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VAB's New Report Tips Marketers on Advertising during the Corona Crisis

At a Glance:


  • Video Advertising Bureau has released a new report telling marketers on Advertising during Crisis.

  • The report notes that time spent watching television is up 17% for all people, and even more for kids (39%) and teens (46%), largely because of school closings.

  • The VAB report says that consumers are reacting to authentic, purpose driving campaigns that address issues caused by COVID-19.



With the coronavirus crisis cutting into TV ad revenues, the Video Advertising Bureau has released a new report telling marketers how to take advantage of the medium as home-bound viewers boost ratings.



The report urges marketers to rethink their daypart strategy with more people watching daytime TV, re-evaluate what programming they are buying with viewers craving news and altering messaging to highlight the steps brands are taking to keep consumers safe and the contributions companies are making to relief efforts.



Learn more: Kennedy: Coronavirus affecting even television ads 

While COVID-19 is a horrible reason for our population to stay at home, we’ve seen scores of marketers rightly rush to connect emotionally with ‘here to help’ messaging, to the scale-atop-of-scale surge of 24/7 viewership, to all forms of premium multiscreen TV content. These marketers see both a mass of information-hungry viewers, as well as the spikes in viewing for comfort-of-favorites distraction. TV and TV-Social is where the populations are all converging in March and April.

- Sean Cunningham, CEO, VAB


The report notes that time spent watching television is up 17% for all people, and even more for kids (39%) and teens (46%), largely because of school closings. The increased viewing is happening across all dayparts and has particularly changed the audience for the daytime.



This finding underscores the point that marketers should not deem any daypart ‘off-limits'. With every daypart showing increases, now more than ever marketers should be targeting by audience, not daypart. The audience for daytime TV has particularly changed dramatically, now filled with school-age kids and younger, working adults

- Danielle DeLauro, Executive VP at the VAB.


The report notes that many marketers are now looking for alternatives to sports. The growth in ratings for news programming has been well documented. The VAB report adds that viewers are also watching more ad-supported programming, including movies and instructions and advice programming.



Learn more: Channel 4 handed millions in bonuses as tv ad market falters amid coronavirus

When they do advertise on TV, what should marketers be saying to consumers? The VAB report says that consumers are reacting to authentic, purpose driving campaigns that address issues caused by COVID-19. Messages about no-touch food delivery and car payment relief programs resonate and build long-term brand health.



The VAB said 56% of consumers are pleased to hear brands taking action like making donations of goods and services and 43% say they want messages that are “reassuring from brands I know and trust.”



Industries that have increased TV advertising audiences are storage and freight, auto, beer, wine and liquor, computers and office supply and soaps and cleaners, said the report, citing data from Tatari.



With viewers social-distancing and not getting together with friends, this might also be a good time to take advantage of second-screen engagement as viewers use social media to react to shows they’re watching.



An analysis of Twitter by the VAB found that 66% of trending topics at night were about premium video content, with more than half about ad-supported TV. From March 15 to March 25, 33 TV entertainment shows trended in the top 10 on Twitter.

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MyTradeZone | November 28, 2023

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SugarCRM Announces 2024 Customer Breakthrough Award Winners

Business Wire | January 24, 2024

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In addition to its own branded footwear, ADOC also has partnered with international brands, including Hush Puppies, The North Face, CAT, and Steve Madden, to create a complete shopping experience for its customers. Industry Excellence Breakthrough Award – Reusable Transport Packaging, a leader in sustainable transport packaging solutions, is recognized for using SugarCRM to improve its bottom line, unify customer data, streamline processes, and increase sales efficiency, resulting in a 20 percent revenue growth year over year. A key strategy in its growth is the use of Sugar Market for regular email communications, which keeps customers, distributors, and leads informed about new products, pricing updates, and other relevant industry news. Marketing Excellence Breakthrough Award – The Swedish Institute (SI), a Swedish government agency, is recognized for its innovative approach to data management and customer engagement. The Sugar Sell and Sugar Market platform integration centralizes data, segments audiences, and automates responses, significantly enhancing marketing efficiency and improving engagement with international students and alumni. The Swedish Institute saw an increase of over 31 percent in lead volume since implementing SugarCRM and boasts a best-in-class 40-to-50 percent open rate on marketing emails. Sales Excellence Breakthrough Award – J&J Ventures Gaming, LLC, a leader in gaming and amusements and one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., is recognized for implementing Sugar Sell to consolidate customer accounts and interactions into a centralized communication hub across sales, marketing, and account management. Streamlined sales processes have established a new model for sales excellence for the J&J team and its growth in the gaming industry. Service Excellence Breakthrough Award – Super General Company of the Albatha Group in the UAE is recognized for revolutionizing its service operations with Sugar Serve. Working with Sugar partner Ambit Software, Super General successfully implemented a repair and maintenance service platform, including a field management application for efficient case handling and simplified technician dispatching. Due to increased efficiency and workload management, the number of cases per technician has surged by up to 26 percent, alongside a 10 percent increase in first-time fix rates. Other notable achievements include a significant increase in call closure rates and substantial improvements in customer satisfaction scores. Customer of the Year Breakthrough Award (Asia Pacific) – zazen Water, a provider of alkaline water solutions in Australia, is recognized for its use of SugarCRM to support business growth and customer satisfaction. Through strategic integrations, zazen Water automated its business and customer service operations to streamline high-order volume processing. Notably, during its Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 campaign, zazen Water managed a significant order peak, accomplishing its same-day dispatch promise, which, prior to automation and integration projects, would have required 16 employees. Customer of the Year Breakthrough Award (EMEA) – FAMO GmbH & Co. KG, a German wholesaler of electrical and plumbing products, is recognized for its collaboration with Sugar partner Insignio to deploy SugarCRM for advanced customer data management and opportunity nurturing, the Sugar mobile app with enterprise resource planning (ERP) data integration for field sales support, and Sugar Market for automated newsletters and targeted communications. Customer of the Year Breakthrough Award (Latin America) – Mac Construtora e Incorporadora (MAC), a leader in construction and development in São Paulo, is recognized for the creative use of SugarCRM in the dynamic real estate market. Technology adoption significantly improved lead management and customer engagement, enhancing marketing approaches and project sales, resulting in a substantial increase in sales, ranging from 50 to 94 percent of its real estate agency. This has led to MAC substantially reducing its dependence on partnering with other real estate agencies. Customer of the Year Breakthrough Award (North America) – Alto-Shaam, providing foodservice equipment solutions to more than 90 countries globally, is recognized for use of SugarCRM to significantly enhance opportunity close rates by 61 percent while achieving up to 600 hours of time savings in marketing and sales efforts to forecast customer needs. The integration of Sugar Sell with Sugar Market has streamlined key processes, improved lead management, and enhanced operational efficiency and global communication. ISV Technology Partnership Breakthrough Award – FSIoffice, a leading independent office supply company, together with sales-i, are recognized for transforming FSIoffice’s CRM strategy from data repository to sales powerhouse, with 40 percent improved sales efficiency. Supported by Sugar partner CRM International, FSIoffice is driving remarkable revenue growth and enhancing customer engagement with Sugar Sell Premier and sales-i for predictive business-to-business sales intelligence. Reseller Technology Partnership Breakthrough Award – The Joint Corp., the nation’s largest provider of chiropractic care through The Joint Chiropractic® network, in partnership with Sugar partner Faye, are recognized for driving significant improvements in healthcare operations after transitioning to SugarCRM and Amazon Web Services, with a 40 percent increase in web transaction speed. This transformation allowed The Joint to focus on integrating AI to elevate SugarCRM from a functional tool to a strategic platform for competitive differentiation in the chiropractic care sector. Judges’ Choice Award – RTCR, the public transit provider in La Rochelle, France, operating under the Yélo brand, is recognized for significantly enhancing customer service with Sugar Serve, with implementation support by Sugar partner Synolia. The deployment has led to a minimum three percent increase in customer satisfaction and streamlined complaint management, saving agents’ time by 50 percent through improved response structuring. “We’re pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 SugarCRM Customer Breakthrough Awards,” said Chris Pennington, Chief Customer Officer, SugarCRM. “These customers and partners are recognized for excellence and innovation in letting Sugar’s AI-driven CRM platform do the work to make the hard things easier for sales, marketing and service professionals, and for driving breakthrough success and exceptional customer experiences.” About SugarCRM SugarCRM is a CRM software that helps marketing, sales, and service teams reach peak efficiency through better automation, data, and intelligence so they can achieve a real-time, reliable view of each customer. Sugar’s platform provides leading technology in the sales automation, marketing automation, and customer service fields with one goal in mind: to make the hard things easier. Thousands of companies in over 120 countries rely on Sugar by letting the platform do the work. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sugar is backed by Accel-KKR.

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