Positive with COVID-19

There’s no doubt that everyone’s consumer behaviour has changed since the COVID-19 outbreak. Daily routines have changed – no more school drop offs, lunch outs, or after-work drinks – at least for now. The abrupt change in a person’s daily routine means we’re less exposed to advertising and we’re all suddenly forced to only consume products essential for our survival.

First of all, isn’t it funny how the economy’s plummeted since we all started to only buy the things we need? A bit ironic, isn’t it? Second, self-isolation has caused us to have minimal to no exposure to traditional advertising such as billboards, signages, posters, etc. However, it’s not all paper and print anymore. We are in a digital era where Google and Facebook dominates in advertising, which calls for a question around the survival of the media and the advertising industry.

The pandemic has taken a toll on the media and advertising industry in more ways than one, however, as previously mentioned in an earlier blog, businesses should advertise now more than ever. Seizing opportunities to tell a story might be the best way to survive and recover from the impact the pandemic is causing. But with decreased advertising budgets and media companies shutting down left and right, is the media and advertising industry faced with a death sentence?

The fact is, everything’s changed. It will continue to change after we all realised that the human race is not prepared for a pandemic. Maybe we’ll do better next time, or maybe we’ll do so well that there won’t be a next time – but one thing’s for sure, we are now transitioning to the new normal. Handshakes will soon enough be a thing of the past and I doubt that people will start taking products and services that bring convenience to our lives for granted again. In saying that, it will always be the media and advertising that brings these products and services to people. As a whole, it will not die but survival for this industry means evolving to what the market needs in real time.

When I mentioned that businesses should advertise now, I meant to advertise wisely. Know where your market is, target an audience well, speak their language, don’t just think outside the box – get rid of the box entirely or acknowledge that the box wasn’t there to begin with. Currently, everyone’s online. I just saw the first “selfie” of a grandmother learning to use her smartphone for the first time. Adorable, but more importantly, necessary under the circumstances we’re all faced with.

We rely on media and advertising to release important information and draw our attention to essential products and services we personally need based on information they have on us, which sounds like a privacy issue but just think of it as a friend who looks out for you and says, “I think you’ll like this…” or “I think this is what you need”. These are information we willingly give them when we accept the terms and conditions of use in platforms such as Google and Facebook.

Perhaps the current reality is that media and advertising is losing the battle as to whether or not we are essential. Yes, there are more important things than media and advertising but it doesn’t remove its essentialness to a person. We need media and advertising to survive – it may be in a more subtle way than having a roof over our head or food on the table, but you most likely found your house from an ad listing, and your food preference is derived from how exposed you are to certain brands, cuisines, and cultures – all of which were brought to you through media and advertising.

So the answer is no. This isn’t the end for the media and advertising industry – but we do need to evolve to survive and recover. Moreover, we need the public to understand and be aware of just how important media and advertising really is. Right now, it’s as if our industry’s been positive with COVID-19 – but I am under the impression that we’ll recover.

Do you care enough to advertise?

Should advertising be considered as non-essential?

Advertising and media companies are faced with countless issues and unforeseen circumstances just as much as most non-essential businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To advertise means “to draw attention” and it’s now more than ever that we need our attention drawn to certain things such as current events and how to stay healthy and safe, along with the products and services we need to survive. But survival isn’t what it used to be. Nowadays, it’s more than just having food, shelter, and clothing. The well-being of humanity is on the line – but where exactly do we draw the line?

Staying sane in self-isolation has been posing a challenge to many. On a personal scale, I’ve received more messages and Facetime calls from friends and family now more than ever. And on a more public scale, there are the likes of this “influencer” who had been struggling to find comfort in self-isolation although she’s quarantined in a luxury hotel. I know my friends are craving for a connection but I can’t say the same for that influencer. Could it just be a publicity stunt? We’ve heard it said before, “even bad publicity is good publicity” – but would advertisers want their brands to be endorsed by these influencers after they show their “true colours” through the COVID-19 crisis? I mean, come on – did she actually compare her hotel suite to being in a prison? And saying being in a prison would be better?

One thing’s for sure, the digital era has risen even further. Playing too many video games, which was once considered to be a mental illness (known as “gaming disorder”) by the World Health Organisation, is now considered (by the same organisation) to be a healthy and safe way to cope with self-isolation. Self-made means of entertainment through Apps such as TikTok and Instagram Stories are continuously growing but we’ve seen a decrease in product advertising – mostly because non-essential businesses aren’t operating. I guess it’s hard to share your skincare routine or what juice cleanse you’re on when the companies who sponsor you aren’t open for business?

The digital media is bombarded with COVID-19 updates, politics, what everyone’s been cooking, and bits and pieces of people’s real lives. There’s almost a missed opportunity to advertise. When the pandemic is over, people will remember those who cared enough to speak to them. The ones who reached out and checked how they were going. So wouldn’t it make sense for companies to splurge a little more on digital and social media advertising now so when the time comes – when people go out of their quarantine bubbles – they would head straight to products and services they’ve been exposed to the most?

Advertising is essential for businesses. You need to draw attention to your business’ story. Draw attention to the good things you can share because the world needs it right now. When the Coronavirus crisis is over, advertise and wish people well. It doesn’t have to be about products and services all the time – but what’s proven time and again is relationship is more valuable than revenue. So … does your business care enough to advertise?

Advertising during the COVID-19 lockdown

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had a number of conversations around the ongoing pandemic and the reoccurring subject seems to be about ways to cope with life in self-isolation.

I noticed that there had been an immense amount of advertising around COVID-19 from different sources with different messages – no surprises there.

The most prominent one is from the government about staying home – which makes perfect sense to me. Then there are supermarkets who advertise to remind people not to panic buy and purchase their groceries normally. And perhaps the most entertaining ones, in my opinion, are the ads from retailers such as JB Hi-Fi with headlines saying “Keep the kids entertained with JB!”. Moreover, the countless email blasts from businesses I’ve engaged with in, what seems to be, my lifetime – since they come from companies I engage with often, every once in a while, and even the ones I’ve purchased items from just once.

COVID-19 seems to be the most trending word of the year so far. But have companies capitalised on the pandemic? What about non-essential businesses? How has this virus affected advertising as of late, and how will it affect the future?

There are very strong advertising messages around prevention, hygiene, and health. Do I think businesses are going to continue advertising about their health and safety measures after the lockdown? Perhaps not, unless the pandemic miraculously disappears overnight – but that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. Realistically speaking, this is our new normal. Whether it be for now or forever, all I know is the world will never be the same.

In saying that, I think advertising will change and adapt if and when this pandemic is over – it simply has to. With meat, flour, yeast, and even seedlings flying off the shelves – people have reverted back to making their own food and growing their own fruits and vegetables. This could mean that there will be people who’d realise that we can make our own food without needing takeaways or deliveries, we can exercise without needing a gym, and we are perfectly capable of having our own means of entertainment at home instead of going out.

Another probable scenario is that non-essential businesses would have a sales increase after the lockdown is over. I imagine advertising messages such as “we’re back in business”, “reopening sale”, and post-quarantine discounts might be something that non-essential businesses are already looking into now. With convenience at the forefront, people can simply go back to exchanging money for ready-made goods and services that make people’s lives easier.

Whether the change is from the first post-lockdown scenario I’ve depicted or the latter, I can see advertising still playing a huge role in affecting how the future, post-coronavirus, will be. My hope is that advertising messages don’t forget the efforts and sacrifice of today’s front liners – especially the ones whose jobs we tend to overlook and perhaps even undermine at times. The likes of truck drivers, delivery people, grocery attendants, and custodians. We sit, working from home, considered as non-essential business workers, while they constantly risk their health just so that we can still live comfortably amidst the pandemic.

A smart advertiser would realise and remember that the economy is built on the efforts of the workforce. A wise advertiser would recognise and thank the aforementioned essential business workers (amongst others such as healthcare workers, police and military, food services, and bank workers – to name a few). Telling a story around how your company appreciates the people who are most at risk to contract a major disease just so you can stay home so you can eventually go back to business, (because most of us have the luxury to stay home) is not only good advertising, but it’s also a way to build our world back up again.

My hope is perhaps after this pandemic, if and when we all get through this – the world will be more human again. Not numbers, figures, and statistics – but human. Optimistically speaking, advertisers should find a way to make sure that good news are told through storytelling where companies seek relationship over revenue. After all of this blows over, whether people choose to make their own stuff again or go back to exchanging money for convenience – I hope that advertisers have a mind shift where the word “reach” is not a mere figure, but an actual act to “reach out” and create a genuine and good influence in people’s behaviour.

When the honeymoon is over

Finding an advertising client is often a lesser challenge; keeping them is the greater.

When you are in a service industry such as advertising, you can usually keep a client by consistently delivering good work that presents an agreed message to that client’s target market in a compelling and cost-effective manner.

Of course, personal empathy comes into it, as well.

But, what happens when all that is not enough? What happens when the client has a view contrary to that of the agency? Maybe the client is rejecting work that the agency is passionate about and, more importantly, can be supported by solid commercial and creative arguments.

In short, what happens when the agency believes it is right and the client is wrong? It is, unfortunately, a common dilemma in an advertising world where subjective judgement is unavoidable.

So, when it does occur, what is an agency to do? In one notable case in which I was present, the art director punched the client. But that is not recommended.

My view is that in the end, it is the client who is paying the bill and also has the ultimate responsibility for his company’s success or failure. So, the agency has a simple choice—either give the client what he wants or walk.

But there are ways to avoid getting to that point, particularly if the agency and client have a long, and thus far, positive relationship.

First, let’s examine the degree of disagreement. If the client just wants to tinker around the peripherals, there is probably no great harm in that. Suck it up, don’t be precious. If it is a complete rejection, the first question to ask yourself is how strongly do you believe in what you are presenting and be honest. The second question is; does what the client is saying has merit—and, again, be honest.

First suggestion I would make is, if you can, give yourself time to think about those questions. An outright and immediate rejection or acceptance of a client’s demands are rarely warranted and almost never required.

Give yourself time to think.

If having done that and you still want to hold your ground, do so. It is after all your reputation that could be at stake—and don’t mistake that for personal ego.

There are ways to say no to a client, without saying no. First is to give the client and his views the consideration of consideration. That’s why you should give yourself time to go away and, as you can tell the client, think about what they are saying.

Then, even if you are coming back with a no, make it a pacifying no. You don’t have to compromise your creativity, but it is rare to have anything that can’t be tweaked or modified to hopefully mollify the concerns a client may have. Usually, it works best when you can preface it with, “Thinking about what you said, I think…”.

It can work. If it doesn’t, well—there are some hard decisions to make.

But here is the thing—the greater thing—it is the relationship that needs constant work—not the work itself. It is more important to maintain a positive, productive, and collegial relationship with your client in which hopefully, you can work as a team, meeting agreed objectives, and even having a bit of fun along the way.

If that kind of relationship exists, any disagreements along the way (and they are inevitable), can be short-lived with no residual ill-will.

If on the other hand, the relationship is persistently confrontational and deteriorating, then it is probably in everyone’s interest to make a clean separation.

However, the real work to be put in, and put in from the start, is to stop it ever getting to that point. Bit like any marriage, really.