Page 15 - AdNews Magazine Nov-Dec 2020

“In a time of such rapid change and uncertainty, you can either wait for clarity or create the clarity.”
Aimee Buchanan CEO, OMD Australia
That meant investing in research to understand consumer changes — for example, The COVID Files and new Food Corp trends reports.
We then worked with clients to turn those insights into results through one-on-one sessions, industry roundtables and large virtual events such as The Road To Recovery and Decoded.
At the same time, we rolled out myriad editorial initiatives to keep people informed, enter- tained and educated. Those initi- atives, coupled with the trust peo- ple place in our products, have led to strong readership, usage, engagement and sales growth across digital and print. Print also continued to deliver strong results for marketers. As Gerry Harvey said recently, Harvey Norman “put a huge amount of our (mar- keting) budget into print advertis- ing and all of a sudden (our) sales went through the roof”.
What will 2021 bring in the media world? The confidence of marketers is starting to build, and the retail sector is looking solid. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are going to be huge this year, driven by the recent boom in ecommerce and pent-up demand. The Christmas retail season will be bright and that should spill into next year.
The travel sector is starting to show signs of life and its market- ing activity will continue to pick up. There is still a cloud over the live entertainment and cinema sectors, but in-home entertain- ment will continue to thrive. In other industries, the owners of big brands are starting to become more confident and prepared to spend on their brands in 2021.
This year has forced marketers to work a lot smarter with their ad spend. The events of 2020 have placed greater scrutiny on ROI and audience engagement. Moving into 2021, this will not change. The importance of audience attention, and the rise of the attention economy, will continue.
Agencies have gained newfound respect by showing up as nimble and responsive partners. Importantly, we’ve also gotten a hell of a lot better at responding to the needs of our greatest asset — our people.
As a leader, looking out for our people and helping them feel engaged and supported occupied a big part of my headspace from the beginning of this crisis, and it will continue to shape our focus for the year ahead.
The COVID-19 induced crunch isn’t over yet, but I have a feeling we’ll emerge stronger and more appreciative of the things that count.
Lou Barrett, managing director, national sales,
News Corp Australia
This year really has been a year like no other in living memory. There isn’t anyone, across the world, who hasn’t been touched by the
devastating impact of COVID-19. The human cost has been horrific, the economic and social impact devastating.
In the media and marketing sector, advertising budgets were slashed, events were cancelled, salaries were cut, and staff were fur- loughed or retrenched.
At News Corp, we quickly realised our clients needed our help, par- ticularly in industries that were gutted by the pandemic, including travel.
(Top) Lou Barrett, MD, national sales, News Corp. Peter Horgan, MFA chair. (Previous Page) Aimee Buchanan, CEO, OMD Australia, with Addie and Archie.
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