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

Real Time Banter: The Challenges and Strategies for Marketing During COVID-19

    • Programmatic Advertising
  • April 14, 2020
Mark Dunning
Art Director

In the second Real Time Banter webinar, LiveIntent SVP of global marketing, Kerel Cooper, and VP of marketing, Nick Dujnic, invite Abigail Mallick, online marketing manager at Penguin Random House, and Mike Schanbacher, head of growth at Hawthorne, to discuss the challenges and strategies for marketing during COVID-19.

Insights from Abigail Mallick, online marketing manager at Penguin Random House:

“Our shifts during COVID-19 are all under the umbrella of, ‘How can we help people right now?’ We’re boosting helpful content, like shifting messages from ‘Buy this book now’ to ‘Wellness benefits of reading.'”

“We’re working with influencers, moving away from push marketing and into the social scene to connect with people. Right now, everyone is isolated and looking for that personal connection. So they can go to Instagram and see influencers talk about a book that’s helping them escape.”

“We’ve beefed up our blacklist and reminded marketers about how to use ad messaging on different platforms. We have a young adult thrilled called ‘The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,’ which could be potentially triggering if listed beside violent content. For something like that, we have a whitelist to make sure we’re curating and reaching the right audiences.”

“My advice for publishers is to be very flexible. We’ve really benefited from leaning into partners who are willing to work with us by temporarily bringing down minimum buys for campaigns or adding extra perks.”

“Err of 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.”

Insights from Mike Schanbacher, head of growth at Hawthorne:

“We sell soaps and body washes, but we’ve made a point not to communicate that we’re providing an answer to COVID-19. We’re just providing an answer to problems that have arisen from that.

“On email, we’re becoming more content-focused by doing team member highlights of how people at company are dealing with social distancing.”

“On the media side, with larger advertisers pulling out, we’ve taken advantage of cheaper media and are thinking about how we can communicate to a wider audience. We’re a D2C brand selling essential items, so people will still continue to buy even if they can’t get to the store.”

“We saw a lot more mobile traffic in the first couple of days. People were constantly checking their phones for updates and news. We’ve since seen a shift to more desktop and tablet traffic than normal. People tend to use tablets at home.”

“Early on, we struggled with whether to even address the pandemic in our emails or stay away from it. But I think it’s so top of mind at this point that we’re not concerned about it. We just want to make sure that our messaging isn’t tone-deaf when it is next to COVID-19 content – like, we won’t have images of people hugging.”

“We’re always looking to diversify our media mix, especially at times like this when there are imbalances in the marketplace. For example, large advertisers are pulling out, allowing small advertisers to swoop in. We’re thinking about the long-term and experimenting with new channels now.”

Key takeaways and best practices:

  • Provide helpful content and go for the soft sell during times of financial and social instability
  • Experiment with new channels as large advertisers are pulling ad spend and opening the door for smaller advertisers to buy at lower costs.
  • Ensure ads display properly across devices by using high-quality photos, bold colors, and concise messaging.
  • Update blacklists and whitelists to provide for brand safety and the most relevant ad placements.
  • Build your email subscriber list. Even if people aren’t willing to make a purchase yet, they may be willing to sign up for email. Get people in the top of the funnel and invest in those long-term relationships.

Sign up for more Real Time Banter and other industry insights with the LiveIntent newsletter.

0
Tweet 0
Mark Dunning
Art Director

Must-Read Content

    • Programmatic Advertising

Everything you need to know about advertising in email newsletters

  • Cassie Parker
  • June 27, 2022
    • Programmatic Advertising

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

  • Cassie Parker
  • June 23, 2022
    • Programmatic Advertising

Why marketing channel diversification is critical to D2C success

  • Victoria de Leon
  • June 22, 2022
Learn more about Programmatic Advertising.
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Email advertising: Tips for campaign success

  • Cassie Parker
  • May 31, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Email Ads: How and why to advertise in email

  • Cassie Parker
  • May 24, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

4 reasons personalization matters now more than ever — and how email can help

  • Cassie Parker
  • April 26, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

How advertisers and agencies can improve operational efficiency with Audience Manager

  • Cassie Parker
  • April 5, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Give consumers what they want: Relevance and personalization

  • Cassie Parker
  • February 16, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

Customer remarketing: Best practices with Dynamic Audiences

  • Cassie Parker
  • February 8, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

No third-party cookies? No first-party audience data? No problem.

  • Cassie Parker
  • January 25, 2022
View Post
  • Programmatic Advertising

How advertisers can best capitalize on the Super Bowl with email newsletters

  • Cassie Parker
  • January 19, 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