Marketing Briefing: ‘The situation is ever-evolving’: Advertisers pivot, pause ad placements and creative amid invasion of Ukraine

By Kristina Monllos

Advertisers are rapidly reevaluating their ad creative and media spending amid Russia’s on-going and increasingly vicious invasion of Ukraine.

Due to images and video of the war’s violence, carnage and human suffering flooding into the media space, marketers are concerned about the tone of their creative messaging as well as the context of where their ad appears, according to media buyers and agency execs who say that advertisers need to make careful decisions around their placements and creative to ensure brand safety and avoid consumer backlash during a dire situation where marketing has no place.

At least one brand didn’t move quickly enough.

Last week, the creative as well as the context of an Applebee’s ad placement, which used picture in picture to show the spot as well as the coverage simultaneously on CNN’s news coverage of the invasion was widely criticized. The brand apologized and paused its advertising on the network. Advertisers across networks, publishers and platforms are hastily pivoting there messaging to avoid being called out as callous — or worse.

“We looked at all clients’ media from an organic and paid standpoint, assessed where media was running, and evaluated creative based on tone,” said one media buyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “If anything could potentially be considered in poor taste if it showed up against world news or crises, we suggested swapping out creative or pausing altogether.”

The buyer continued adding that “the situation is ever-evolving” so the agency is “planning for multi-scenarios in terms of media whether that means shifting or pausing.”

Advertisers are looking at advertising on platforms with user-generated content such as TikTok as well as news networks and publishers. Some advertisers have reshuffled content planned for TikTok to move away from posts that are too product-focused as there’s the possibility for consumers to question why the brand is so sales-oriented at this time to be more thoughtful, according to one ad exec, who added that it’s a delicate balance that has to be tended to very carefully in this moment.

“What we’ve been seeing for most clients for TikTok as well as most social platforms is a pull back on advertising and ramped down on organic posting as well,” said the agency exec. “People are not interested in what brands have to say. It’s not a great time to get in front of people. Unless your brand has a concrete reason to say something it’s better to lay low for a while. Most brands have been following that advice.”

When it comes to content on platforms like TikTok, some performance marketing execs are advising clients to take stock of ad campaigns and influencer efforts and to flag the agency with any concerns or questions; to expect big fluctuations in volume and degree of engagement as well as reporting; and to be on the lookout for disruptions in platforms analytics tools given the possibility of cyber disruptions.

“We have to take a day-by-day approach,” said the ad exec. “The …read more

Source:: Digiday