By Donna Spurrier

The big question right now, OK probably not THE big question right now but A big question right now for advertisers is whether or not to let your media campaigns run. I would say that really depends on what your message is. For brands that are inviting people to come to their locations that’s not a great idea because they can’t.  But they might be able to online.

This takes me back to the early 1980’s when our car dealer clients wanted to go dark if there was a snowstorm and we vehemently said NO!  Everyone is stuck inside.  Double your budget and when the grand thaw happens, you’ll reap the rewards.  The smart ones listened, and they did indeed reap the rewards.  Now that behavior is commonplace.

So here we are in 2020 and Nielsen is projecting media consumption to increase by 60% as more people stay home during the coronavirus outbreak. Will your client or brand benefit from this more concentrated exposure? Can it be done in a way that is not distasteful to the consumer public?  If the answer is yes, then I would suggest taking advantage of this huge opportunity to be engaging and relevant.

If your client or brand is really inappropriate for advertising in our current state, the one thing I would keep turned on is search.  Search results are based on the consumers query and you definitely want your brand to be responsive to anyone who’s searching for information. Perhaps the link to content or deep links are different based on what content you might want to drive the user to but keep search on! Maybe even boost that up a bit.

Even if “selling” feels out of place right now, providing information or content that is useful, interesting or entertaining through social media and other channels certainly can’t hurt to keep the brand visible.  As an example, for our education clients we have turned OFF any advertising that is intended to drive campus visits or events but we have turned UP advertising that is relevant to those high school students (undergrad) or workers (post grad) that are stuck at home and spending double the amount of time online and in front of media in general.  The call-to-action has shifted to learn more and apply versus visit.

Think about your clients and how they may be able to benefit from this unprecedented Superbowl sized audience that media will be providing over the next several weeks.  And hey, don’t touch your face! 😊

By Donna Spurrier, CEO and Media Strategist, Spurrier Group