74% of Marketers Have Made Changes They Will Keep as a Result of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly changed the way marketers do business, and new research shows that many intend on keeping these alterations in place as time goes on.

The Harris Poll and OpenX recently published “The New Normal: Marketing in 2020 and Beyond,” and statistics showed that 74% of marketers have made strategy changes because of the pandemic that they intend to keep.

About 56% said they will continue to concentrate on digital channels, while 46% will retain changes made to their media mix. Nearly 43% will continue to more directly address issues in the news as a part of their marketing strategy, and 28% expect to continue spending less money than they did before COVID-19.

“Changes made to marketing strategies to capitalize during the pandemic should likely be viewed as long-term changes, not short-term,” concluded the authors in their report.

COVID-19 and Marketing Adjustments

This is not the first time that marketers have made adjustments as a result of the pandemic, and previous research suggests that the negative impact of COVID-19 is likely to subside, according to CMOs.

Gartner published “The Annual CMO Spend Survey Research: Part 1,” and data indicated that 73% of CMOs believe COVID-19’s negative impacts will be “short-lived.” Additionally, the statistics suggest that about 60% of CMOs are building scenario plans that include a second wave of disease outbreak.

Over the next 18 to 24 months, at least half of CMOs predict that marketing will return to “business as usual.”