For most brands, the coronavirus pandemic has presented a difficult time to run any ads, no matter the platform. Finding the right messaging can be tricky, and marketers have pulled or postponed campaigns that could appear insensitive during this time. Under social distancing or stay-at-home orders, some brands simply have had no choice but to cut their ad spending. In the first two weeks of March, travel brands cut their ad spending by about 50 percent compared to this time last year, according to analytics firm MediaRadar.
But not all brands are suffering. Those in categories like cleaning, TV streaming, food delivery services and virtual video conferencing have seen upticks in sales and their stock rise. That demand is translating into boosted ad spend. Marketing technology firm 4C Insights found a 25 percent year-over-year increase overall in ad spending on digital platforms for the first half of March.
Analytics firm BrandTotal used artificial intelligence to measure the volume of ad impressions across social platforms to see which brands have been increasing their ad spend during that same time period. It found that brands like Dial, Amazon Prime and Instacart have been spending for exposure on social media during the pandemic.
Dial
Cleaning brands have been selling out in stores across the United States, and Dial Soap is making sure it’s on the mind of consumers as they make their journeys to grocery stores to stock up on essential products to ride out the pandemic. In ads on Facebook and Instagram, Dial Soap has been promoting the CDC’s recommendation for hand-washing. On Facebook, Dial is seeing up to 25 percent day-over-day increases in ad impressions, up to 25 percent on YouTube and up to 30 percent on Instagram.