2020 In Review: Marketing Changes and Disruptions Part I

The year 2020 has been unlike any other. Adaptability and innovation have kept savvy marketers afloat amongst waves of disruption brought on by COVID-19, but as digital advertising and customer buying behavior continues to shift in the pandemic’s wake it’s important to account for the numerous changes that happened this year.

Before looking ahead to what new developments may be on the horizon in 2021, ecommerce professionals can learn a great deal from some of this tumultuous year’s biggest challenges — and the solutions helping brands pull through.

An Overnight Shift in Consumer Shopping Habits Changes Buying Cycles

The fallout from COVID-19’s spread was immediate. First, fearing a serious economic downturn, consumers’ normal timeline to purchase experienced a radical shift across several verticals. Perhaps most obviously impacted were large long-term purchases like car sales; one online marketplace reported seeing the average buying cycle jump from a 58-day window to more than three months. Verizon’s phone upgrade sales also slumped, as retail locations closed to accommodate safety measures taken to avoid the potential spread of the virus.

The universal impact to the customer buying cycle and its cascading effects on active digital ad campaigns was felt immediately. Many businesses were forced to make crucial decisions with their marketing budgets while adjusting to working away from their teams in a physical office. All previous plans to capitalize on 2020’s biggest marketing trends were condensed down to one goal: reconnect with customers and learn what this new normal has in store. 

Pandemic Closures Put Brand Messaging Under the Microscope

Next, marketers raced to produce new messaging as the full scope of the pandemic’s impact came more clearly into view. Communicating with customers at such a critical time meant fine-tuning a distinct personality, with successful brands tapping into one of the most important rising trends of the year: personalization and humanization.

Data-driven personalization was a goal for marketers long before March in terms of targeting users with ads they were more likely to respond to positively. But this spring, company-wide messaging for brands of all sizes were suddenly called upon to access their real-life human side — or risk alienating customer bases with potentially ignorant or insensitive messages.

The line between engaging with audiences about real-world events and callously capitalizing on a global threat can be a thin one for consumers. By early May, nearly three quarters of respondents in one study said they had witnessed companies “trying to take advantage” of the Covid-19 crisis, and that 85% of U.S. consumers felt the way brands behave during the outbreak “will affect their desire to do business with those companies in the future.”

How Successful Brands Responded

While seeking new methods to communicate in a more sensitive fashion with consumers in various states of crisis, brands wisely pivoted away from unveiling big spring sales events or new products to instead becoming active participants in their communities. Numerous global brands like Nike and Coca Cola amplified PSA warnings about the virus itself, smartly positioning themselves as leaders in times of crisis.

That decision would pay off for them, as COVID-19 ignited a significant change in consumer behavior. Following 12,000 interviews with people across multiple countries, communications firm Edelman discovered 71% of respondents said that if they perceive that a brand is putting profit over people, “they will lose trust in that brand forever.” The same report found that 77% said they want brands “only to speak about products in ways that show they are aware of the crisis and the impact on people’s lives.”

It’s not just talk, either. Since March, a so-called “brand reckoning” has taken place as “75% of US consumers are trying a new shopping behavior in response to economic pressures, store closings, and changing priorities.” Sensitivity, honesty, and demonstrably strong ethics have become paramount for brands interested in continuing operations.

Moving forward, positive messaging alone won’t be enough for the average consumer — people are now openly and excitedly seeking out brands that take action.