Campaign spend falls during pandemic, according to study

GLOBAL – Covid-19 has caused marketing campaign budgets in some industries to drop up to 75%, according to a global study on the pandemic’s impact on the industry.

Conceptual image of the marketing function with cogs

The Canary Report, which is published by market research platform Glow and strategy firm Planning Dirty, is based on a study of 435 planners and strategists in 50 countries.

The report found that there was an average 25% cut to marketing budgets, with campaign activity contracting by 11% and pitch activity down 15%.

Campaign spending reductions were on average 75% in the tourism sector and in hospitality they were down 42% and by half in the automotive industry.

The study also suggests that some sectors put on hold during the lockdown are now starting to recover as restrictions are lifted worldwide, and many agencies are pitching more during the pandemic.

Tim Clover, chief executive of Glow, said: “While the focus of activity appears to be more tactical than strategic, those working in food and drink, government, finance and retail are starting to see more new business opportunities, which is great news.”

The anonymous online survey was conducted over five days in May. Respondents were from the Planning Dirty subscriber list.

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

Members of MRS enjoy many benefits including tailoured policy guidance, discounts on training and conferences, and access to member-only content.

For example, there's an archive of winning case studies from over a decade of MRS Awards.

Find out more about the benefits of joining MRS here.

0 Comments


Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest insights and trends...
Sign Up
Latest From MRS

Our latest training courses

Our new 2025 training programme is now launched as part of the development offered within the MRS Global Insight Academy

See all training

Specialist conferences

Our one-day conferences cover topics including CX and UX, Semiotics, B2B, Finance, AI and Leaders' Forums.

See all conferences

MRS reports on AI

MRS has published a three-part series on how generative AI is impacting the research sector, including synthetic respondents and challenges to adoption.

See the reports

Progress faster...
with MRS 
membership

Mentoring

CPD/recognition

Webinars

Codeline

Discounts