SwipeTown Academy

• COVID-19 is boosting the profits of businesses that invest in digital marketing.
• Unlike what we usually do. We have to have a strategic view of the future. Do not forget that this crisis is seasonal and, sooner or later, we will get out of it.
• For this reason, understanding behavior patterns and their implications are key to developing a digital strategy in times of uncertainty.

How is COVID-19 impacting the advertising and digital marketing sector?

Web applications, e-commerce development, website creation and digital marketing. The most demanded services by companies to compensate for losses caused by confinement.

A digital platform that connects brands with agencies, published a report. This report reflects the consequences and trends that the health crisis is leaving in the advertising sector

In January 2020, they published its first Marketing Barometer. Where it concluded that digital marketing has changed more in 2019 than in the previous 50 years.

The evolution in the advertising sector, characterized mainly by the increasing complexity and specialization of services, is growing rapidly. The current health crisis is intensifying this phenomenon.

Two weeks have passed since the COVID-19 crisis hit Europe hard. And beyond the health aspect of this crisis, the economic consequences are beginning to be felt.

How has the Wuhan coronavirus impacted the digital marketing industry so far?

In the last two weeks we have seen significant developments in the field of digital marketing. And we have a report with the trends and consequences that the health crisis is having.

The digital platform is in charge of connecting companies with the best agencies every day. So, they are able to measure in real time the evolution of the market. In this release they show which areas of expertise are suffering more with the current crisis. Also which are the most requested in their main markets: Spain, France, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands.

Online presence becomes more important than ever

Firstly, the increased demand for web applications, e-commerce, digital strategy and website creation could be linked to the constraints that these countries are experiencing. In particular, the impossibility of making physical purchases or offering catering services seems to be pushing companies to rely much more on their online presence to compensate for the losses caused by confinement.

In this sense, a specialist said that:

• “While much of the restaurant and hotel sector is in shock, some clients are taking advantage of the moment to develop new projects or move them forward”.

They are generally those who have innovation and medium/long-term thinking in their DNA.

On the other hand, investments in online advertising are decreasing.

Although this may seem contradictory; It is related to the fear of making advertising investments that do not lead to a positive return on investment.

Nothing could make more sense. In these times of uncertainty, financial resources are more valuable than ever and some sectors have eliminated transactions investments.

Specialist on one of the most affected sectors, tourism, highlights the importance of innovating. Relying on the right partners to do so. “We have had to redefine investments in terms of demand generation to adapt to this new scenario. To provide new solutions to our clients, new areas may arise for which we need to have new agencies”.

The consumption of digital content shoots up

As far as the content strategy is concerned, the boom may be due to confinement itself. Since the vast majority of people in these countries are locked up in their homes, internet content consumption has skyrocketed. There are exceptionally high traffic peaks.

The restrictions have led to a situation where people search even more online, which comes with higher than usual demand.

From this point of view, it seems normal that if demand increases, companies will want to position themselves to satisfy it, and to do so they produce their own content.

Events, mobile applications and branding, the most impacted services

With regard to the decrease in the development of mobile applications. The highest priority at this time is to move from an offline to an online activity.

It therefore seems reasonable that the increase in demand for e-commerce and digital strategy should be accompanied by a decline in mobile development.

It is not surprising that the events sector is in decline given that meetings are currently banned.

Finally, regarding graphic design and branding. It seems that the drop is related to the fact that some marketers have focused more on short-term strategies.

This makes sense in times of crisis. The priority of some brands is to keep the company afloat and, to this end, pragmatism and efficiency prevail.

Despite this, many brands have found in their agencies the opportunity to stop and look beyond.

We have noticed that it is a good time, due to the stop of the routine activity, to stop in some cases to reflect and prepare with more time and tranquility some initiatives that never had started (for which there was never time).

So we are also supporting quite the strategic aspect of medium and long term projects of some clients.

Forced acceleration of the digital marketing transformation

What can be learned from this information?

The demand for specialization in SEO, e-commerce, web content and applications is growing, and with good reason: companies must be able to gain online visibility and put in place mechanisms that allow them to sell their solutions effectively, to compensate for the losses caused by the restrictions we are experiencing.

In addition, they need to be able to do so by minimizing their advertising spending, which is why the demand for online advertising and digital marketing has decreased in the last two weeks compared to 2019.

All these trends are consistent with the slowdown in physical commerce and the acceleration of the digital transformation that has been observed for some time.

The only difference is that the COVID-19 crisis is putting companies in a situation where this digital transition must occur in a more drastic way than expected.

Conclusion

In a world where digital marketing is changing more and more rapidly and strongly.

It is more important than ever to remain agile and collaborate with highly specialized partners. This crisis is a good reminder.

Adaptation and flexibility as well as strategic vision are more important than ever. Brands and Agencies must be prepared for the return to normality.

Agencies have to be sympathetic to the particular situation of each of our clients, and put all the creative talent at their service in difficult times, while looking out for ourselves and our teams.

In just two weeks, the transformations have been radical. We will continue to help marketers become more agile than ever.