Analyzing the impact of COVID across consumer patterns, media prices, and messaging to adjust to the new normal

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COVID-19 has put marketers’ agility and resilience to the test. It has prompted us to reevaluate strategies and reengineer plans to reflect new economic, societal, media consumption, and shopping dynamics.

Consumer Patterns

To see if we could identify macro impacts, we analyzed Kepler Intelligence Platform (KIP) campaign data across all of our clients and verticals. Not surprisingly, we found consumer’s total online usage increased substantially in the wake of COVID-19. Driven by this shift to online, we saw total online purchases and engagement increase for 80% of the businesses we analyzed. Lifts to core KPIs varied by client and goal type and ranged from 20% to 200%.

Media Prices

Meanwhile, as you have likely seen, media prices are declining across the board. According to our analysis, Facebook CPMs have dropped 30%; display CPMs are down 15–20%; and brand search CPCs are down 20%. For many of our clients, these price declines have allowed for sustained efficiency — even in categories that have seen response rates fall due to pandemic-driven changes to consumers’ shopping priorities.

Messaging

For all advertisers, we believe it is critical to express appropriate sensitivity and empathy for what consumers are experiencing … especially in geographies where COVID impacts are most acute. To help clients keep up with regional trends, we have added two state- and country-level data sources to the Kepler Intelligence Platform: The COVID Tracking Project and USAFacts. By showing COVID and campaign data side by side, our goal is to provide clients with up-to-date context as we jointly deploy regionally-appropriate creative and programs.

As we continue to see COVID-19 affect every aspect of our lives both offline and online, it’s worth revisiting your data repeatedly to optimize your budget and messaging strategies for the ever-changing environment.