Media owners are offering a range of services in an attempt to keep advertisers on board during lockdown; a common theme is help with creative, either in finding the right tone or in finding ways to develop new creative.
Channel 4 last week announced that it was offering free use of 4Creative, its in-house team, and external production partners to advertisers. The broadcaster is facing a 50% decline in ad revenue during April and May, even as TV audiences are growing and TV prices are falling.
“The current limited availability of production services could still be a barrier,” Channel 4 sales director Matthew Salmon told The Drum. “We want to remove that barrier by offering this unique, free-of-charge service during this unique time, providing brands access to our internationally renowned 4Creative, and our award-winning production partners.”
In Ireland, DMG Media launched a €1m advertising fund to provide free advertising in the publisher's titles for small businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Hundreds of businesses applied to be a part of the Shop Ireland campaign and we had reached our quota within hours of launching it to the market,” said Karl Byrne, group head of advertising DMG Media Ireland, in remarks reported by AdWorld.
“From a creative point of view we are helping every business build their press and digital adverts and our account managers are using their expertise in managing each campaign closely with each business owner,” he added. The first ads from this effort, announced a week ago, appeared in last weekend’s papers.
Bauer Media, meanwhile, has assembled a “task force” from its content, creative and commercial teams that it says will “work with clients to understand their specific challenges and leverage Bauer’s insight and instinct to create campaigns with the right tone and appropriate messaging to connect with locked-down audiences”.
So, for example, DIY retailer Wickes, which sponsors the Absolute Radio Breakfast Show, had previously booked advertising that discussed its product range and promotions, but to make the sponsorship more relevant during lockdown, messaging was finessed to inspire audiences to think of Wickes if they were doing home improvement whilst staying at home.
Bauer’s own research indicates that consumers are at this time more open to brand-switching than before and that they are judging brands more on their behaviour and the values that they demonstrate rather than purely the value they offer.
Sourced from Bauer Media, The Drum, AdWorld, WARC
