action Group (MAAG) to deliver a series of online events, but joined the CEO of the Advertising Association in lobbying the UK Government for better support for the creative industries.
This positive approach to doing business has seen Pimento grow its client and member network in the last three weeks. Having pivoted its own business model to offer an unprecedented level of advice to its members, Pimento signed up BASE Media Cloud, Veritone, Made by Factory, Mighty Giant, Hippolyta, Purple Heron, The Parkwood Consultancy and A1WebStats.
Pimento founder and CEO, Stephen Knight said: “There is no getting away from the fact that the creative industries have taken a significant hit as brands look to cut costs. When the economy does start to recover, these will be the sectors which are called upon to rebuild demand.
“That said, we are seeing strong growth in digital, PR, communications and technical design and build, in spite of everything. Clients want honesty, flexibility, fair value and collaboration with other specialists – the Pimento model is more relevant than ever as the international groups struggle to rebuild themselves. To answer the complex briefs being provided by clients, agencies should look to create a virtual team – collaborating with others to produce the strongest results.”
Manchester-headquartered moving image company, Mighty Giant, works in partnership with agencies to bring their ideas to life through animation, 3D, film and virtual effects. While Google search and shopping specialist, Made by Factory, is seeking help with innovative ways in which to form new connections within the sector.
Veritone is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California – with offices in Denver, London, New York, San Diego and Seattle – and is a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and solutions. While Veritone’s UK technical partner, BASE Media Cloud, helps digital media enterprises to work smarter and more cost-effectively using cutting-edge cloud storage and media software tools.
Having been increasingly asked for help with advertising, marketing, visual media and PR activities by clients, Hippolyta Solutions – a corporate finance and solutions platform – wanted to be able to refer work where possible.
Ralph Mann, of visual content specialist, Purple Heron Communication explained: “My digital graphic recording has adapted to support Zoom and Microsoft Teams’ meetings and I needed a professional network to introduce me to new clients – and Pimento was my natural choice.”
Proud of its disruptor status, Pimento members work together to provide a new approach to marketing services, and one that is perfectly suited to today’s economy. Understanding that a single agency can’t always deliver on every element of a brief, Pimento’s member-base covers over 100 marketing strategy and communications skills – offering clients a completely bespoke solution.
At OggaDoon, we often get asked what is high tech marketing. It’s something we have a lot of experience with. But what exactly is it?
Defining tech marketing
Most people would define tech marketing as advertising a tech company. It’s a pretty basic explanation, and in general, we would agree – but that often comes with the assumption that consumers are going to be forcefully encouraged to sign up to something or buy something that really, they could do without.
We have a key difference. We at OggaDoon believe that tech marketing isn’t flogging a product or trying to make someone sign up to a service they will never use. Instead, tech marketing is about telling the stories of exciting tech firms to the people who will genuinely benefit from that product or service. It’s bringing together an audience crying out for a solution with a company that’s already fixed the problem. And it means hitting the headlines for all the right reasons.
What about high tech marketing?
You might have seen high tech or deep tech, two terms used for two types of businesses. One is simple: software businesses rather than hardware business. That means you cannot touch the technology you’re using, and all technology needs some sort of sofware.
The other is a bit more complicated, and that’s technology designed for businesses rather than individuals.
Thinking about our clients past and present, we have examples of both on the books. BlackDice and Zeetta deliver software to businesses, and both happen to be software. Splento uses software and delivers to both businesses and individuals.
Aren’t the maketing and tech industries the same?
Not really (sorry). There is also marketing tech, or technology used specifically by the marketing industry – but that is usually something we at OggaDoon use for ourselves to help us deliver the best possible service for clients.
What are the latest developments in tech marketing?
A huge amount, and it never stops. We love being at the very forefront of many tech niches, such as edtech, medtech, or proptech, and we deliver outstanding reach to our clients aligned to their specific business goals.
Some of our clients use technology to reach people in new ways, like Forth, a biomarker company with an innovative app.
Some use technology to make their clients’ lives easier and to deliver results, like forghetti, which offers a free app that removes passwords using a unique doodle.
Some use technology to make a positive impact in the world, tracking the energy usage of buildings, and helping clients to reduce their carbon, like Demand Logic.
Al of our clients using technology are driven not just by a curiosity of what can be achieved through technology, but also by their values. This means that means the person at the end of the technology never gets lost.
Our stunning, centrally located private 12 desk studio/office in the heart of Bristol city, just off Christmas Steps has now become available.
This is an opportunity to work in a beautiful studio/office that includes bespoke furniture, meeting room, shower facilities, bean-to-cup coffee machine and views across the whole of Bristol to name just a few perks.
Included:
• Floorplate – 1,000+ sq ft
• Fully furnished including all desks, pedestals, and ergonomic chairs
• Completely private and secure entrance
• Meeting room
• Shower and W/C
• Kitchen and multiple break-out areas
• Bespoke furniture
• Tala lighting
• All bills and superfast broadband included
• Professionally cleaned (weekly)
• Flexible 12 month contract (No long leases here!)
£3,600 p/m including all services and rates
Please email [email protected] for more information.
IHG and Caffè Nero deliver communications advice for UK’s independent marketing agency sector
Pimento, the UK’s leading independent agency network, has teamed up with leading brands including InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Caffè Nero, to provide advice, ideas and inspiration for those tackling lockdown-related challenges within the creative sector.
Delivered in conjunction with the Marketing Agencies Action Group (MAAG), RealityHR, and PRCA this series of online events has provided a range of legal, HR, development and finance advice to no less than 2,500 agency professionals over the last six weeks.
COVID-19 has presented a raft of challenges for UK high-street brands, and coffee chain Caffè Nero has been no exception. Joining a session in last week, CEO, Will Stratton-Morris, shared insight into how the retail firm was coping.
Will Stratton-Morris, CEO at Caffè Nero said: “I was delighted to have been invited by Pimento to discuss my own experience of the COVID-19 crisis. While every business is facing their own unique challenges – collectively, we are all going through the same thing, and feeling the same pressures and fears.”
Stephen Knight, founder and CEO of Pimento added: “I have known Will for many years and, given Pimento works with large, multinational brands as well as SMEs, I thought it was important to show our members that these ‘major brands’ were experiencing challenges – and creating solutions.
“Every single speaker we have had has provided expertise, advice and reassurance in these unprecedented times. Pimento will continue to provide guidance and support to its members for as long as the demand is there.”
Aimed at supporting the communications industry during the Coronavirus crisis, these hour-long sessions have featured 15-minute ‘how-to’ workshops from marketing and business experts, professional service members and external organisations – and serve to complement frequent agency-to-agency seminars.
Understanding the need to provide wellbeing and social stimulation too, the entire Pimento member and client network has been invited to various personal development roundtables, digital discos and Pilates classes.
Looking ahead, preparations are already being made for a series of ‘return-to-work’ sessions, aiming to provide practical advice for business owners and marketing professionals alike – who are wondering what the future holds.
ENDS
Pimento is the UK’s leading independent agency network. Founded in 2005, it now boasts over 200 agencies and consultants, covering almost every aspect of marketing services. As such, they are able meet the complex demands of clients by creating bespoke teams, drawn directly from their member network. https://pimento.co.uk/open-for-business
Issued on behalf of Pimento by Scriba PR. For more information, alternate images or to request an interview, please contact Ruth Harrison-Davies (01484 489 333 / ruth@scribapr.com).
Temporary layoffs are an unfortunate reality for many of our clients and candidates at this time.
It’s not a reflection on ‘how well one does as a business’ or ‘how good one is at their job as an individual’, it’s the harsh reality of this situation we are in as the result of an economic downturn. Furlough doesn’t discriminate. But what to do during this time?
Here, we’ve collected a whole bunch of online resources and courses recommended by the experts, as well as our existing internal guides that might take the interest of marketing people and those looking to upskill within this sector.
Make the best of your time by expanding on what you love and teaching yourself something. Some free resources here that might be useful.
You can also take a look at some Marketing-based career paths, to figure out your progression as well as salary benchmarks and where a career in marketing could take you.
Some blogs that we’ve been told are useful.
Learn new things and multi-task at the same time. Here, a collection of some marketing-focused podcasts and webinars to keep you educated and entertained during your furlough time.
Meetups and online communities are a great way of learning new skills, connecting with other marketing professionals and finding out more about where our industry is going next. There’s plenty still happening online.
This article was previously published on the ADLIB blog.
Bristol-based communications agency Purplefish is promoting the work of gift card business Gift Up! in providing a lifeline to thousands of firms which have been forced to stop trading following government lockdowns around the world.
The online platform provider, based at UWE’s Future Space, is offering its innovative service free of charge in an initiative that will enable companies worldwide to continue to bring in revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tech concept, which allows businesses to create virtual gift cards for their products to be sold via any company website, in any native currency, is fully automated and operates in every country across the globe.
With the outbreak of coronavirus leaving business owners across the world with stunted revenue streams due to cancellations and closures, the Gift Up! model provides an optimum alternative method of generating income.
When a gift card is purchased via Gift Up!, merchants are credited with the money immediately, rather than having to wait until the product or service is redeemed by the recipient, providing financial support to relieve the cashflow crisis faced by firms worldwide.
This comes during a boom in gift card sales during recent weeks as consumers look to take advantage of deals and offers to be redeemed once closures are lifted.
Whilst Gift Up! usually takes a cut of each gift card sold, founders Lee Tracey and Alex Allen are offering up to $5000 in gift card revenue free of any fees whatsoever, to any business in any country, as a goodwill gesture during this period of global pandemic.
The software-building duo, who started the company in 2017 and now handle gift card sales for over 15,000 customers internationally, have partnered with Eventbrite and Stripe and count amongst their clients the likes of BrewDog and Nordic Choice Hotels as well as thousands of smaller local-based businesses all over the world.
The average Gift Up! business customer generates $10,000 annually in revenue, with its largest client reaping in $1m a year through its sales of online gift cards.
Commenting on the initiative, Gift Up! co-founder Lee Tracey, said: “We’ve found ourselves in an incredibly unique position amid the COVID-19 crisis to make a huge difference to the lives of business owners across the world through our platform.
“For the first time in our lifetime, we’ve crafted some software that can genuinely play a part in affecting the success or failure of companies that have nowhere else to turn right now, and that’s an amazing thing to be able to do.
“Gift Up! is perfect for any kind of business, from manicures to massages; jukebox tokens to ten-pin bowling; overnight stays to open-air gigs, we’ve seen it all. If you’re affected by the shutdown and can no longer service your customers, Gift Up! can help.
“We’ve had customers getting in touch to say that Gift Up! is literally going to save their business. We urge firms to take full advantage of our offer and to spread the word far and wide – we want to help as many people as possible.”
Business owner and Gift Up! customer Victoria Armstrong set up her massage company in 2011 and has felt the financial hit of the coronavirus since closing completely in compliance with social distancing regulations.
“It’s a crazy time for service-led businesses like Bristol Massage Therapy, having to shut up shop and essentially cutting off our income entirely as we physically cannot continue in the circumstances.
“Gift Up! has provided a safety net for us in enabling our customers to purchase massages to be redeemed in the future – as a gift for somebody else or banking it for themselves once this is all over.
“We have loyal customers who want to support us through this time and I’ve been able to provide them with a simple way to do that through Gift Up!.
“The ease is outstanding – it is truly a hands-off, stress-free process and I encourage other business owners to sign-up to continue to protect themselves for the future by generating much-needed income.”
To find out more about the Gift Up! COVID-19 initiative, visit www.giftupapp.com/covid19
In response to these unprecedented times, a group of South West agencies have joined together to produce a survey to discover how the marketing community is handling the Covid-19 crisis.
Unlike other recent surveys Discovidery is focussed entirely at the marketing sector including brand departments, agencies, start-ups, education and supplier businesses.
The survey partnership includes AdLib, Creative Bath, Hurricane, P15, Noisy Little Monkey, MediaClash, Edit, Create Health, Loom and SearchStar.
‘Times are tough for almost everyone at the moment and Firehaus have been thinking about what we might do to help our region in particular’ said Beth Pope, Founder and Brand Partner. ‘We wanted to help, but how? Which led to the idea of running a survey for real insight’.
Nick Barthram, Founder and Strategy Partner said ‘We tested our idea and the result is Discovidery. This will temperature-check the marketing sector in the South West to understand how needs have changed during the crisis. Everyone involved in marketing in the region is very interested in the opportunities brands are finding or creating for themselves, and how they may be able to innovate to deliver’.
You can complete the anonymous survey here if you haven’t already. The survey results will be openly shared.
‘We engaged a group of like-minded people who are committed to the region, even if they work nationally or internationally’ says Ian Bates, Founder and Creative Partner. ‘They are as keen as us to understand and help wherever possible. We’re all keen to help the region survive and possibly thrive during the crisis’.
Nick Dean, Managing Director at ADLIB said, ‘We’ve got some seriously strong marketing talent here in the South West. So we’re keen to help collate how they are responding to the challenges COVID-19 throws at them and see how they’re evolving’.
‘The South West marketing community has a history of creativity, resilience and collaboration’, added Toby Brown, Head of Marketing at Edit, ‘so it’s vital we continue to share knowledge and inspiration in difficult times.’
The survey will launches today with findings expected to be reported in around 14 days.
If you’d like to be a partner contact [email protected]
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