Marketing Briefing: The next weeks ‘will be tense’: Marketers brace for more social unrest

By Kristina Monllos

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Treading cautiously

Last week, advertisers pressed pause on paid social, TV and streaming platforms following the insurrection at the Capitol Building. That advertisers did so is no surprise — they’ve had enough practice that systems are in place to pull ads quickly when the need to do so arises.

While most advertisers have returned to those channels, there’s a sense that “the next couple of weeks will be tense,” noted one agency executive, adding that agencies “have to be ready to move at any moment” should there be more unrest. Overall, marketers and agency execs are taking a wait and see approach to the current moment, staying alert and in close contact to be ready to react, i.e. pull ads, as needed. “We’re back on, but treading cautiously,” said a media buyer for an independent agency.

“We have to remain vigilant,” said the agency executive, adding that while it has always been an on-call job it has only become more so in times of social unrest. “How do you keep a brand safe in that environment? I always think about the mindset of people receiving the message. Do you want to show up when someone is watching on TV what we saw on Wednesday? Do you want to show up in that mindset? It’s a very emotional thing.”

With that being the case, some marketers are questioning whether to advertise around the Inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden as the possibility for more unrest continues. Others are working more contingencies into their deals. One advertiser finalized a deal last week to advertise during the Inauguration and “their deal is packed with contingencies in the event that there is a problem,” according to a media buyer for a holding company agency.

“There will probably be a million conversations to reaffirm we’re good,” said the buyer for an independent agency. “If there’s any hint of anything similar we would probably recommend pausing for a lot of clients.”

The caution likely won’t end after the Inauguration. Marketers and media buyers recognize that with the country more politically polarized, the potential for social unrest doesn’t simply go away after Biden is in office.

“The reality is we have to adapt to being more flexible to world events of all sorts for brand safety purposes,” said Jeromy Sonne, managing director of Moonshine Marketing. “When this hopefully calms down there will always be something in the future. Trying to figure out …read more

Source:: Digiday