Appendix A: How COVID-19 has Affected Advertising & Consumer Behavior

It would be remiss to not address the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had (and will continue to have) on not only the advertising industry but consumer behavior as well. In March of 2020, the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus set off a rapid succession of social, cultural, and economical shifts worldwide. For the advertising industry in general, COVID-19 disrupted companies, campaigns, and spending. Companies across the industry who had allotted budgets to advertising spend cut back in the face of economic uncertainty. Additionally, there is a predicted detrimental impact on more traditional vehicles of televised advertising (like broadcasted sports) due to widespread shutdowns of in-person events, elimination of television packages (in favor of online streaming platforms or none at all) by people cutting personal budgets, and increased time spent online due to quarantine and lockdown recommendations.

Additionally, not only were ad budgets cut in an effort to reduce costs by companies affected by the pandemic, but D2C companies who continued to advertise pivoted their campaign strategies during various ‘shifts’ in messaging to accommodate a drastically changing consumer environment during the pandemic. 

• First Shift: When the pandemic began in early March 2020, advertisers were forced to shift their messaging to directly or indirectly address the pandemic to some capacity (i.e., “coronavirus campaigns”. This messaging typically revolved around escapism, solution, and community-oriented themes by advertisers seeking to position their products as desirable during a time of drastically reduced consumer spending (Abing).
• Second Shift: There was a second, clear shift from “coronavirus campaigns” to re-focus on “the future”. This shift was a result of “pandemic fatigue”: consumers had received enough marketing citing the “challenging and unprecedented times” they were facing. Tired of consuming pandemic-related media, consumers were ready for something to look forward to (e.g., a future vacation, restaurant to try out, etc.).
• Third Shift: However, as the pandemic continued, there was a third shift in advertising to “the new normal”. The new normal became a phrase in which people used to refer to “living with” the coronavirus pandemic while slowly returning to pre-pandemic activities (e.g. shopping in-stores, outdoor dining, etc.).
• Fourth Shift (Where We Are Now): Similar to the fatigue of the first shift, people were similarly fatigued on the concept of the “new normal”. The eye roll one could induce at the mention of these “challenging and unprecedented times” can now be induced by citing the phrase “the new normal”. Now, advertising has returned to near normal marketing strategies, with trace elements that refer to the pandemic.  

In large part, D2C advertising is finding some semblance of stability, however temporary it may be. Targeted ads on Instagram have returned to near ‘pre-COVID-19’ content and messaging, with distinct yet nuanced influences of the pandemic (e.g., ads with subtle nods to pandemic-related verbiage, such as “contactless”, “essential”, etc.).

These implicit variations in advertising strategy account for and acknowledge the ways in which COVID-19 has radically impacted one’s way of being and doing in the world. Because of this, the coronavirus pandemic has had (and will continue to have) a significant impact on consumer behavior. Future research will likely show an increase of consumers being online due to large portions of our social and cultural activities adopting online or virtual replacements—everything from work to education to entertainment and socializing. Included in this increase of ‘online time’ will likely be a resulting increased amount of time spent on social media. However, it remains to be seen how consumer shopping during the COVID-19 outbreak will compare to the drastic decrease in non-essential shopping. Business Insider reports that sales from products sold on social networks increased 20% from 2019 (reaching a substantial $23.3 billion) but will still fall roughly $2 billion short of pre-pandemic estimates due to “reduced spending on nonessential items” (Droesch).