Traditional media was endorsed by audience during pandemic

The audience boosted its support to brands and traditional media during the pandemic, said Francisco ‘Pacho’ Carvajal, CEO of the Pacific cluster of Kantar Ibope, in a conversation on #PRODUprimetime with Ríchard Izarra.

On the one hand, viewers showed their confidence in the mainstream media for its credibility. While in terms of brands, consumers supported those that demonstrated a social purpose and a commitment to the environment, and above all, those who remained communications with its customer during these difficult times of the pandemic.

“In times of uncertainty, consumers want brands to communicate to them, to give them solutions; they want them to be by their side and offer them the best way to face difficulties,” said Pacho in a kind of lecture where he addressed the trends and predictions for this 2021.

Ríchard presented him, recalling that the first question he had asked him in the same program as soon as the confinement started in 2020, was: Pacho, when are we going to return to normality? And now, almost a year after his first participation in #PRODUprimetime, the same question was still valid.

“We have been in a constant on-and-off lockdown. Chile, as we speak now, is now in lockdown; Peru has issued stricter restrictions and the same goes for Colombia. This has an impact on the behavior of the media and people’s daily lives. Saying that this is going to end soon is very difficult. I think it is a reality that is here to stay, and it is up to us to adapt to this new situation, to this new reality, as we have already done with information gathering, research, and also in our daily lives, adopting different forms of consumption and behavior,” he said.

“Many companies in Manhattan have given up their offices; the home office is here to stay. Companies have found that working remotely is effective, productive, and beneficial to many people’s quality of life. Without a doubt, the pandemic marked a before and after, as in the consumption of media.”

Underlining the social purpose of brands, he mentioned France as an example, where 40% of consumers, before buying a product, reviewed what was the commitment of the brand with society, with the environment, with the community.

“It is a relevant aspect when deciding on a purchase, but beware, brand commitment cannot be seen as opportunism, but rather as a part of the brand’s DNA, and it is through advertising and communication that brands show that commitment to society. Opportunists are judged by the consumer and can be rejected and lose their reputation,” he warned.

Regarding how the media had positioned themselves in this pandemic, he stated: “The media that have higher levels of credibility have benefited greatly in recent months from the audience’s point of view. Brands that advertise in these media have also benefited. That appreciation in value, or that importance in times of uncertainty, of giving credibility to the media, is here to stay. The public is revaluing the media in which it can trust, in which it can believe.”

Among other trends, he mentioned the co-viewing or the new way of watching TV together in the living room of the house. “Co-viewing is here to stay: more people watch TV together at home, parents, children, the family in general, a trend that is growing in Latin America.”

Regarding e-commerce, he pointed out that it has grown notably in the region but it still remains the lack of confidence in if “the package or order will arrive.” To tackle this, he recommended that it is essential for retailers to advertise in the media to build trust.

“In LatAm, e-commerce has boosted with much more force and here we have concluded that e-commerce cannot be misaligned or divorced from advertising in the media. There must be a synchrony. Retailers should not only settle for their platforms, they should communicate through other media what they are doing to convey confidence and security to the consumer. It is very important that retailers have a presence in the media to provide security, to be present, to give peace of mind, to support the sale they are offering. In Latin America we are still distrustful, we think that we buy, we pay and the package still will not reach its destination,” he explained.

In addition, he reminded that cookies were going to be eliminated soon: “Cookies are going to disappear throughout the social networks and digital advertising space; so brands and companies are going to have to use other sources of information, especially their own information to know their consumers and to be able to develop better marketing strategies.”

See full interview