I was watching a fascinating webinar with the brilliant marketing guru Cash Myricks last week and he was discussing the current state of marketing and what digital marketing in particular holds for the future. This was something that I have been interested in all year and having watched the changing face of marketing it has been stunning to see how it has fluidly shifted in terms of the priority of ads and the message which is being sent out. You may not have recognized it but digital marketing has changed drastically under these new conditions and here are just a few ways in which that has happened.
Table of Contents
The Instant Sale
Pre-pandemic most companies would look to make a two pronged attack with their marketing strategy and they would aim to have one side of the campaign which would focus on brand building, and another which would focus on an individual product with a view of getting customers to buy now. Once the pandemic hit however it become very apparent that those companies needed their ad dollars to deliver for them with speed and so the prominent ads that we were seeing were based on this instant sale rather than seek brand growth.
Sensitivity
There is a reason why we are yet to see Corona lager make an advert that references what is happening this year, and that is because they have to avoid appearing crass or insensitive. Any play on world which they could make will run the risk of insulting an enormous group of people who have either suffered or watched members of their family and friends suffer with this virus. Digital marketing companies have had to be more careful than ever before about the tone which they choose for their ads and how they look to market during what is a very tough time for many.
Types of Clients
Whilst on the face of it you could say that digital marketing firms were in the best position to do well from this pandemic, that is only true if they have the right clients. For example a marketing firm which focused on clients within the travel and tourism sector were always going to find it very difficult indeed to get much investment. What we have seen with many of these firms is a switch of focus to try and snare retail clients, who of course have been doing far better under these conditions.
And finally the pitch has changed, marketing agencies have had to go back to the drawing board and find new ways to pitch to new clients which doesn’t involve being there in person. This has forced creativity among the firms, especially given how competitive things have become now that there are fewer valuable clients out there. This is an industry which has done well this year, and certainly better than others, much of the reason for that was its ability to switch its focus and change to suit the new conditions.