LiveIntent Blog
  • Solutions
    • Advertiser solutions
      Discover a new advertising channel for powering profitable growth.
    • Publisher solutions
      Maximize the revenue generated across email and web inventory
    • Identity data solutions
      Build stronger connections with addressable audiences everywhere.
  • Identity framework
  • Case studies
  • Company
    • Our story
      Learn more about us, our mission, vision, and the people behind it all.
    • Careers
      Grow and develop personally and professionally at LiveIntent.
    • Press
      Read up on how LiveIntent is innovating the digital ecosystem.
    • Events
      Check out our upcoming events and stay up-to-date with all things martech.
  • Resources
    • LiveIntent Library
      Learn how to harness the power of email with our eBooks, guides, and reports.
    • Blog
      Explore martech topics, strategies, and tactics with fun, insightful content.
    • Knowledge base
      Get answers to all your pressing product related questions.
    • Brand assets
      Everything you need to know about the LiveIntent brand all in one place.
Contact Us
LiveIntent Blog
  • Solutions
    • Advertiser solutions
      Discover a new advertising channel for powering profitable growth.
    • Publisher solutions
      Maximize the revenue generated across email and web inventory
    • Identity data solutions
      Build stronger connections with addressable audiences everywhere.
  • Identity framework
  • Case studies
  • Company
    • Our story
      Learn more about us, our mission, vision, and the people behind it all.
    • Careers
      Grow and develop personally and professionally at LiveIntent.
    • Press
      Read up on how LiveIntent is innovating the digital ecosystem.
    • Events
      Check out our upcoming events and stay up-to-date with all things martech.
  • Resources
    • LiveIntent Library
      Learn how to harness the power of email with our eBooks, guides, and reports.
    • Blog
      Explore martech topics, strategies, and tactics with fun, insightful content.
    • Knowledge base
      Get answers to all your pressing product related questions.
    • Brand assets
      Everything you need to know about the LiveIntent brand all in one place.
Log in Contact Us
  • Blog Homepage
  • Programmatic Advertising
  • Email Monetization
  • Identity Resolution
  • LiveIntent Culture
  • Real Time Banter
  • LiveIntentional
  • Subscribe

“Err on the side of human”: How advertisers practice caution during COVID-19

    • Programmatic Advertising
  • April 20, 2020
Mark Dunning
Art Director

There’s no guidebook for how advertisers should proceed during this time. No one can look back and say, “Remember how we pivoted our email newsletter and social media strategy during the Spanish Flu? Let’s just do that.”

So we look to each other, our consumers, and market behaviors to make the most informed decisions possible, even without quite knowing what comes next.

In a recent Real Time Banter webinar, we spoke with Abigail Mallick, online marketing manager at Penguin Random House, and Mike Schanbacher, head of growth at Hawthorne, to hear about how they’re shifting strategies in response to the pandemic.

Here are their insights.

Err on the side of human

It’s okay if you don’t have the stats to back up each marketing decision and campaign strategy. In times of uncertainty, allow yourself to use your intuition and avoid forcing an approach if it doesn’t feel right.

As Mallick says, “Err on the side of human. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Be comfortable looking objectively at what you’re working on and being able to walk away if it’s not fitting this moment, even if it was appropriate a week ago.”

Admit you don’t have all the answers

Since Hawthorne sells soaps and body washes, the brand can naturally integrate itself into the conversation around COVID-19 prevention and hygiene. Still, Schanbacher knows it’s crucial that they remain sensitive and unassuming with their ads.

“We’ve made a point not to communicate that we’re providing an answer to COVID-19,” he says. “Just that we can provide answers to some problems that have arisen for that.”

Hawthorn ad examples

Soften messaging to be helpful

At Penguin Random House, Mallick and her teams are boosting helpful content and avoiding the hard-sell. For example, they might shift messaging from “Buy this book now” to “The wellness benefits of reading,” accounting for people’s financial situations and wellbeing during this time.

They’re also working with influencers to build more authentic connections with their audiences.

“Right now, everyone’s isolated and looking for that personal connection,” Mallick says. “[They can go] onto Instagram and see an influencer talk about a book that’s helping them escape.”

Lean into email

Hawthorne has become more content-focused in its email newsletters, highlighting specific team members and how they’re dealing with social distancing. Penguin Random House is also using personalization to send emails to consumers who can’t go into brick-and-mortar stores but might be up for book deliveries.

In fact, this is a prime time for advertisers to be bolstering their subscriber lists and running email acquisition campaigns. As we’ve found, people have been more willing to subscribe to and engage with emails since they’ve started self-isolating. They’re hungry for information, and, even if they’re not ready to make a purchase, they can sign up to learn more and stay connected with their favorite brands and publishers.

Even after this crisis is over, advertisers can use that valuable piece of customer data – the email address – to reach audiences with personalized content and drive conversions right from their inboxes.

Watch more episodes of Real Time Banter
0
Tweet 0
Mark Dunning
Art Director

Must-Read Content

    • Programmatic Advertising

3 factors that affect email list quality

  • Victoria de Leon
  • January 18, 2023
Email Acquisition
    • Programmatic Advertising

Best practices for running email acquisition campaigns

  • Victoria de Leon
  • January 10, 2023
3 marketing priorities for 2023
    • Programmatic Advertising

3 marketing priorities for 2023

  • Mano Pillai
  • December 13, 2022
Learn more about Programmatic Advertising.
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Your holiday checklist for campaign success

  • Cassie Parker
  • December 1, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Email advertising is the key to surviving the next recession

  • Victoria de Leon
  • November 9, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Native Curated Packages: Driving relevance and engagement for advertisers

  • Jennie Conway
  • September 8, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Brand awareness: A marketer’s guide

  • Victoria de Leon
  • August 9, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Why performance marketing alone won’t grow your brand

  • Victoria de Leon
  • August 3, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Display ads vs native ads: What’s the difference?

  • Victoria de Leon
  • July 6, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Advertising in email newsletters: Everything you need to know

  • Cassie Parker
  • June 27, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

“The mix has changed”: Why advertisers must diversify their marketing channels

  • Cassie Parker
  • June 23, 2022
LiveIntent Blog
Think outside the inbox and discover all the innovative ways email can help you grow your business.
© LiveIntent 2022
  • Solutions
    • Advertiser solutions
    • People-Based audiences
    • Publisher solutions
    • Identity data solutions
    • Identity framework
  • Company
    • Our Story
    • Careers
    • Employee Resource Groups
    • Press
    • Events
    • Contact us
  • Resources
    • Case studies
    • Blog
    • Knowledge base
    • Brand assets
  • Legal
    • Powered by
    • Content policy
    • Website privacy policy
    • Services privacy policy
    • Do not sell my info
    • Ad choices
© LiveIntent 2022
Popular topics
  • People-Based Marketing
  • Meet-a-LiveIntenter
  • Email Revenue
  • Identity Graph
  • Subscriber Acquisition
  • First-Party Data
  • Direct-to-Consumer
  • Cookie Apocalypse