by MarkLives & HaveYouHeard. MarkLives and HaveYouHeard have released results from a followup study on how the South African advertising communications services industry views the Impact of covid-19 upon advertising and marketing professionals, the agency environment and marketing.
Related Articles
- #CoronavirusSA: South African adland followup survey
- Agencies, marketers’ biz advice for #covid19 #lockdown
- Declines in billings, forced wage cuts as lockdown bites — infographic
- EXCLUSIVE: #covid19’s impact on SA adland — survey results
- #CoronavirusSA: South African adland industry survey
- #CoronavirusSA – Special Section
“While trust in company leadership has stayed the same or increased since the start of lockdown; confidence in the company’s future has reduced since March,” comments Claudia Schonitz, HaveYouHeard head of research and insights, on the survey results. “The most-positive impact of covid-19 remains companies showing flexibility, agility and the ability to change (65% of agencies vs. 47% of companies). However, flexibility and improved communications has decreased since the level five [lockdown].”
| While we have your attention, please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry. |
Negative/positive impact of covid-19 on agency |
Agency |
Brand/ marketing company
|
Freelancer/ consultant |
Total |
| Negative impact: Decreased billings | 65% | 34% | 38% | 50% |
| Negative impact: Caused retrenchments or salary cuts. | 49% | 37% | 29% | 42% |
| Positive impact: Shown flexibility, agility and ability to change | 65% | 47% | 46% | 56% |
Significant impact on billings
The survey shows a significant impact on billings, with agencies taking particular strain (65% stating decreased billings). More than half of respondents expect their company’s short-term projected income to decrease substantially.
The ranked order of activities anticipated to decrease remains the same, (ie events, promotions and activations, outdoor, print and sponsorship), with some anticipated recovery for events and activations as lockdown starts to ease.
Digital is still expected to increase in activity. Concept and strategy have dropped one place to third behind mobile marketing (which increased significantly).
Respondents are feeling the strain, with those reporting retrenchments or salary cuts increasingly up from 18% to 42%. Stress levels are rising and many are participants reevaluating their careers, with 36% considering looking for a new job and 25% considering consulting or starting their own business. Half of respondents considering looking for a new job have felt their stress levels increase substantially since lockdown.
Change in stress levels |
Staying at my current job |
Looking for a new job |
Freelancing or starting my own company |
Total |
| Stress increased substantially | 37% | 51% | 42% | 41% |
| Stress increased slightly | 37% | 29% | 39% | 39% |
| Stayed the same | 20% | 9% | 6% | 12% |
| Stress decreased slightly | 6% | 7% | 10% | 6% |
| Stress decreased substantially | 0% | 4% | 3% | 2% |
Key survey results
See also
- #CoronavirusSA: South African adland followup survey
- Agencies, marketers’ biz advice for #covid19 #lockdown
- Declines in billings, forced wage cuts as lockdown bites — infographic
- EXCLUSIVE: #covid19’s impact on SA adland — survey results
- #CoronavirusSA: South African adland industry survey
- #CoronavirusSA – Special Section
This MarkLives #CoronavirusSA special section contains coverage of how the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its resultant disease, covid-19, is affecting the advertising, marketing and related industries in South Africa and other parts of Africa, and how we are responding. Updates may be sent to us via our contact form or the email address published on our Contact Us page. Opinion pieces/guest columns must be exclusive.
— Sign up now for the MarkLives newsletter, including Ramify.biz headlines and become a MarkLives Member, too, to ensure continued coverage.
The post SA adland faces retrenchments, pay cuts — #coronavirusSA survey appeared first on MarkLives.com.
