While there have been volumes of research indicating consumers are feeling more anxious, worried, and depressed about their lives following the COVID-19 pandemic, it doesn't appear to be affecting how
they respond to advertising, including how much they smile when being exposed to it. That's the finding of a global analysis of the mean score of smiles of all the ad campaigns it's been tracking
using its patented facial coding technology pre- and post- the COVID-19 pandemic.
The net effect -- difference among those Americans saying they are using a medium more vs. those who say they are using it less -- indicates video streaming and live TV have benefitted the most from
the stay-at-home effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. That's based on a Research Intelligencer analysis of data from Havas Media's recent COVID-19 media study.
Time spent by Americans watching TV will rise for the first time since 2012, thanks to the nationwide pandemic shutdown. The average American is projected to spend two hours and 46 minutes daily
watching TV this year, an increase of 12.6% from 2019, according to new estimates released today by eMarketer.
In an academic paper published this week, Google researchers said they need to revisit an artificial intelligence-based healthcare project that fell short of expectations. The deep
learning tool showed great promise under lab conditions, but created unnecessary delays when rolled out into real-world clinical conditions. The project took place between November 2018 and August
2019, with fieldwork conducted at 11 clinics in the provinces of Pathum Thani and Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Advertising messages inspired by COVID-19 give viewers "positive feelings," according to a new survey, but nearly an equal number say it doesn't generally change how they think about the brand
overall.
Cable TV news nets continue to generally lead all networks, with CNN and Fox News Channel posting strong gains. Among lifestyle nets, the Food Network is up 22% year-over-year, while TBS is 20% higher
to 240,000 viewers, Lifetime is 39% higher to 121,000; TLC has gained 24% to 140,000 and Comedy Central has added 17% to a total of 175,000 viewers.
So much for the Golden Age of media content. The latest installment of a weekly COVID-19 tracking study from Mindshare finds that nearly half (46%) of American consumers say they've already run out of
media content to watch, read or listen to. That's up from 33% a couple of weeks ago, and 30% at the end of March.
Live viewership, streaming, time with CTV, VOD and binge-watching were all up significantly during the first several weeks of widespread shelter-at-home, per an analysis by Xandr and AT&T Lab using
DirecTV and Nielsen syndicated data.
Research by "Marketing Week" and "Econsultancy" shows that half of marketers are reducing budgets and just over a quarter -- at 29% -- are keeping budgets where they are. After those who are not sure
what they will do are factored in, at 14%, that leaves just 7% who are what the title believes to be "seizing the opportunity" to spend more during the COVID-19 lockdown.
It's the ultimate pyrrhic victory. It's leading in Google searches, but advertisers are blocking COVID-19 stories.
While it may seem like a given that the upfront network TV ad marketplace will likely be down in both volume and pricing this year, at least one analyst is predicting the disruptive effects of
COVID-19 could be the last straw for sustaining TV's long-term market share and that the main beneficiary will be online media -- especially Google's YouTube, as well as the connected TV marketplace.
Overall demand for consumer packaged goods has soared 13% since the pandemic began through the week of April 12, with some categories spiking even higher and some beginning to wane, a nifty new demand
index being released by IRI today finds. The aptly named "IRI CPG Demand Index" is a dynamic database providing a weekly index of actual consumer CPG demand benchmarked against actual sales for the
prior year period.
Ten percent of Americans say they have either canceled or plan to cancel their subscription video service (cable, satellite, fiber, etc.) due to COVID-19. The findings, which are part of a new study
from Havas Media are based on a nationwide study on the effects the COVID-19 pandemic are having on the media industry -- for good or bad.
Certain legacy media -- radio, newspapers and magazines -- are seeing increased usage, especially among younger demographics, a new report from Havas Media finds, which draws heavily on a survey of
Americans conducted earlier this month.
Borrell Associates data suggests businesses now believe the impact of COVID-19 will last longer. About 60% estimate it will last 3-6 months. SMBs will return to marketing and advertising in three
phases. During the next 12 months, 40% said they will spend less on advertising, 18% said they will spend more, 36% said they will spend about the same, and 6% do not know how much they will spend.
Consumers also are showing signs of adapting to the "new normal" of the pandemic, with the percentage of people saying they feel "scared" by COVID-19 falling in the past month.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic tossed any idea of a normal fall TV season to the back burner, the value of the upfront marketplace was being questioned. In this week's edition, I assess whether
there's even any value in holding the upfront anymore.
Advertising across all media platforms is forecast to total $144.3 billion this year, says BIA Advisory Services -- a 10.6% drop from the projection of $161.3 billion that the local media analysis
company made in November 2019.
If so, should the European Commission investigate whether member countries are putting enough resources into enforcing GDPR?
With the coronavirus pandemic taking a heavy toll on the U.S. economy, consumers are looking for brands to help allay their fears with positive and useful messages.
When it comes to key performance indicators used to evaluate advertising ROI, big agencies are far less performance-oriented than small agencies or their clients. That's one of the findings of the
second in a series of "Organizational Benchmark" studies published by the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF).
Print's decline in media attention is now four times worse than previously predicted as television and digital video boom.
Characterizing the pandemic as a "lab scenario" for the media industry, Nielsen's head of product strategy said there has never been such a concentrated period of consumer adoption of new and
potentially disruptive media technologies, and that it's unclear how much of it will be sustainable and how much consumers will return to more "normal" patterns of behavior.
"Netimperative" is reporting on media consumption research that shows time spend watching television, digital video and posting on social media is soaring and will continue to grow throughout the
year. The extra attention comes from declining readership of print newspapers and magazines.
Alphabet will report earnings on Tuesday. Reports suggest the cuts will include a hiring freeze for full-time employees and contractors. Analysts now expect Alphabet to report flat earnings for Q1 in
the U.S., according to eMarketer. Based on updated guidance from the analyst firm, the numbers should come in between a 2.8% increase and 0.2% decline year-over-year, estimates eMarketer Analyst
Nicole Perrin.
Most retail brands say advanced personalization achieves ROI of 200% or higher, Kibo reports.
Companies need to go beyond marketing to reassure consumers and to get them to reengage, Magid's David Bilicic tells "Marketing Daily."
Companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft that collect heavy amounts of information about consumers show high levels of trustworthiness, indicating that data gathering can coexist with consumer
trust.
Newspapers remain the most trusted medium for news and information sharing, according to a study of consumers in eight major markets. The findings, which were presented as part of Kantar's "New
Normal" presentation Wednesday, come from its 2020 Dimensions Study. Radio, TV and company websites ranked next and social media was the only medium to be below water with a net negative score of -16
for untrustworthiness.
PubMatic data shows how advertisers have changed their ad spend across key content categories, regions and media from March 1-7 vs. April 5-11.