Does the Advertising Industry Need to Pivot Again?

Just over two years ago, my agency went through what we referred to as “the pivot phase” for our clients. March of 2020 feels like it was both yesterday and so long ago. At that time, our clients had to quickly change plans and our teams worked diligently to make the adjustments necessary to their media campaigns. With people going into locked-down mode and travel practically non-existent, many of the ad campaigns we had worked on needed to be completely updated. We paused many Out of Home campaigns and optimized dollars toward increased streaming advertising.

I was grateful for that time because it taught me and the folks at my agency a lot. I promised myself that from that point on, we would do our best to be prepared for anything that came at us in the future. And here we go again. The looming recession, inflation and supply chain issues are forcing those in our industry to “pivot” yet again to come up with more creative ways to help marketers reach their audiences. Our clients see what’s coming down the pike and are already reaching out to us to figure out what their next media moves should be.

In all honesty, while I understand their concerns, this situation isn’t really a new one. We’ve gone through similar times in 2008. Remember thinking how bad things were then? It was the same story. Gas prices were high, and people were upset about spending then too. However, there are many differences between where we are now and the recession of 2008.

For the advertising industry, the biggest impact during the last recession hit the print medium and that reflected a great overall loss in advertising spending. Since that time, many new advertising mediums have emerged and while once considered “fringe” methods of advertising, they are now part of the mainstream. Social media, OTV/CTV and Computer & Video Gaming, all offer opportunities for companies to target their audiences in a big way. No one would have predicted that people would be spending so much of their day in these areas. Heck, Tik Tok wasn’t even a thing in 2008 and now people are spending over 45 minutes a day watching it!

For my agency, the focus is still the same. Rather than looking at this moment in time with a need to pivot again, we will continue to move forward. Finding the best opportunities and hidden pockets that will generate the most attention and help our clients get noticed while saving them money in the process. Just because consumers are changing how and where they spend money, doesn’t mean that you should stop trying to reach them. It is just means that we must find the best means to connect with them so that our clients can stay on the top of their minds.