Since March 2020, the mantra “when things return to normal” has reminded us that things are, in fact, not normal. And the truth is, even with declining COVID rates and many companies returning to in-person work, change will always be a constant. Current events like natural disasters, political unrest and cultural flashpoints will always occur.

 Nowhere is this more evident than with paid media campaigns. The real-time interaction that can occur with paid media can become a reputation firestorm in the face of poorly timed or poorly placed advertisements. This, coupled with the ease of sharing a brand’s Internet mishaps, highlight how quickly errors can compound and leave an unpleasant, often long-lasting stain on a brand’s reputation.

Creating an action plan for unforeseen circumstances should be a part of a campaign’s initial strategy, and the action plan should be tailored for each campaign and its specific markets. Regardless of the unique positions of each brand and their goals, here are four things to always consider when creating action plans for current events:

1)    Search term relevancy

It is best practice to check performance and spend of a paid media campaign at least daily, regardless of current events. If you notice any keywords with increased traffic, especially without any recent optimizations, consider what larger societal trends or news may be behind them. An iCrossing client’s brand shared the name of a product affected by the sanctions enacted due to the crisis in Ukraine. We saw impression volume for their brand keyword skyrocket. Even though only 2% of people clicked the search ads, impression volume led to increased clicks, and daily budgets were wasted on irrelevant traffic. Pausing the brand keyword and adding negative keywords were the best solution until sanctioned-related searches dwindled.

 Always review your keywords during times of instability to assess relevance and traffic. Turn off keywords that are generating interest from crisis-related searches to avoid reduced ROI. While you can’t know what kind of current event may occur, be proactive by considering what keywords could become controversial in the future as a quick starting point for keyword reviews.

 2)    Sensitivity

Even if your search campaigns won’t be affected by search terms, consider where your social and display ads may appear. Do you want an ad with a chipper or humorous tone to appear next to a news article about a national tragedy? When the nation is focused on sensitive news, will your social ads come across as a distraction or offensive to the dialogue? Consider adding certain websites or keywords to a blacklist to avoid this, or even temporarily pausing your campaign. Online news sources like The New York Times or Fox are examples of sites you may want to blacklist to ensure your ads don’t appear in tandem with current event coverage. DV360 also has the option to filter inventory based on sensitivity categories, including politics and social issues. Using this feature is a way to be thorough in your placement exclusion.

 Alternatively, if your brand wants to be a part of a larger conversation, consider running paid media campaigns to voice your position. Many brands have centered equality, diversity and inclusion as part of their overall identity. Putting money behind ads that reaffirm your commitment to these values shows dedication to the cause as well as expands the reach of your message.

3)    Platform Policies

Regardless of what you decide your paid media strategy should be, it is also important to be aware of the policies tech companies may put in place during times of crisis. In light of events in Ukraine, for example, Google has paused ads running in Russia. Are you limited in where you can advertise? Or the content you can utilize? Check frequently for changes in what platforms allow. Google has a Sensitive Events Policy and Facebook has an Advertising Policy on Sensational Content which are great resources to bookmark.

 4)    Reduced ROI

Simply from a bottom-line perspective, it may make sense to pause or re-structure campaigns because of overall declined interest in times of hardship. Economic uncertainty or industry-wide disruption may mean a decline in your brand purchases – regardless of your advertising efforts. Ideally, you will only need to pause your campaign briefly, but when faced with long-term market changes, consider changing the objectives of the campaign. At the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, iCrossing changed KPIs for a major retailer from Omni-revenue to e-commerce revenue and shifted their paid media strategy from in-store services to focus on at home products instead.

If there is not an opportunity to change the type of conversion, consider shifting funds from conversion-focused campaigns to awareness-focused campaigns. Use the time as an opportunity to raise visibility of the brand, even if you can’t raise purchases. Alternatively, consider shifting funds from paid media campaigns to other projects that are related to paid search and social. Investing in an improved website design, SEO strategy, or creative assets will pay dividends in the performance of paid media campaigns when they are re-launched.

Despite the turmoil of the past two years, U.S. search ad revenue still grew by 33% to $78 billion last year. This expansive growth, even in the middle of these challenging times, highlights how important it is to optimize your paid media campaign during – and for - unexpected times. By not having an action plan in place, brands are setting themselves up to fail. We can’t always know what will happen in life, but being proactive by creating an action plan will help your brand be prepared for times of crisis. Contact us to speak with one of our Media experts about preparing your digital marketing strategy for the changing times.