New start instead of false start after the Corona crisis

Switzerland is back to life, our world is turning again. Everything as before, you might almost think. Switzerland has coped quite well with the lockdown. The easing measures were even implemented faster than planned and the infection figures have remained largely stable, at least so far.

Nevertheless, these last few weeks have changed a lot: Working from home and video calls still characterize the everyday working life of many; short-time work and uncertain future prospects give many of us reason to save - both consumers and companies. The advertising industry is also noticing this. Although personnel costs have at least fallen for the time being due to short-time working, the reduction in marketing investments will sooner or later be reflected in sales and brand values.

What's next?

Many companies have massively scaled back their advertising measures. At the same time, however, the end of the lockdown has kicked off the battle for consumer favor - for people who prefer to keep their money together. The competitive pressure is therefore increasing and with it the question: who will take the lead and who will drop out of the race - perhaps even for good?

However, a crisis also offers the perfect starting point to get off to a fresh start and put your company and brand in the fast lane. To do this, you need an authentic brand message, a relevant offering and, last but not least, presence in order to be highly visible to your customers in the right context right now.

Save or invest

But how does a company manage the balancing act between the necessary cost-cutting measures and the opportunity to gain a head start right now? The motto now is: "Get the biggest bang for the buck", get the most out of what you have. Because only those who place their advertising investments more efficiently, more precisely and more creatively than their competitors will make the best possible fresh start and come out on top.

In a time of tight budgets, agencies and marketing departments will be challenged more than ever to be measured not only by brand and reach values, but also directly by the influence of their decisions on the company's success.

So is coronavirus also a trigger for advertising to finally embrace and sustainably implement the long-awaited shift towards a completely data- and performance-driven approach to marketing? Not that we haven't been striving for this for a long time. But to be honest, we haven't quite managed it yet. For example, large media investments are still being made without modeling or a systematic "test and learn" approach - in other words, without concrete evidence of what the advertising francs invested will sooner or later return to the company's coffers.

And the discussions between marketing and finance departments - and I can confirm this from my own experience - are more fact-based, easier and more benevolent when it is possible to talk about ROIs through media modeling, for example. Because then it's suddenly no longer about marketing costs, but about a marketing investment.

Time to make a difference

As a marketing community, Corona has once again given us the opportunity to make a difference, but also to reinvent ourselves and clearly position the impact of our actions. We need strategies, creative solutions and flexible tools that make it possible to quickly adapt and optimize marketing measures. And we need the courage to try out many things on a small scale, to scale up what works and to immediately abandon what doesn't work. This is how we protect budgets and learn a lot about what makes us successful and what doesn't. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!