Yes, you should still be advertising.

Yes, you should still be advertising and creating content.

(The context just needs to change).

Over the last month, we’ve all experienced a pretty significant shift, wouldn’t’ you say?!

And in the last 3 weeks, prices in Facebook’s ad auctions have plunged – they’re quite the bargain right now. Prices have fallen nearly 35% per CPM (cost per thousand) and have presented some discounted opportunities, exposed culture & value, and furnished attention gains through this “Categorical Noise Decrease” – the likes of which we have never seen. And most of all, the targeting & conversions are the BEST I’ve ever seen (makes you wonder…).

Most of our clients are asking us if they should be “spending to budget or spending to goal.” For example, they might have $50,000 allocated to reach 1,000 people, but because media is on sale right now, if they spend $50,000 they might reach 2,000 people.

So what do I think?

I say spend to goal right now and repurpose the significant portion of the budget that isn’t being spent. We might need the money later in the year if the economy improves and ad prices leap. Or, we might need to allocate these expenditures to weather this crisis and prepare for what is next – like creating Augmented Reality experiences through Image Recognition or Voice (shoot me a note and I’ll show you what we’re doing for Ford).

Albeit a bit late, you can still use this time to take this as a slap in the face and act on it now. What else are you going to do?! Twiddle your gloved thumbs and complain through your N95 Mask?!

In my 11 years doing this thing-a-ma-jigger, over a month of Covid-19, 1 recession, and a ton of case studies in college, here’s what I’ve learned about a down, scared economy:

  • You’ll Likely Experience A Categorical Noise Level Decrease – The noise in a product/service category will drop when competitors tuck their tails and cut spend. This allows you to be top of mind, re-position through adapting, and own share of mind through an increased share of voice.
  • Stability & Culture Will Be Tested & Exposed Increasing messaging, staying strong, and shifting communication – daily, and more than ever – around positivity and ways you have adapted your businesses to meet people’s needs (not pushing agendas), highlights your culture and screams stability.
  • Things Will Go On Sale – Like stocks, the price of advertising will go down. These lower rates create a “buyers” market for us Marketers and help you build inexpensive audiences that convert.

Like the old adage says: when times are good you should advertise. When times are bad, you MUST advertise. Especially when people are at home, bored, and on their phones MORE THAN EVER.

(“What do you think about the recession”, a journalist once asked Sam Walton: Sam replied, “you know, I thought about it and then decided to not participate.”)

Good things.

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