How Has the Media Market Changed?

The Landscape After the Battle. How the Media Market Has Changed

The consequences of the pandemic and the related restrictions are affecting every industry, including the media sector. The biggest winners will be marketers who can act quickly and flexibly, taking into account the specifics of the current situation. What will the future of the media sector look like? In which direction will it evolve? Which solutions are worth betting on in the era of the new normal?

A Change of Plans

A Change of Plans

Experts point out that when running campaigns, brands should pay more attention than ever to the evolution in consumer behaviour and spending, and consequently in sales themselves. At the beginning of the pandemic, we started looking for more information about its development. Social media, the internet and television benefited from this. Advertisers had to change their plans for promotional spending in the first half of 2020. This is confirmed by 90% of respondents in the IAB study "The Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on the Online Advertising Industry".

Many brands have been confronted with a reality that requires quick decisions and solutions. We can currently observe several trends: pausing campaigns while waiting for a better time, continuing existing activities, or changing communication to take unusual circumstances into account – points out Łukasz Matyński, Head of Client Services & Partner, in the e-book “The Landscape After the Battle. How the Media Market Has Changed.”

History shows that brands which did not stop communicating during previous crises ultimately gained. Those that halted it recorded high declines and took a long time to return to their pre-slowdown state.

Interest in topics such as: shopping, online shopping, online stores and grocery shopping increased significantly in Poland with the beginning of March, which is clearly visible in Google searches. This is a clear signal for brands in these sectors that they should not withdraw from marketing activities, both organic (their own communication channels, social media channels) and paid activities (ads in Google or on Facebook) – points out Paweł Obiedziński, Head of Revenue, Sotrender.

Price Competition

Price Competition

According to Kantar analysts, pricing and promotional strategies as well as offering added value will become key to building brand competitiveness. Income declines during the pandemic result in much greater attention being paid to product prices (68%) and a growing view that companies should help consumers by offering discounts and promotions (45%).

On the one hand, our new consumer is more demanding, and consequently the selection of messages and media must be more precise. On the other hand, price has become more important to them, which is why a tendency towards communication based on price competition may return to the advertising market – says Joanna Gajewska, managing director Animise (AdWise Group)

Television and the Internet – an Ideal Pair?

Although the internet seems to be the natural environment for communication activities for companies, including those in the e-commerce industry, it was in television that communication more than doubled. We are observing this trend among many brands that either operate online or target their products at younger audiences. This is happening not only because of the mass reach of television as a medium, but also because of its unique characteristics. Poles still trust the content they encounter on television to a very high degree, to the point that it often shapes their attitudes. For example, according to data from research conducted by Havas Intelligence in April 2020 for the Meaningful Shift report, nearly 90% of people look for information about COVID-19 on television vs 40% who look for it on social media such as Facebook or Twitter – emphasises Sergiusz Geller, Video Director, Havas Media Group.

Place and Content

Place and Content

When making further marketing decisions, e.g. about where to run paid campaigns, it is worth analysing data from various sources, such as Facebook and Google, and looking at your existing communication through the lens of new phenomena and trends. It is on their basis that key assumptions for a new content marketing strategy should be developed – we can read in the e-book “The Landscape After the Battle. How the Media Market Has Changed.”

We must make sure that our audiences find the best possible content that helps them solve a specific problem. It is worth providing them with real value in the form of reliable information or advice, and such contact will certainly pay off in the future and increase the chance of conversion to a sale – adds Agnieszka Malesza-Woźniak, Partner, Triple PR Agency.

Video – the Future

Video – the Future

The COVID-19 epidemic has significantly contributed to moving many activities into the virtual sphere. Learning online is becoming commonplace. According to the study "Learning+Inspiration+Passion", as many as 86% of people rate educational and popular science content online as helpful.

In the LTTM partner network, already in the first days of the epidemic we recorded a 30% increase in video views on YouTube and other influencer content from creators affiliated with our network. The current situation will revise the advertising market, and the trend of the declining role of ATL relative to online activities will continue over the coming months – points out Izabela Malinowska, International Client Partner in the LTTM group.

It is difficult to say unequivocally how the video production market will shape up in the near future, over a 3-6-9 month perspective. Agencies will certainly feel hunger for real productions, large and professional photo or artistic shoots, cinematic advertising shots. On the other hand, clients – looking for savings – may want to keep the current formula because of the much lower cost of the production process. They have learned that you can communicate effectively using limited resources, and that content and message are more important than the cinematic ambitions of creative directors or advertising agencies – says Paweł Zawadzki, Managing Director, Większe Logo. In my opinion, we are in for a flood of interesting hybrid ads, drawing both on the benefits of online communication and professional TV productions. Paradoxically, the events of recent months may stimulate the creative industry to change its way of thinking, encourage clients to be bolder when preparing briefs, and give consumers/viewers fresh, innovative advertising befitting our times – he adds.

The e-book “The Landscape After the Battle. How the Media Market Has Changed” is available at: ebook.triplepr.pl
Publication partners: Triple PR, AdWise Group, Havas Media Group, the LTTM group, Media Choice, Sotrender, Większe Logo.

Summary

The pandemic forced advertisers to change their plans – 90% of them confirm spending adjustments in the first half of 2020. Brands that did not halt communication may gain, and price competition is becoming key. The importance of television as a source of credible information about COVID-19 has grown – nearly 90% of Poles use it, while only 40% use social media. At the same time, online video is growing, and online educational content is rated as helpful by 86% of respondents. Experts predict the development of hybrid advertising and a greater emphasis on the value of the message than on cinematic ambitions.