30-second summary:
- The COVID-19 crisis is affecting everyone, and every business is dealing or at least trying their best to deal with it.
- According to Statista, the advertising industry is looking at a $26 billion loss in revenue as of early March 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Ad spend declines up to 50% are expected across all channels, according to advertising professionals.
- The impact is big and there’s a lot to unpack, so let’s take a look at ad spend and explore some of the options available to advertisers in the coming months.
Needless to say that the current COVID-19 crisis is in its full swing. Many countries are in a complete lockdown and the impact is felt everywhere, including the global ad spend. The global economy is estimated to suffer $2.7 trillion loss[1], with the most significant impact happening in the third sector, with public services like hotels and restaurants in complete shutdown.
Marketing and sales are in significant decline as the customers start saving money due to fear and unemployment. More than six million have claimed for unemployment[2], and the Federal Reserve estimates that the unemployment rate may hit 32%[3] in the worst-case scenario.
The crisis is affecting everyone, and every business is dealing or at least trying their best to deal with it.
The impact is big and there’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s take a look at ad spend and explore some of the options available to advertisers in the coming months.
Coronavirus ad spend impact
Advertising thrives on ROI and the customers simply aren’t spending at the moment.
According to Statista[4], the advertising industry is looking at a $26 billion loss in revenue as of early March 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.