COVID-19 大流行对全球媒体行业的影响不容小觑，其深远影响将在可预见的未来继续存在。尽管出现了史诗般的分崩离析，但某些指标为未来的发展提供了指导。广告，尤其是本地广告，就是其中之一，因为本地企业是全美成千上万个社区的命脉。重要的是，尼尔森的一项新分析表明，本地市场的定点广告在某些地区三月底下降高达 35% 之后，似乎开始出现转机。
Even in tough times, there’s a need and place for advertising. In more recent weeks, local spot TV ad units are coming back faster, rising 5% during the week of April 27, 2020. Unlike national and cable TV ads, which most TV viewers in the U.S. see regardless of location, local spot ads appear in specific markets and clusters of markets. As such, monitoring local ad spot trends provides insight into the future health of our local media markets.
Notably, the pandemic and resulting shelter-in-place restrictions hit local businesses particularly hard. With 49 U.S. states now at least partially re-open, local businesses can actively use local advertising to re-engage consumers seeking to get back to life away from their homes. Many advertisers are already activating, as we’ve seen an uptrend and leveling of ad units following the local ad spot low during the week of March 30, 2020.
Not all markets are on the upswing from a local spot ad perspective, but a majority are, indicating a strengthening business environment for many regions. For the week ended April 27, 2020, ad units in 101 out of the top 132 markets increased. While the average increase was 5%, some ad units in some markets are up by double-digits. Ad units in Lansing, Mich., Portland, Maine, Flint, Mich., Harlingen, Texas, Boise, Idaho, and Honolulu, Hawaii, for example, were up more than 20%.
重要的是，综合趋势和地区趋势并不能突出特定广告类别的洞察力。因此，为了更好地了解地方一级的广告类别趋势，我们研究了所有地方市场的广告单元变化，并将类别分为三组：减少、恢复和反弹。
Businesses in the reduced bucket include those most affected by business closures during the height of shelter-in-place restrictions, such as gyms, restaurants and salons. These businesses reduced advertising the most and ad units in this bucket remain low.
Businesses and organizations in the resilient bucket include those that were somewhat insulated from the shelter-in-place restrictions and have stayed the course over the past few months. Examples include direct response, engineering and government. In the local ad market, ad units from this grouping increased from just under 25% to almost 36%.
Businesses and organizations in the rebound bucket are the ones to watch going forward, as they are largely connected to the communities in which they operate. Retail stores are the most prominent in this bucket, as they account for more than 10% of local spot ads. Ad units in the rebound bucket dropped 32% between March 9 and March 30, but then increased 8% by April 27. Auto advertising, like retail, is a key business health indicator for a local market, and share of all spot TV ads began trending up during the week of April 27 (up to almost 6%) after dropping just under 5% in late March. Other rebounding sectors include communications and public utilities, and hotels/resorts.
再仔细观察汽车行业，经销商和经销商协会的子行业在某些市场的反弹更为强劲。例如，盐湖城受益于 5 月 1 日全州放宽对餐饮、健身房和美容院业务的限制。与 3 月 9 日当周相比，该市场在 4 月 27 日当周增加了近 300 个广告单元。在增幅最大的九个市场中，经销商的广告单元也增加了 100 多个。同期，弗雷斯诺、迈尔斯堡和俄亥俄州哥伦布的增幅居前，均超过 260 个单位。
Case Study
政治广告：地方定点电视的甜蜜点
在 COVID-19 疫情的影响下，全球消费者和企业都在关注健康、安全和福祉，但美国人对即将到来的总统大选以及候选人发出的信息仍然保持着坚定的兴趣。然而，与其他类别的广告一样，2 月底至 3 月底，地方电视台的政治竞选广告明显减少。减少的广告数量高达 20 万个。
然而，政治竞选的地方电视插播广告却从谷底大幅反弹，自 3 月 23 日以来广告插播量翻了一番多，并在 4 月 27 日这一周稳步增长。随着越来越多的企业重新开业，各州继续减少限制，我们预计随着关键选举日期的临近，政治广告将继续增加。
与其他类别的广告一样，政治类广告并没有在所有市场上重新出现。不过，政治领域的广告支出最终与企业重新开张的关联度较低，而与候选人的最后战场州关联度较高。总统选举相当于美国政治界的超级碗，这意味着地方电视和广告将变得极其重要。
正如我们已经开始看到的那样，不同的市场会有不同的再生方法。即便如此，所有市场都有迹象表明，消费者和企业正在逐步进入新常态。这给广告市场带来了更强的希望。
