share of voice

• Creative & Branded Content
• Article

How Best to Advertise During a Recession

• ARF Knowledge at Hand, CMO Brief

Even though the U.S. economy has some bright spots, economists warn a recession is still possible due to stubborn inflation. Advertisers want to be prepared as a result. While there is no failsafe advertising playbook to follow, as individual brands and businesses have nuanced needs and branding, there are some best practices and guidelines, which the following ARF Knowledge at Hand report gleans from some of the best research on the topic. The report covers the impact of “going dark,” the often-overlooked opportunities a recession can bring, how to maximize media spend effectiveness and how to frame appeals that are most attractive to customers during tough economic times.

How is the Coronavirus Impacting the Global Advertising Industry?

• Posted: June 21, 2023

The ARF’s second Virtual Town Hall, How is the Coronavirus Impacting the Global Advertising Industry?, focused on the recent coronavirus outbreak and how to best plan and recover from a recession market. Huge parts of the U.S. economy have shut down. From restaurants to gyms to hotel chains, workers are being hit hard as layoffs snowball daily. The advertising industry is feeling the shock as advertising budgets dry up due to postponed launches and canceled sporting, entertainment and business events.

Inside the Journal of Advertising Research: Advertising Creativity and Strategy

• Posted: June 21, 2023

Journal of Advertising Research authors presented their work published in the March issue of the JAR. Creativity experts delved into the creative-idea generation process and the conveying of brand passion in advertising. Strategy experts explored effectiveness of six-second TV commercials and how advertising and promotional effects drive QSR sales.

Evidence-Based Research for Effective Marketing

• Posted: June 7, 2023

What Brands Did in 2020

• Posted: June 6, 2023

In this presentation, Paul Donato, CRO of the ARF, covered findings from the seminal year of the “What Brands Did in 2020” (Brands 2020) project. This project will go on for at least the next two years or until the effects of 2020 are no longer felt. ARF researchers in the Brands 2020 study used IRI and NCS data, Kantar Ad Insights, NCS sales and Nielsen Ad Intel data, between 2017 and 2021. The IRI data was a very deep dive but across three categories: salty snacks, pasta sauce and personal care products. The NCS data was shallower but across 10 broad categories. Using all these data, ARF researchers looked at share of media, media spend and share of market before and after March 2020 (Covid) and before and after March of 2021 (start of inflation).

• Ad Effectiveness & ROI
• Article

What Brands Did in 2020 & the Impact on Market Share

• ARF ORIGINAL RESEARCH

This multi-year project’s objective is to understand how brands reacted to the events of 2020 and what the long-term implications were. In that fateful year, brands encountered a pandemic-driven recession, lockdown and periods of social unrest, along with the impact of economic stimulus, leading to the current state of inflation. Questions this study looks to address include, what happens to a brand’s market share if it goes “dark.” Was this different than previous recessions? How long was recovery? Did small brands take advantage of inexpensive media and if so, how did this affect their market share? Findings from the initial year are now available.

Advertising During Times of Economic Stress

• Posted: February 14, 2023

Throughout 2022, ARF members asked the Knowledge Center most frequently about advertising and marketing best practices in periods of recession and/or inflation. New insights on this topic come from the “Brands 2020” project by the ARF.

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• Past Event Highlights
• Article

What Brands Did in 2020

• INSIGHTS STUDIOS

In this presentation, Paul Donato, CRO of the ARF, covered findings from the seminal year of the “What Brands Did in 2020” (Brands 2020) project. This project will go on for at least the next two years or until the effects of 2020 are no longer felt. ARF researchers in the Brands 2020 study used IRI and NCS data, Kantar Ad Insights, NCS sales and Nielsen Ad Intel data, between 2017 and 2021. The IRI data was a very deep dive but across three categories: salty snacks, pasta sauce and personal care products. The NCS data was shallower but across 10 broad categories. Using all these data, ARF researchers looked at share of media, media spend and share of market before and after March 2020 (Covid) and before and after March of 2021 (start of inflation).

Research-Based Marketing in Uncertain Times

• Posted: December 1, 2022

Is there research that can help marketers navigate today’s unpredictable environment?  At this event, experts recommended focusing on pricing and rethinking the “don’t go dark” rule, but they disagreed on which measures are best for optimizing marketing plans and their impact.

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• Past Event Highlights
• Article

Evidence-Based Research for Effective Marketing

On November 9, 2022, industry leaders joined us to share highlights from EffWorks Global 2022 — a week-long celebration of the best new thinking and evidence-based decision-making research for marketing effectiveness. Topics of discussion included: marketing in the post-Covid economy, effective advertising in unprecedented times, the value of Share of Voice/Share of Attention/Share of Search in terms of effectiveness and commercial decision making, and more.