Post-Coronapocalypse Survival Guide for Brands and Ad Networks

At the beginning of 2020, digital advertising was on its way to unprecedented prosperity. The rate of industry growth exceeded 44% in 2019 and was predicted to exceed 47% in 2020. But then the plague broke out, all the forecasts we came across in January become no longer relevant. Instead of projecting growth, networks and brands entered their survival mode.

Brands, especially those that operate both online and offline and belong to the vulnerable industries, experience a drastic drop in demand for their products and services. Advertising becomes less effective, making businesses cut their ad budgets and pause their campaigns for better times. But is the decision to mothball your advertising the best way out of the pothole dug by coronavirus?

As brands are massively decreasing their ad spend, ad networks are retaining less value than before. Before the case spins out of control, networks have to prove themselves effective for advertisers, which is a tough task under seething pressure and uncertainty. And both of you are haunted by the following questions:

• How and where to advertise during the outbreak?
• How to build your post-apocalypse business strategy as a brand/network?
• How to adjust an ad spend? Should I decrease it?
• Which digital advertising channels are performing best now? Will perform best later?
• How to change the approach to audience targeting and retargeting?
• Which advertising verticals will decline? Which ones will grow?
• How will the crisis affect Facebook & Google ad tech duopoly?

To help you adapt to the new reality, we gathered the most relevant industry data & insights applicable to the times of COVID-19 outbreak and post-coronapocalypse times. Moreover, we at Epom researched the downward trend, did the math, and compiled exclusive tips for brands and networks based on both expert predictions and our personal experience.