Month: April 2020

At a Glance:

• The 2020 NFL Draft shattered ratings records and was an unqualified success for viewers, brands, and the airing networks – all starved for live sports content
• Amidst an altered TV advertising landscape, viewers were exposed to a different mix of brands compared to the 2019 event – across the three airing networks, only 61 of 150 advertisers also had spots in last year’s event
• Ads from travel & leisure, automotive, media & entertainment, and retail advertisers decreased most significantly year-over-year; ads from quick service restaurants, insurers, tech companies, and streaming video platforms increased the most
• Coronavirus-related messages made up more than one-third of all ad spots across networks, almost twice as frequent as the 19 percent of all national TV airings focused on similar messages
• AI-powered measurement of brand exposure in content highlighted the long tail of college football sponsorship values. ESPN’s presenting sponsor, Lowe’s, achieved the most equivalent media value from logo exposure within the programming; however, Nike was next most with swooshes visible in highlights, and four other on-field apparel brands ranked in the top 15 of brands with in-content exposure

With reported year-over-year viewership gains of roughly forty percent, the 2020 NFL Draft was an unqualified success for viewers, brands, and the airing networks – all starved for live sports content as the COVID-19 disruption persists.

For those who watched in 2019, this year’s event looked different. Notably, more than 600 camera feeds enabled a “virtual draft” format featuring teams, players, and commentators connecting from their homes. Beyond the altered format, viewers were also exposed to a much different set of brands.

Of the 150 advertisers who ran spots across ESPN, ABC, and NFL Network during this year’s event, only 61 also advertised in the 2019 NFL Draft (see Figure 1). This overlapping group was led by brands including Verizon, Lowe’s, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and State Farm.

Several major automakers including GMC, Nissan, and Honda were among the 96 brands sitting out this year’s draft after being active in the 2019 event. Filling the gaps were 89 brands not active in last year’s event, with IBM, BMW, John Deere, and DoorDash among the new-to-Draft brands with heavy presence.

The carousel of brands impacted category-level share of voice as well. Last year, ads from travel & leisure, automotive, media & entertainment, and retail advertisers made up 43 percent of airings across ESPN, ABC, and NFL Network; this year, that number decreased to 27 percent (see Figure 2). Growing share of voice year-over-year were quick service restaurants, insurers, tech companies, and streaming video platforms.

Over the past month, Hive and Bain Media Lab have monitored the continued increase in TV ad campaigns related to COVID-19, tracking the flighting and messaging of the more than 160 brands who have released bespoke campaigns. Across the TV universe, these campaigns made up 19 percent of all airings during the past week. This concentration was significantly higher during the NFL Draft, with 35 percent of all spots featuring coronavirus-related campaigns (see Figure 3). This peaked at 41 percent of national TV ad airings on the NFL Network feeds, 34 percent on ABC, and 29 percent on ESPN.

A host of league and broadcast sponsors achieved additional exposure in-content with logo presence in the telecast. In total across the three days, 33 brands received 15 or more seconds of in-content logo exposure, excluding league, team, and network logos (see Figure 4). This analysis was completed using Hive’s logo model, using a computer vision model trained with more than two million manhours of human-labeled training data and able to automatically detect and value the presence of logos from more than 5,000 brands.

Visible brands included Lowe’s as the presenting sponsor and other broadcast sponsors scattered into the broadcasts (e.g. “Autotrader Trade Alerts”). League sponsors including Microsoft and Gatorade had visible product placement in the telecast, as did Bose which monopolized the headphones and earphones used by players and teams during the event (albeit without camera-visible branding).

Interestingly, many of the top brands visible within the 2020 NFL Draft programming earned their exposure primarily through highlight footage from past events. This included Nike, which had the second-most total exposure, as well as four other on-field apparel brands which ranked among the top 15. College bowl sponsors including Chick-Fil-A and Allstate also made the list, making the case for always-on measurement of sponsorship exposures. While the NFL Draft is one example of this, separate research from Hive has found that shoulder programming and highlights consistently amplify valuations for sports sponsorships – sometimes by as much as twice the value of whistle-to-whistle measurement.

With the intrigue of draft selections passed, the key question in the sports world now returns to when and how games will resume. If this weekend was any indication, changes to the format shouldn’t have any negative impact on the demand from viewers or brands.

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

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.

Note: Ongoing analysis and perspectives will be shared throughout the Bain & Company and Hive LinkedIn pages. Please follow for notification of additional releases:

• Hive: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hiveai/
  
• Bain & Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bain-and-company/

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

At a Glance:

• Through the weekend, 62 brands and counting had released national TV ad campaigns related to COVID-19, led by restaurants and automakers
• The number of brands airing coronavirus-related campaigns almost tripled last week compared to the 22 brands who had launched campaigns in the prior week
• 52 percent of campaigns and 64 percent of airings were from brands messaging product and offering changes. These included “contactless” pickup and delivery at restaurants and deferred payment programs on autos
• General messages of empathy and support were next most common, reflecting 26 percent of campaigns and 20 percent of airings
• While some brands have stopped or scaled down TV ads, others are changing mix. In aggregate, restaurants and retailers dramatically shifted their mix of airings (1.9X) – across new and preexisting creatives – to amplify promotion of delivery and takeout options
• Bain & Company and Hive are offering free access to the Mensio platform through at least April 2020 for any national TV advertiser, media agency, or TV ad sales team
  
  to enable competitive intelligence and monitoring of trends in creative messaging during the period of disruption

62 brands release coronavirus-related TV ad campaigns over a two-week period

While the first U.S. coronavirus case was reported on January 21, the impact on most Americans wasn’t material until mid-March when restrictions on travel and public gatherings and an increasing number of stay-at-home orders set in. Despite many working from home since, brands and agencies have been quick to adapt their messaging to acknowledge the coronavirus outbreak.

National public service announcements from the Center for Disease Control began on March 13 and have since aired almost 1,500 times across more than 40 networks.

Verizon was the first brand to acknowledge the environment in its TV commercials, launching a campaign during the Democratic Debate on March 15 focusing on network stability so that “during times like this, Americans can stay connected to work, school and, most importantly, to each other.” Versions of the creative have since aired more than 2,500 times across 54 networks, in addition to airings from Verizon’s other coronavirus-related campaigns since launched.

During the week of March 16, 22 brands across industries aired national TV ad spots explicitly or implicitly addressing the crisis. During the following week, that number increased to 62 brands.

There has been significant variability across categories in terms of how many brands have released messages, and how quickly those campaigns were released (see Figure 1). Both weeks, restaurants and automakers had the highest count of brands with active coronavirus-related TV ad campaigns. Across categories, there were at least twice as many brands active during the week of March 23 compared to the week of March 16.

Brand messages focus on product and offering changes as well as general support

Initial coronavirus-related creatives fell into four broad buckets of messaging: 1) product and offering changes, 2) general support, 3) thematic marketing, and 4) virus-related information and calls-to-action.

Through March 29, 52 percent of campaigns and 64 percent of airings addressed product and offering changes. 15 restaurant brands composed the plurality of this group. Several quick service restaurants introduced “contactless” drive-thru, pickup, and delivery experiences; casual dining brands such as Chili’s and Denny’s announced waived delivery fees. Automotive brands were the next largest cohort in messaging product or offering changes, with nine brands releasing campaigns. This list included General Motors’ brands, which announced free OnStar Crisis Assist services and in-vehicle Wi-Fi data for existing Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC owners as well as zero percent financing with deferred payments and at-home delivery options for new buyers.

26 percent of campaigns and 20 percent of airings conveyed a diverse set of messages broadly aiming to show empathy and convey support. Quilted Northern and Angel Soft affirmed their commitment to restocking shelves with toilet paper. Anheuser-Busch announced that Budweiser would redirect its sports investments toward hosting American Red Cross blood drives at stadiums across the country. Walmart thanked its employees, many still working in-store to serve customers’ needs through the crisis.

Eight brands launched campaigns featuring existing products and services in the context of the crisis. Food delivery service DoorDash was an example, messaging that its network of restaurants was open for delivery through the crisis.

Six brands launched campaigns with informative messages, in addition to a series of public services announcements from parties including the CDC and American Red Cross. Among the brands, Clorox shared a brand-relevant informational message providing instruction on how best to kill germs in the home.

While consumer surveys to date have generally found positive receptivity to brands acknowledging COVID-19 in their marketing messages, advertisers will face a challenge to be differentiated over time. Even among the initial set of brands airing coronavirus-related creatives, the concentration of message themes has been relatively consistent within categories. 98% of restaurant airings have highlighted product or offering changes, as have 89% of automotive ad airings (see Figure 2).

“Even if stores are closed or products are sold out, TV will remain a valuable brand-building channel for marketers. However, as the pandemic continues, brands will need to continue to evolve their messages,” said Laura Beaudin, a partner at Bain & Company, who leads the firm’s Marketing Excellence practice. “Consumers won’t want to see a full commercial break with each advertisement telling them how to wash their hands.”

Restaurants shift mix to delivery- and pickup-focused creatives

Restaurants have been among the hardest hit industries during the COVID-19 outbreak, with many closing dining rooms at the request of local officials. While this has resulted in a growing number of independent restaurants closing their doors during the disruption, it has pushed quick service restaurants and casual dining chains to change their messaging.

While several restaurants have released new campaigns specific to the outbreak, including those promoting “contactless” transactions, the broader category has shifted its mix of national TV ads towards promoting off-premise dining using both new and preexisting creatives. During the four weeks ending March 15, 24 percent of restaurant airings highlighted pickup or delivery options, either as the focal point of the message or with an end card (including those promoting partnerships with delivery aggregators such as DoorDash and GrubHub). That mix of restaurant airings promoting delivery and pickup options increased to 28 percent during the week of March 16 and surged to 52 percent during the week of March 23.

Free Mensio access for any national TV brand, media agency, or TV ad sales team during COVID-19 crisis

Bain & Company and Hive also announced today that a version of Mensio will be made available upon request to any national TV brand, media agency, or TV ad sales team, providing users platform access through at least April 2020 including:

• 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

Eligible users can request access by registering at thehive.ai/mensio-covid-19.

“Brands and agencies face uncertainty over if and how to maintain TV advertising investments during the COVID-19 crisis, what to message, and how competitive brands are responding,” said Dan Calpin, president of Hive Media and a senior advisor to Bain & Company. “The playbook on how to do this right is still being written, but it’s safe to say that no brand wants to be remembered for saying the wrong thing or nothing at all.”

Calpin added, “While the need for real-time competitive intelligence exists now more than ever, we know many companies face contract freezes preventing access to new tools to help understand how the landscape is changing. We view this offer as an opportunity to invest in the industry through the disruption.”

Note: Ongoing analysis and perspectives will be shared throughout the Bain & Company and Hive LinkedIn pages. Please follow for notification of additional releases:

• 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

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