Advertising in the Context of a Pandemic:
Transformation of Perceptions and Strategies Automatic translate

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the advertising industry, causing an unprecedented transformation in both brand strategies and consumer perceptions of advertising. The global health crisis has led to a rethinking of the role of advertising in society, accelerated the digitalization of media channels, and forced marketers to adapt to new realities of consumer behavior.

Research shows that 76% of businesses believe the impact of coronavirus on advertising is more negative than the 2008 financial crisis. At the same time, social advertising has experienced a renaissance, with digital channels increasing their share of total advertising spend from 54.3% in 2019 to 72.7% by 2024.

Global changes in the advertising industry

The pandemic has led to a massive restructuring of the advertising market worldwide. According to research, global advertising spending in 2020 fell by US$17.72 billion compared to pre-pandemic forecasts. The hardest-hit sectors were transport and tourism, which saw the steepest declines in advertising investment.

Companies were forced to quickly rethink their marketing budgets. On average, media and marketing budgets in the US were cut by 24%. Many advertisers paused or completely cancelled planned campaigns, resulting in significant losses for media companies and advertising agencies.

News publishers felt the blow particularly hard, with 88% of their clients canceling campaigns, 86% requesting adjustments to their schedules, and the same number pausing all advertising. This created serious financial difficulties for the media industry, which was already going through difficult times.

Regional differences in adaptation

Different regions of the world demonstrated different approaches to adapting advertising strategies. In Russia, 51% of managers expressed the need to restructure the company’s marketing to save the business. European marketers showed a decrease in the level of optimism to 50.9 points on a scale of 0-100, which corresponds to the level of the global economic crisis of 2008.

Chinese companies showed more resilient behavior, with consumers in China being the only ones to report an increase in spending on holidays and gifts while the rest of the world was cutting back. This highlights the importance of localizing advertising strategies to suit regional circumstances.

Transformation of social advertising

Social advertising has become one of the main beneficiaries of the pandemic, experiencing a real renaissance. In Russia, in 2020, there was a significant increase in the share of social advertising due to the large volume of campaigns related to the pandemic. The subject matter of social advertising has changed dramatically - messages about the need to comply with epidemiological standards came to the forefront.

Traditional social advertising topics such as road safety and fighting bad habits have taken a back seat, replaced by videos about the need to wear masks and gloves, maintain social distance, stay home and support health workers.

Features of outdoor social advertising

Outdoor advertising has acquired specific features during the pandemic. Since March 2020, billboards calling for self-isolation and social distancing have appeared on the streets of Russian cities. These advertising messages had several characteristic features.

Firstly, photographs of real medical workers – doctors, nurses, paramedics – were often used, which created an emotional connection with the audience. Secondly, familiar graphic symbols were actively used – modified road signs, “like” and “dislike” gestures, which helped to attract attention. Thirdly, many messages contained bright, motivating slogans with specific calls to action.

All billboards contained a link to the official website “Stopcoronavirus.rf”, which ensured a unified information policy and access to reliable information about the pandemic.

Changes in consumer behavior

The pandemic has dramatically changed consumer behavior and their attitudes toward advertising. Research has shown that only 8% of consumers wanted brands to stop advertising during the pandemic. Most respondents expected advertising to help them cope with difficulties and provide a sense of normalcy.

Consumers are paying more attention to advertising messages. 75% said their opinion of a brand does not change when exposed to coronavirus-related content, and 41% are more likely to pay attention to similar ads on trusted news sources.

Growing online consumption

A significant increase in online consumption has become one of the main trends of the pandemic. In the US, 62% of consumers began to shop online more often, in Canada - 59%, in Mexico - 70%. This has led to a rethinking of the role of digital channels in marketing strategies.

More time spent at home has led to increased media consumption. Globally, website views increased by 70%, linear TV viewing by 63%, and time on social media by 61%. In Russia, TV consumption increased by 4%, with the most significant growth among children aged 4-17 (+24%) and young people aged 18-24 (+13%).

Changing priorities and values

The pandemic has changed the hierarchy of consumers’ core values. Safety has become much more important than benefits or savings. This is clearly seen in the example of delivery advertising — the word “safe” evoked greater emotional engagement than “free.”

Consumers began to look for support and understanding from brands. 37% wanted advertising to give them a sense of normalcy, and companies that showed concern for employees and the community were more trusted.

Psychological aspects of advertising perception

The psychological impact of the pandemic on advertising perceptions has proven to be profound and multifaceted. Research has shown that advertising messages have become 11% more noticeable in digital channels and 13% more noticeable in print. COVID-19-related ads attracted 9% more attention than regular messages.

However, the ability of advertising to motivate purchases has significantly decreased. Most of the tested commercials showed negative motivation, not causing a desire to buy the product or to get more information. This contrasted with normal times, when 70-80% of advertising messages had a motivating power.

Emotional response to content

An analysis of frame-by-frame perception of commercials revealed an interesting pattern. Motivation was caused by frames depicting “normal” life and the desire to return to it, while switching to images of quarantine reality led to a drop in indicators.

Shots that showed the realities of the pandemic — children in masks, isolation, restrictions — were perceived particularly negatively, indicating that consumers were looking for escapism and hope in advertising, rather than reminders of hardship.

Humorous content showed mixed results. Although it evoked more joy in viewers, the positive emotion often dropped by the end of the video if the brand was not able to organically integrate into the positive context.

Impact on brand trust

The pandemic has reinforced the importance of social responsibility for brands. Companies that demonstrated solidarity and invested in medical companies or aid to victims received a positive response from the audience. For example, Ralph Lauren allocated 10 million dollars to fight the coronavirus, and Tochka Bank created a fund to help entrepreneurs with its own contribution of 10 million rubles.

Consumers became more critical of brands’ attempts to exploit the pandemic for commercial purposes. More than 70% believed that brands should not blatantly exploit the epidemic. This required marketers to be especially sensitive in formulating messages.

Regional features and differences

The impact of the pandemic on advertising perceptions varied significantly by region and proximity to outbreaks. Research has shown that regional COVID-19 outbreaks directly impacted consumer perceptions of the risks associated with online grocery shopping.

In regions affected by the epidemic, consumers were 15.84% more likely to perceive online shopping as a source of possible infection. Proximity to the affected region was a key factor determining the level of risk perception. This had direct implications for the advertising strategies of companies operating in the delivery and e-commerce sectors.

The Role of Social Media in Shaping Perception

Social media has become an important channel for disseminating information and influencing the perception of advertising. Consumers located closer to the epicenters of the pandemic were more likely to turn to social media for information, which increased their concerns about the safety of online shopping.

Multimodal presentations on social media with visual and audio stimulation created additional challenges for monitoring the credibility of information. The possibility of disseminating false information through social platforms increased consumer anxiety and influenced their perception of advertising messages.

Categorical differences in risk perception

Different categories of goods caused different levels of anxiety among consumers. The greatest concerns were raised about online ordering of prepared meals and fresh produce. This required restaurants and food delivery services to make special efforts to inform the public about safety measures.

Companies have been forced to step up their outreach efforts on virus-killing cooking methods and courier safety protocols. Government agencies responsible for monitoring food safety compliance have also stepped up their outreach efforts.

Technological change and digitalization

The pandemic has significantly accelerated the digitalization of the advertising industry. The transition to digital technologies had already happened before, but the health crisis catalyzed this process. Companies had to quickly adapt to the new conditions and redistribute budgets between different channels.

Physical distancing and the habit of staying at home have forced entire segments of consumers to change their purchasing behavior. The boundaries between sales and promotion channels have begun to blur, creating a seamless, integrated commercial and advertising space.

Development of multi-channel marketing

2020 has seen a plethora of creative solutions emerge, from chatbots for ordering products to immersive AR/VR apps that transport users into virtual spaces. Multichannel has become not just a trend, but a necessity for business survival.

The use of different channels to reach customers has increased significantly, especially the share of online activities. The unprecedented growth of online consumption has required a rethinking of the consumer experience as part of people’s daily activities.

Changes in contextual advertising

Contextual advertising has undergone significant changes during the pandemic. Due to the decline in overall demand, search advertising, which has traditionally been the main source of sales, has noticeably dropped. People have begun to search for goods and services in search engines less.

At the same time, the effectiveness of the contextual display network (CMS), which previously played a supporting role in demand generation and remarketing, increased. For a long period, banner ads and videos became the main source of traffic from advertising. This was due to the fact that people spent more time on various sites and applications.

New Brand Strategies

The pandemic has forced brands to rethink their communication strategies and find new ways to engage with their audiences. Many large companies have launched social projects, demonstrating their responsibility to society.

Sberbank presented a video for Medical Worker’s Day about the daily struggle of medical personnel for people’s lives. McDonald’s launched the campaign "We are for safety. With both hands", calling on people to wash their hands. A social advertisement appeared calling on elderly people to protect themselves from contact with children as potential carriers of the virus.

Personalization and segmentation

The crisis has confirmed the importance of precise audience segmentation. Marketing messages had to take into account not only geographic location and demographics, but also correspond to the specific situation and values ​​of consumers.

Creating personal human connections within commercial messages required defining consumer segments across multiple dimensions, from psychographics to attitudes. Research has identified five distinct consumer cohorts with different attitudes toward the crisis and purchasing behavior.

Anti-crisis proposals and product adaptation

Many companies have created special anti-crisis offers and adapted their products to the new reality. Walmart has expanded its range of products for various categories of buyers ahead of the holiday season, taking into account changing consumer preferences.

Companies actively sought out clients in growing segments and redistributed resources in favor of promising areas. Particular attention was paid to setting up end-to-end analytics and a customer return funnel to maximize the effectiveness of marketing investments.

Impact on the creative industry

The pandemic has led to a rethinking of the role of creativity in advertising. Whereas creativity often existed for the sake of the process, the crisis has required a direct solution to problems. The winners of the 2020-2021 advertising festivals demonstrated how brands can use creativity to create long-term solutions and strengthen connections with their audiences.

Creative has become a way to strengthen communities, champion heroes, support mental health, and connect with audiences. Dove’s “Courage Is Beautiful” and Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” campaigns have resonated with audiences at a time of great hardship, prompting them to stop and notice the heroes of the crisis or showcasing dreams for a better world.

Adaptation to remote work

Despite the shift to remote work, creative teams around the world have shown the ability to adapt and continue to produce impactful content. This has required learning new collaboration tools and rethinking creative processes.

Remote work has also changed the way advertising materials are tested and evaluated. Companies have had to develop new methods for evaluating the effectiveness of creative when traditional focus groups are no longer possible.

Long-term implications for the industry

The changes that have taken place in the advertising industry during the pandemic are long-lasting. Digital channels continue to increase their share of total advertising spend even after restrictions are eased. Absolute levels of digital spend continue to grow in double digits, with 10.3% growth between 2023 and 2024.

Marketing spending has not returned to pre-crisis patterns since restrictions were lifted. Digital channels continue to take share from traditional media each year. Advertising now accounts for about 1% of global GDP, although this varies significantly across countries.

New standards of social responsibility

The pandemic has set new standards for social responsibility for brands. Consumers have come to expect companies to actively engage in solving social problems and demonstrate care for employees and society. This impact continues after the acute phase of the crisis has passed.

Brands that demonstrated social responsibility during the pandemic gained a long-term competitive advantage in the form of increased consumer trust. Companies that cut advertising budgets during the crisis period faced difficulties in restoring their market positions.

Changing approaches to crisis marketing

The pandemic experience has changed approaches to crisis marketing. Research has shown that companies that maintained advertising activity during the crisis gained a competitive advantage after it ended. This confirms the fundamental principles established in the Harvard Business Review research of 1923.

Marketers have realized the importance of maintaining communication with the audience even in difficult times. Cutting the advertising budget may provide short-term savings, but recovering positions after the crisis requires significantly greater investment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a catalyst for fundamental changes in the advertising industry that continue to influence brand strategies and consumer perceptions. Accelerated digitalization, increased attention to social responsibility, changing creative approaches, and new standards for audience engagement have become an integral part of modern marketing. Companies that have been able to adapt to these changes and continue to invest in consumer communications have gained significant competitive advantages.

The pandemic experience has shown that flexibility, adaptability and social responsibility of brands are becoming key factors for success in the post-crisis era. The changes in the perception of advertising that occurred during the pandemic have set new standards for the entire industry and continue to determine the development of marketing strategies.