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Messaging through the crisis: observations from the 123 brands and counting using national TV advertising to communicate with consumers during the coronavirus outbreak

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At a Glance:
  • 123 brands and counting have now launched national TV ad campaigns messaging around COVID-19; 20 brands released their first coronavirus-related campaigns in the past week
  • In aggregate, coronavirus-related ads have stabilized at around 15 percent of total national TV ad airings, now led by airings from restaurants and retailers
  • COVID-19 campaigns make up more than half of all national TV ad airings within the restaurant, automotive, and telecom categories; conversely, coronavirus-related airings make up less than five percent of CPG category airings
  • Coronavirus-related spots have exceeded 80 percent of total airings for more than half of the brands who have released COVID-19 campaigns to date
  • COVID-19 also seemed to have an impact on Easter messaging; four of the eight retail brands who had Easter-focused campaigns in 2019 were not present on TV in 2020, and two others reduced airings by more than 80 percent year-over-year
  • Bain & Company and Hive continue to offer free trial access to the Mensio platform for any national TV advertiser, full-service media agency, or U.S. TV ad sales team to enable competitive intelligence and monitoring of trends in creative messaging during the period of disruption; interested parties can request access at: https://mensio.com/covid-19

Two weeks ago, we published a set of TV advertising trends in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. As stay-at-home mandates have expanded and extended as the calendar turned to April, brands are continuing to evolve how they are messaging to consumers during the crisis.

The number of brands releasing TV ad campaigns specific to the coronavirus has continued to grow, starting with Verizon on Sunday, March 15, and reaching 123 brands and counting four weeks later. COVID-19 campaigns composed just 2.5 percent of all national TV ad airings on Sunday, March 22; this increased to 13 percent by Sunday, March 29, and just above 15 percent by Sunday, April 5. For now, the mix has stabilized around 15 percent of all national TV ad airings even as 21 additional brands released new campaigns in the past week (see Figure 1).

Changing Mix

While automakers and telecom providers grabbed two-thirds of all airings in the week ending March 22, the first week of COVID-19 campaigns, they represented just over 20 percent of airings in the week ending April 12 – dwarfed by a surge in airings from restaurants and retailers that now make up more than half of the week’s coronavirus-related ad airings (see Figure 2).

While a diverse set of brands have released COVID-19 campaigns, industry verticals are not uniform in if and how brands are choosing to message about COVID-19 on television.COVID-19 campaigns now make up more than half of all national TV ad airings within the restaurant, automotive, and telecom categories; conversely, coronavirus-related airings still make up less than five percent of total CPG category airings (see Figure 3).

While the difference across categories is significant, the brands that have chosen to release COVID-19 campaigns tend to make them the majority of their messaging. Coronavirus-related spots have exceeded 80 percent of total airings for more than half of the brands who have released COVID-19 campaigns to date (see Figure 4).

Evolving Messages

What brands are saying continues to vary across categories and, increasingly, within them.
More than 88 percent of restaurant airings message product and offering changes, such as “contactless” delivery and pickup options. Conversely, more than 83 percent of airings from financial services & insurance companies communicate general support and empathy.
As more brands join the conversation, messages within some categories are starting to become more diverse.
Airings from retailers, primarily driven by “big box” brands, are roughly split between messages of general support, communication of product and offering changes, and thematic marketing (i.e. messaging existing offerings in the context of the COVID-19).

Impact on Easter Advertising

Stay-at-home orders impacted how Americans celebrated Easter this year, and COVID-19 also appeared to impact how much TV advertising is focused on Easter-related messaging. In 2019, 16 brands released Easter-themed campaigns – led by eight retailers and six chocolate manufacturers.

The number of brands with Easter ad campaigns on TV dropped to 11 brands this year. Four of the eight retailers with Easter campaigns on TV in 2019 were not at all active with TV advertising in the two weeks leading up to Easter this past Sunday, and two of the remaining four decreased national ad airings by more than 80 percent compared to 2019. In aggregate, this resulted in a year-over-year decrease of almost 50 percent in total Easter campaign airings by retailers.

Conversely, the environment did not reduce campaigns from chocolate makers. All six brands were active across years, with airings roughly equal year-over-year Easter-themed airings (See Figure 5).

Free Mensio Access for Any National TV Brand, Media Agency, or U.S. TV Ad Sales Team During COVID-19 Crisis

Earlier this month, as an investment in industry relationships during the disruption, Bain & Company and Hive announced that a no-cost trial version of Mensio will be made available upon request to any national TV brand, full-service media agency, or U.S. TV ad sales team. The trial version of Mensio will include:

  • Access to Mensio’s commercial library to monitor and view new creatives from brands across industries
  • Access to competitive intelligence to measure changes in airings, estimated spend, flighting, and mix across brands
  • The ability to filter all data by creative groups, enabling more granular analysis of trends in messaging and creative characteristics

Access can be requested at: https://mensio.com/covid-19.

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Note: Published Bain Media Lab research relies solely on third-party data sources and is independent of any data or input from clients of Bain & Company