By OMNES Editor:

The advertising  industry is keeping a close watch on the ad spending in the wake of coronavirus spread . The impact will be major with ad spending for the year at a very low. As there is no relief from the pandemic so far the world is bewildered and faces a never before panic.

The World Advertising Research Center said in its Global Ad Trends report on ad spend recently that if the crisis remains contained, advertising spend would be delayed until later in the year. The group forecasts that advertising spend would reach $660 billion this year, but that figure doesn’t include potential impact from the coronavirus since, if it’s contained, that displaced spend would be reallocated for later in the year. 

“Advertising’s relationship with GDP is strong, but a slowdown in economic output as a result of the virus will not necessarily translate into reduced advertising investment,” the report said. However, in the wake of postponed   events like the Tokyo Olympics and  UEFA Euro tournament there will be a huge impact on the industry.

With the present scenario most of the companies worldwide have either downgraded or stopped their ad spending for the coming year. As China is considered as a major market in the second row the closure down o Chinese markets will affect the global figures on ad spending.

The social distancing practiced all over and the travel ban imposed by authorities are paying a heavy price in the advertising industry. The work has come to a standstill and the impact of the virus spread is here to stay and linger around almost every sectors of business. According to the latest report by Statista, the advertising industry is facing huge losses because of the COVID19 pandemic. In the early march, US ad agencies lost billions of dollars in their revenue which dropped to 10.6% and expected to decrease if the pandemic effect grows more in the US and around the world.

Whereas on the other hand, Digital media consumption is increasing because consumers are spending more time at home. Social media ad spending and live streaming spending are not much affected as there is a huge viewership during the lockdown period.

Experts feel that if the spread of coronavirus continues significantly, that could result in increased ad spending in areas such as mobile gaming or streaming services as consumers end up spending more time at home amid the outbreak, while ad spend could decrease in areas such as out-of-home advertising.

Most of the ad agencies will see a steady decline in domestic and international advertising bookings. Only the difference is that large Ad agencies may cover these losses within a short span of time but  small or medium-sized ad agencies may face a much bitter experience.