This summer’s media landscape was dominated by COVID-19, as well as what economic recovery could look like; both overall and in specific industries (e.g. enterprise technology, media business and advertising).
Advertising: COVID-19 Blocklists and BLM
In advertising, coverage focused on the trend of ad buyers blacklisting COVID-related content. In addition, advertising and tech reporters continued to be interested in ad spend and potential spending rebounds in the months ahead. Social unrest added a new layer of complexity on the media landscape, with coverage focused on brand reactions to Black Lives Matter activism and some brands shifted spend from social platforms to more traditional publishing outlets over both concerns of brand safety and the spread of misinformation.
In the wider tech landscape, media professionals continued to tell data-driven stories about COVID-19 and cling to signs of recovery through data. Enterprise reporters continued to speak to the need for greater agility in the marketplace and solutions that were built for remote work environments.
CCPA Goes into Effect
Media covering...well, media and advertising continued to hone in on what advertisers and media companies needed to know with the CCPA enforcement date. In the homestretch to CCPA becoming fully enforced on July 1, the media continued to look at how the landscape for publishers and advertisers would change. Kite Hill PR clients Dianomi, Madison Logic, MainAd and SpotX spoke with Ad Age on how marketers need to adjust strategies. The media outlook on CCPA is still evolving, as reporters look at potential impacts of CCPA 2.0 being added as a November ballot initiative in California.
Ad Spend: A Game of Highs and Lows
The media and advertising trades have hyper-focused on potential rebounds in the overall advertising industry, as well as data showing COVID-19’s impact on different verticals. Video advertising platform SpotX saw gaming ad spend and inventory increase throughout the pandemic, as the video ad tech company explained in an exclusive article with AdExchanger. While gaming ad spend has been a bright light, traditionally high-spending categories like retail and hospitality were drastically lower in April and mid-May.
Podcasts Get Hotter
Podcasting turned from a fad into a bonafide media trend, with headlines being generated via M&A activity, including Spotify making strategic acquisitions to boost its podcasting presence and The New York Times which announced its intentions to acquire Serial Productions. Attention over these audio moves further solidifies the trend of publishers diversifying content offerings.
Media Brands Navigate The Changing Landscape
Meanwhile, other media brands are staying nimble to build audiences and drive revenue during the pandemic. Kite Hill PR client, Morning Brew spoke to Digiday about how most media companies undervalue subscriber referral programs and how its own referral program helped the newsletter reach 2 million subscribers in Q2. Legacy publishers, such as The Washington Post and Kiplinger, are teaming up with Dianomi, a native advertising platform, extending their partnership to monetize lifestyle content and diversify revenue streams beyond display. Covered in MediaPost, the new marketplace allows premium publishers to effectively monetize content with high-quality brands.
Pause on Paid Social Campaigns During Facebook Boycotts
Recently, a growing number of major brands hit pause on ad spend on Facebook as a protest against the company’s policies on hate speech. The Wall Street Journal, The Information and Ad Age covered this movement extensively, telling the stories of brands who looked to move spend and called for social platforms to make changes. Kite Hill PR client, Jellyfish, an independent digital agency, told Ad Age how they are consulting brands that are and aren’t participating in the boycotts, and spoke to AdExchanger about the longevity of this trend.
Enterprise Tech Navigates Disruption and Pivots to New Solutions
From the Valley to Wall Street, professionals looked for solutions that could help stabilize business in these unprecedented times. Uncertainty seemed to inspire reporters looking to share best practices and ideas for businesses looking to become more agile and do business in a post-COVID-19 world. Companies like Kite Hill PR client, Brandcast, unveiled its new Content Studio to help enterprises create and scale content, to help cut down on development time and do more with less.
Outlets like Reuters and The Wall Street Journal relied on Kite Hill PR client, Unacast for data on social distancing trends and as indicators for recovery.
During the rest of 2020, it will be interesting to see what COVID-19 behaviors become habits and which fade. How long will brands curtail social media spending? Will ad spend continue to bounce back, or even grow in the second half of the year? Can media brands embrace the uncertainty and adapt a nimble strategy? We’re looking forward to seeing what stories will be in the headlines next.
- Will Vogel, Account Executive