Will the Coronavirus Affect My Marketing Strategy?

Empty arenas, quarantines and toilet paper shortages—these are strange times, indeed. Strange for us as humans, and strange for your marketing strategy, which you may have some questions about. L&S doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but here’s what we DO know about your marketing strategy in a pandemic world.

THE BIG QUESTION: DOES L&S RECOMMEND PAUSING MEDIA CAMPAIGNS?

Not yet, potentially later. For now, campaigns are running; however, it may eventually make sense to pause media for a short time. Our media team will make decisions on a case-by-case basis. Nobody knows how specific industries will be impacted, so the best thing to do is analyze trends. Over the next few days and weeks we will watch media performance rates for trends that show declining value in ad spend. In all instances, we will let you know if we decide to pause spending. Let us know if you’d like us to pause now and we can discuss.

DOES THIS CHANGE MY AD PLACEMENT?

We are proactively reaching out to vendors to ensure our messaging doesn’t appear next to or near virus-content or articles, unless it makes sense to do so. For example, we won’t allow tourism Facebook ads to appear alongside travel warning articles. Through these contextual exclusions, we will keep your placements as effective as possible.

WHAT IF I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MY MARKET AND CONSUMERS?

There are a few ways we can help you check the market’s pulse. One is running an online survey, which is relatively cheap and quick to set up (surveys can run within a day). Several national organizations will be conducting studies, but if you want to know what’s happening locally – and want to know ASAP – our surveys are a great option. Our team also has access to a variety of information about audiences and what they’re doing – including with your campaigns and websites. Let us know what you want to know.

THIS IS LIKE THE WORST THING EVER, RIGHT?

Not necessarily. This could be an excellent time to advertise . Social distancing, the new buzzword we’re hearing so much about, means more people will spend time online and in front of the TV. It all depends on your industry, but these audiences could be an ad hoc opportunity, especially if you’re promoting e-commerce.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?

First of all, wash your hands and don’t touch your face. Second, know our team has your back. We are keeping an eye on paid placements and prepping solutions in case we need to take more significant action with any aspect of your campaign. Third, communicate with your customers to help calm them during the pandemic. Emails, social media posts and website content are ways to let your customers know how you’re reacting to the virus and protecting them every day. These are weird times. We’re going to get through them together — from a safe distance of six feet away.