Buyers on Covid-19 Learnings and How the Pandemic Has Changed Their Job

As part of Adweek’s Year in Review coverage, we asked many of the industry’s top executives to look back on 2020 and reflect on the biggest things they’ve learned since the pandemic, what about the business has changed permanently because of Covid-19 and how their approach to their job has changed as a result of this year’s events. Earlier this week, we shared insights on those topics from the television execs who oversee broadcast, cable and streaming outlets, as well as TV ad sales chiefs. Today, we asked buyers to talk about how Covid-19 has changed the business. (Next, we’ll also hear from analysts about the same topic.) Here’s what they had to say: What's the biggest thing you've learned since the pandemic? Dani Benowitz, U.S. president, Magna: The turbulence caused by the pandemic definitely yielded a lot of learnings, and I can think of two key ones. One is that you have to get used to the idea that nothing is certain anymore and you can’t count on previous plans to carry out as you thought they would. We were already in a fast-paced world, and now the world can change on a dime even quicker, and it did; we saw it happen. Another big learning is we’ve experienced what true partnership really means. We saw partners across all media channels stand up and offer help to our clients, even in extreme uncertainty. And we saw some that did not respond with the same level of flexibility. The cream really rises to the top. It’s nice when collaboration and standing up for one another shines through uncertain times. Geoffrey Calabrese, chief investment officer, Omnicom Media Group: It’s hard to narrow it down to just one, so let me share the two that stand out as equally significant: It pays to act as if tomorrow is today—the pandemic has shown that the future was much closer than we thought. It triggered shifts in consumption habits that ordinarily would have taken years and transformed many of our clients’ business models, making it clear that agencies have to build their offer around the assumption that tomorrow is today. Taking that approach is the reason OMG was able to pivot so quickly and effectively when the crisis hit. Crisis is the ultimate test of a partnership—the word partnership is used daily in our industry, and prior to the pandemic I probably used that word too loosely. I say this because the pandemic revealed the difference between partners and vendors. When the country shut down, we all had to deal with the ramifications of the pandemic and the impact it was having on our clients’ business. We learned that partners were the ones willing to work with us hand in hand to help our clients, while vendors dismissed the reality we were all facing and dug in their heels. The work with our partners was uplifting, and I can wholeheartedly say that it won’t be forgotten. Dave Campanelli, co-chief investment officer, Horizon Media: The biggest thing I’ve learned, from a work/career perspective, is that I am extremely lucky to be working for the agency I am, with the people I am and with the clients I work for. Everyone I’ve come into contact with has handled this situation in such an empathic and professional way. We’ve been able to move mountains for our clients, but at the same time we have taken care of each other personally. It’s been really impressive. Unprecedented Uncertainty: How the Coronavirus Is Disrupting the Global Advertising Industry Carrie Drinkwater, executive director of integrated investments, Mediahub: Work lens: What partnership truly means. Personal lens: Appreciation. Rachel Hirschl, svp, digital investments, Lockard & Wechsler Direct: Without question, the biggest thing we've learned since the pandemic is how quickly things can change. From late February through March, five years of evolution in consumer behavior and media consumption took shape in around five minutes. Consumers turned to ecommerce in unforeseen numbers and retailers and CPG advertisers pivoted from an awareness to a performance marketing strategy. Rapid change became the norm and the pandemic was the catalyst. Jason Kanefsky, chief investment officer, Havas Media: Marketers learned to market again. They had to trust their intuition, relying on experience (and data) to make decisions on how to push forward in unchartered and choppy waters. The interesting part of “forward” is that it can be different directions as long it was building the brand better for the future. Those that shut down their brand advertising and moved to cause marketing moved forward. Others [that] reimagined the enterprise and advertised accordingly moved forward. Those that went on hiatus and saved their investment for a better time moved forward as well. Different strategies, but similar outcomes. Dave Sederbaum, evp of video investment, Amplifi US, Dentsu: Adaptability is the key to success. From remote working to remote schooling, I’ve learned that trying to force-fit your old routines into the new normal is when things get challenging. Recognize that things have changed, but with change comes opportunity. Matt Sweeney, chief investment officer, GroupM: If you told me that, within a timespan of 24 hours, we would close our offices, work remotely, and deliver our services without interruption, I would not have thought that would be possible. The optimism, empathy and agility needed to make this a reality is what I am most proud of. What is one thing about the way you do business that you think has changed permanently as a result of the pandemic? And what is one way your approach to your job has changed as a result of this year's events? Benowitz, Magna: As a result of the pandemic, an acceleration happened in terms of shifting consumer behavior to on-demand platforms including online video and OTT. Magna research shows that people are spending five hours more per week with media, and that time spent is being driven by streaming video, social and search. One thing that has changed indefinitely as a result of the pandemic is that as we look at media partners moving forward, we are more and more focused on the consumption patterns of high-value audiences, which will ultimately drive media spend and channel selection—and this will continue. We have always been nimble and adaptable in our industry but these qualities are more important now, more than ever, because media is changing so fast. We must be prepared to make changes in real time when certain channels are not performing or clients demand a new approach given their business needs. Therefore, we need to be continuously learning and improving. Education will continue to encompass a large part of our jobs moving forward because of this need to change in real time. Infographic: Cord Cutting, Streaming and Binge Watching Are the New Normal Calabrese, Omnicom Media Group: The need for systemic flexibility and agility. Being dealt the one-two punch of the pandemic and then social justice protests within weeks of each other made it strikingly clear that many of the established ways of working finally hit their breaking points, especially in the more traditional spaces like linear TV. While this may be a once-in-a-century pandemic, it proved to be the very heavy straw that finally broke the camel’s back of the traditional constraints surrounding legacy offerings. As a result, I’m even more focused on assuring an investment operation that’s defined by client need. In order to do that, we are ingesting data, analytics, and improved workflows into every aspect of our investment and activation functions, constantly applying the lens of how we do things better and faster, to deliver with the speed and flexibility needed to drive our clients' businesses forward. Campanelli, Horizon Media: Obviously the biggest change has been the capability we all now have to work remotely. It initially started as, “Wow, we can do this,” but as we’ve learned more it has turned a bit to, “Yes, we can do this, but it also takes a toll.” So as we move forward and hopefully get back to some sense of a normal life, we’ll enter a new blended phase of in-office and remote work that we’ll need to figure out, just like we’re figuring 100% remote out now. But one of the biggest gains I feel we’ll get out of this is dropping the geographic boundaries between offices in different cities and employees who work remotely in different parts of the country. I can interact with my L.A. teams the same way I do with my NY teams. So those barriers are gone and the agency will be stronger for it. Drinkwater, Mediahub: Working from home works. Zoom/Teams/Hangouts, etc. are effective ways to bring people across the country together. Hirschl, Lockard & Wechsler Direct: Any preconditions we may have had about a virtual workplace are gone forever. That doesn't mean that we don't want to return to the office and that a physical center of excellence doesn’t have value and allure. They do. However, we’ve learned that commuting is both an emotional and a time drain. Employees can remain focused, connected and thrive with flexibility—we were able to adapt. The office will remain important, but I doubt if we'll ever utilize it the same way. Kanefsky, Havas Media: As work from home continues, as managers and employees, we will all need to find way to stay engaged, be creative and be part of an industry that still depends on relationships. Emails and texts rarely solve the intractable issues that exist within the media ecosystem, and we must strengthen some of the professional relationships that we have enjoyed for many years. One phone call can accomplish more than email exchanges. Sederbaum, Amplifi US, Dentsu: Ninety-five percent of my conversations are now had “face to face.” I don’t pick up the phone, I have a video conference, and this added human element to my day-to-day interactions is definitely here to stay. Sweeney, GroupM: I have always believed that proximity matters, that human interaction and the serendipity it fosters is invaluable. I still believe that, but I also believe that the strongest organizations adapt, and the underlying culture is what matters most. What has changed is what we are capable of in service of client growth. The pandemic has accelerated a shift that was starting as some major media owners have begun prioritizing their streaming service at the expense of traditional revenue streams. Streaming services soared because spending on content via streaming is growing much more rapidly than content spending via standard studios/networks. This year, of course, has been a year of adapting. We’ve been helping our clients remain nimble and agile to stay relevant to the moment. Our clients have been cognizant of the need to be flexible, especially with their creative offering, products and advertising. There’s been a greater emphasis this year on making sure advertising is socially conscious because brands are more aware of consumer expectations of them.