 |
| Alex Lewis |
Daily life has dramatically changed over the past few weeks, and Americans have turned to digital platforms in record numbers to stay informed about the latest news.
Online news readership has soared 70 percent compared to one month ago, a Kivvit analysis of U.S. news publisher data found. We also learned that newsreaders are spending 57 percent more time on stories featuring “coronavirus” or “COVID-19” in the headline.
But to access the ever-changing news, people are largely using the same methods they typically have: mobile devices and a mix of channels, including social media, search engines and browsing news websites. Two behavior changes worth noting, however, are that people are using desktops/laptops and clicking on links shared with them via text/email at a slightly higher rate than usual.
 |
| Zach Silber |
Our data also tells us the rise in digital engagement has created an opportunity to reach these audiences.
According to Kivvit’s own Facebook advertising tracking—which collectively represents 33.3 million impressions delivered to 22.8 million people between December 1 and March 20—client campaigns are continuing to outperform industry- and firm-wide benchmarks despite the dramatic changes we’ve seen since the arrival of COVID-19.
Two vital measures of ad effectiveness and efficiency—click-through rate and cost-per-click—have been stronger in March than they were in December and January, underscoring that COVID-19 has not impaired digital advertising performance. These indicators have also been consistently strong across other social platforms, display, video and search engine marketing.
A plurality of internet users (37.3 percent) believe companies should continue to advertise as normal, while 35 percent do not have an opinion either way, according to a Global Web Index survey of U.S. internet users conducted last week.
Although there is not widespread consumer opposition to organizations continuing to advertise, it’s crucial that advertisers conduct a thorough analysis of campaigns to ensure messaging and calls to action are relevant and sensitive to today’s new normal.
For example, Google announced on March 18 that it is reevaluating advertising creative that depicts interactions like handshakes, hugs, and high-fives since social distancing is an important tactic in slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Even with the world changing around us in unprecedented ways, the dramatic increase in digital engagement means many awareness and branding campaigns can expect to be more effective, affordable and efficient by refocusing on the fundamentals, which have largely remained unchanged: content and targeting must continue to be tailored to the audiences that organizations are trying to reach, and a mobile-optimized, multi-channel approach remains the best practice.
We will continue to update our analysis as data becomes available.
***
Alex Lewis is a digital principal and Zach Silber is the chief innovation officer at Kivvit.
Publicis Groupe celebrates its second century of operation with "A Lion Never Gives Up" film marking its history with a mix of live action footage and AI from material in its archives... Precision and Tunni develop "The Manosphere Index" guide for marketers to reach the fellas... Trump's affordability advice comes up short.
If you count the nonsense that Trump posts on Truth Social throughout the evening and early morning hours, he may be the hardest working president-ever... Happier days are here for adland as WPP Media upgrades 2025 ad spending forecasts... Martin Sorrell says Omnicom/Interpublic merger fulfills OMC CEO John Wren's desire to retire as the top dog in advertising.
New York Mets have been PR gold for majority owner Steve Cohen, who has snared one of NYC's gambling casino licenses... "Dozy Don" should escape the gilded confines off the Oval Office, which has become an old-age home for the 79-year-old president... Shocking revelation: Extreme weather poses threat to the perceived value of a home, says real estate maven.
Omnicom CEO John Wren isn’t exactly spreading cheer this holiday season as he works to cull another 4,000 people from the payroll in the wake of the Interpublic takeover... Donald Trump would have denied scamming his one-time personal lawyer and PR front man Roy Cohn, who taught him well....Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth enlists "Franklin the Turtle" in his tough-guy campaign to vaporize alleged drug boats.
The debate over when the AI bubble will burst diverts attention from the game-changing technology that it may become some day... Pete Hegseth takes aim at Scouting America. Can't he find something useful to do?... The Cracker Barrel saga winds down as shareholders oust board member who oversaw its marketing disaster... New York Times makes an "awful" editorial decision.
