Media usage has shifted since the start of the Coronavirus, not surprising. And many media have seen increased traffic, providing more reason for advertisers to maintain a presence in these unsettled times. Old-school media received some “bounce” as did newer digital advertising outlets. Some changes were to be expected but others may yield insight to the future of media consumption in our post-virus world.

A Surprise

One of the media outlets I expected to decline was radio. It did not. Radio has held on to listeners in part because almost all local radio stations can be streamed through devices and smart speakers. Radio is a companion media. People listen while at work and for pleasure. And, people trust radio and their favorite personalities to give them accurate information. 91% of Americans who do not work from home listen to radio during the week for an average of 95 minutes per day. For those who work from home 90% are reached by radio in the course of a week for a 90 minute per day average. Eight in ten people listen to as much or more radio than pre-virus.

Media Usage Winners

Broadcast TV has seen a spike in viewership, as expected. Some of this is attributed to watching the news. Not surprisingly, the biggest daypart increase is in daytime viewing, up nearly 50%. The second largest increase was seen in the Early News/Early Fringe time slot of 5p-7p. The only daypart to drop was Early Morning News 5a-7a as people are sleeping later. Demographically, the largest viewing increase is with Baby Boomers, but all age groups watched more broadcast.

Cable has seen similar changes in viewing habits, with daytime growing the most since the beginning of March. The top 4 cable networks last week in New York were Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and NY1. Cable news continues to be the top-draw of the medium. However, stations that saw the greatest percentage of growth were a mix of news and entertainment.

Media Losers

One media that is being hurt by the current situation is direct mail. Postal workers are essential and are continuing to work. But they get sick too. And the CDC guidelines for working make it harder to process the mail, slowing delivery. Events have been canceled and businesses shuttered, cutting down the volume. Many print plants are shut due to work restrictions, so direct mail pieces are not being printed. And, a lot of B2B mailers have been canceled as there is no one to receive the mail, so why waste ad dollars. Needless to say, the US Postal service, already running deeply in the red will only suffer more.

Not surprisingly digital media consumption is up since the Coronavirus outbreak and it is driven by video. From watching streaming programming to watching YouTube and other social media, video has continued to grow. Search is naturally skewed heavily towards information on the virus. Information on Covid-19 dominates online activity for old and young, rich, poor etc. This is the biggest online activity.

Social media has become more social. Consumers are using social media as a means to access news stories on the virus. This is especially true among younger users. Boomers are hitting social as a way to stay in touch with friends and family.

Lessons

What are some of the lessons? Media usage changes  during a crisis. At difficult times people will turn to the News for information. However, that is no longer just broadcast TV News. The device that has seen the biggest growth since the start of the outbreak is mobile. Even though people have the opportunity to view video on a big screen now that they are home, mobile continues to be the most popular device. According to one study, mobile usage was up by 70%! That was helped by Search, streaming audio, watching video etc. on smartphones.

The lesson is obvious, we have become a mobile first society and every marketer needs to be aware. Video consumption is up substantially, and many report they will continue to seek out video as a source of information and entertainment. Interestingly, there has not been a spike in people making and uploading video. Production of video remains an area of opportunity to marketers. Another takeaway from the current advertising environment is that messaging matters more than ever. Marketing that shows empathy for the current situation or demonstrates support for those involved does well. Advertising that is overtly promotional does not. If the message fails, the media deliver is immaterial.