Has online advertising escaped the Diana effect?

Research out yesterday from ad tracking service LemonAd suggested that this drop-off is taking place, with a 10% decline in the number of campaigns running. Unsurprisingly, the tourism industry was worst hit, suffering a 72% decrease in the number of ads placed in the 12 days following the attack, while the e-commerce sector seeing a 28% decline in the number of new campaigns launched in the week following the 12th. Other sectors to be hit were computers and search engines, with a 62% and 23% decline in the number of adverts respectively.

However, despite these figures, several media agencies say that they have escaped any serious effect and that clients are continuing to spend.

Direct marketing agency Cheeze, which represents three travel clients: flight bookers Skydeals, insurance firm Columbus Direct and car rental and hotel bookings company ABC Holidays Extras, recalls that when Diana died, response rates across all media showed significant but temporary downturn, but says this has not happened following the terrorist attacks.



This, believes joint MD and media director Jamie Riddell, is because people need to get back “to normal”, and he is advising his clients “not to act with a knee jerk reaction, but to monitor things on a daily basis” just in case the situation changes.



Of course, certain sectors have been affected more seriously than others. One such company is Thomas Cook, which is one of Quantum Media Services's biggest clients. It, like many travel services, is focusing on raising the profile of its non-flight related products. Dominic Mansour, associate director at Quantum, says: “We've advised them to not try and fight the way people are feeling and just let the fear factor pass.”

Thomas Cook was one of several companies forced to act swiftly in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, pulling a campaign advertising flights to New York. Many sites took similar action, with Teletext dropping a campaign promoting insurance from Columbus Direct, as part of its “Obituary Procedure”. In an email to Columbus it added “We thought it somewhat inappropriate to be advertising Travel Insurance in light of the current situation.”

Such common sense and personal judgment is all that many agencies have been able to rely upon in the wake of the event. With the attacks having a profound effect on people all over the world, no one could guess exactly how consumers would react to online advertising in the weeks that followed the attack.

Eamonn Store, client services director at Profero, says agencies are having to trust their “gut feeling”, commenting: “The market is so cautious at the moment, everyone is being mindful and thinking about the emotional side of users. We are using our own personal feelings to judge the mood.”

Store believes that the terrorist attacks will have a significant effect on how online advertising will move on from here. While there is a feeling of not wanting to be beaten, consumers are less tolerant now of advertising that they see is invading their space. Advertisers, in turn, will have to be more respectful of those consumers, he says.

Store comments: “This is not the time for intrusive, in-your-face-advertising or slap stick. While humour is good, I think consumers want more honest advertising now, they want advertisers to be genuine.”

He also believes that acquisition based advertising - which has become increasingly popular as advertisers demand immediate ROI - should be overlooked and advertisers should realize that “monetary gain isn't everything. We need to be a bit more sensitive.”

Whether that sentiment will be shared at a time when advertising is on the verge of recession is another matter, and some believe that this is actually the perfect time to run direct response campaigns, particularly for flight operators trying to offload seats at a discount.

This is likely to happen, believes Staffan Engdegard, advertising analysts at Jupiter MMXI. He says: “If we go into a recession direct response marketing will take off. In such circumstances, marketing becomes more sales based.”

However, acquisition based models might not be the answer in the short-term for travel and retail clients. If consumers aren't likely to buy, advertisers will invariably be reluctant to waste their money, so brand building may be the best option - but it will be up to the agencies to persuade them this is worth budgeting for.



With the mood cautious, the effect of the terrible attacks in the US has proved yet another challenge to an industry that is pulling itself out of a long, hard summer and is teetering on the verge of a recession. But the mood is also confident. Store concludes that consumers and advertisers will emerge in the coming months both “bolder” in their actions but also more careful and mindful in their approach - which cannot be a bad thing.