Share of voice and economy
Date published:
Last week Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, wrote an article for Campaign Live titled “Why advertising is pivotal to building back the economy”. The article discussed the £17bn that was contributed to our economy in 2019 as a result of the advertising industry. The article goes on to mention the 190,000 people that were, and still are, employed across the country as a result of advertising and how this sector is a vital cornerstone of our wider, world-leading creative culture. A sorry state of affairs when we compare it to the recent report published in The Drum which was carried out by WPP agency Group M. It stated that “2019 into 2020 saw a shift from 8.6% to -4.4%, the largest variance on record, as well as the largest contraction in the last decade.”
However, it would seem that there is light at the end of the tunnel as Mr. Dowden also highlighted that the golden beacon of hope for many in this industry is that “advertising will be absolutely pivotal in rebuilding our economy and bringing it back to full strength. A strong market economy needs advertisers, and your immense creativity, to help consumers make choices.”
It is clear that this dynamic sector will play a significant part in our economic bounce-back, after all we’re not just relying on one channel to communicate to our audiences – that’s the beauty of advertising, it comes in all shapes and forms.
We’ve predicted the top three themes that companies will look towards, to not only increase their sales and profit, but also help to push the UK out of a recession.
Share of voice is essential
As we mentioned in our previous blog, acquiring or maintaining an excess share of voice is vital for businesses throughout a recession in order to stay front of mind amongst consumers and to position your brand for the highest chance of recovery after a recession. It doesn’t matter about the size or sector of your business; times are increasingly competitive. If you don’t advertise right now you are going to lose out to those brands that keep spending. Social media marketing, paid advertising and email marketing are all ways to get your brand noticed by the consumer and brands that continue their advertising will certainly reap the rewards when they can re-open.
Marketing online making it their time to shine
In our current operating climate, the best way to reach people is through an online presence. Online audiences are the Achilles heel of the UK consumer market and high street footfall is dwindling faster than you can say ‘Coalhouse’. Ensuring that your website’s UX is seamless and considering backlinks from other marketing efforts will help to ensure that you are providing yourselves with the best possible chance of increased sales.
Legacy
In the not too distant future (fingers crossed) this pandemic will become a distant memory and our life will slowly return to normal, whatever that will look like. However, consumers will continue to discuss the marketing and advertising efforts of those during lockdown.
Fine tuning your long and short-term marketing strategy to ensure that you are not a company that is left behind will be more important than ever. Doing things differently and adapting to consumers behavior will ensure that these consumers not only spend, but they become loyal and returning customers.
Hopefully, in 2022 we will be writing a blog outlining the remarkable efforts that were made by companies across the UK that thrived and, in turn, helped to lead the UK out of an economic recession. These companies will be pivotal in the financial success of the country and most of all, will have adapted and molded to the current consumer climate to ensure that their businesses are still thriving.