Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic has strongly affected different issues of everyday life. The pandemic has changed consumer attitudes and behavior. Consequently, during COVID-19, businesses had to decide how to organize the advertising campaigns and what content should be addressed to consumers. Considering the limited number of articles concerning these issues, it seems important to evaluate the impact of the global health crisis on advertising messages in different countries. The main objective of this paper is to assess TV commercial campaigns implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the specific epidemic situation in the selected countries. The research methodology was based on the observation, a qualitative method of collecting data obtained through monitoring the content of TV commercials aired during the afternoon, before or after the main news service. The research was conducted in May 2020 and in May 2021 in five selected European countries affected to varying degrees by the coronavirus pandemic. The research results allowed evaluation of the advertising messages in terms of their content and values exposed. The findings indicate that the number of COVID-related TV commercials is not correlated with the number of patients and deaths from COVID-19. The themes appearing the most often in the TV commercials in the studied period were the #StayAtHome idea, family and friends, the aspect of safety during the crisis, and brands’ special offers. The tone of the advertisements was usually uplifting and hopeful, trying to cheer the stressed societies. From a theoretical perspective, the research results show the advertising strategy issues in specific conditions in different European countries. These findings concerning TV commercial strategy during a pandemic crisis could provide references for other countries, especially in Europe. The research results could be useful for marketing managers in developing strategies concerning the successful planning of TV commercials in crisis periods in European countries.

Keywords: consumer, coronavirus, COVID-related content, Europe, SARS-CoV-2, TV advertisement, TV-commercial

JEL Classification: M31, M37, F0.

Cite as: Grebosz-Krawczyk, M. & Siuda, D. (2022). The COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on the TV Commercials Content in European Countries. Marketing and Management of Innovations, 2, 76-85. https://doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2022.2-07

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

References

1. Amaldoss, W. & He, C. (2010). Product Variety, Informative Advertising and Price Competition. Journal of Marketing Research, 47, 146-156. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
2. Balis, J. (2020). Brand Marketing Through the Coronavirus Crisis. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from [Link]
3. Blanco-Herrero, D., Gallardo-Camacho, J., & Arcila-Calderón, C. (2021). Health advertising during the lockdown: A comparative analysis of commercial TV in Spain. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(3), 2021, 1-27. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
4. Darley, W. K. (2016). Brand building via integrated marketing communications. In The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Brand Management (pp. 233-249). Routledge. [Google Scholar] []
5. De Pelsmacker, P., Geuens, M., & Van den Bergh, J. (2007). Marketing communications: A European perspective. Pearson education. [Google Scholar]
6. Deng, T., Ekachai, D., & Pokrywczynski, J. (2022). Global COVID-19 advertisements: Use of informational, transformational and narrative advertising strategies. Health Communication, 37(5), 628-636. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
7. Fill, C. (2005). Marketing communications: engagements, strategies and practice. Pearson Education. [Google Scholar]
8. Finne, Å., & GrOnroos, C. (2017). Communication-in-use: customer-integrated marketing communication. European Journal of Marketing, 51(3), 445-463. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
9. Gangadharbatla, H. (2021). Covid-19 and Advertising: The Case for a Paradigm Shift. Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, 42(1), 1-18. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
10. Grębosz-Krawczyk, M., & Siuda, D. (2020). Modern Brand Management. Lodz University of Technology Press.
11. Chebli, A., Kadri, B., & Said, F. B. (2021). Promotion of Domestic Tourism by Enhancing the Practice of Alternative Tourism as a Quality Measure to Satisfy and Retain National Tourists Journal of Tourism and Services, 23 (12), 61-85. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
12. Jiménez-Sánchez, Á., Margalina, V.-M., & Vayas-Ruiz, E. (2020). Governmental communication and brand advertising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tripodos, 2(47), 29-46. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
13. Keller, K. L. (2001). Mastering the Marketing Communications Mix: Micro and Macro Perspectives on Integrated Marketing Communication Programs. Journal of Marketing Management, 17(7-8), 819-847. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
14. Keller, K. L. (2013). Strategic Brand Management. 4^th ed.. Upper Saddle River : Pearson.
15. Kliatchko, J. (2005). Towards a new definition of integrated marketing communications (IMC). International Journal of Advertising, 24(1), 7-34. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
16. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2009). Marketing Management, Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
17. Ozsomer, A., Güzel, Z. M., Newmeyer, C. E., & Schmidt‐Devlin, E. (2022). Can advertising enhance consumers’ desirable COVID‐19 health behavioral intentions? The role of brand‐pandemic fit. Journal of Consumer Behaviour. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
18. Machová, R., Korcsmáros, E., Esseová, M., Marča R. (2021). Changing Trends of Shopping Habits and Tourism During the Second Wave of COVID-19 – International Comparison. Journal of Tourism and Services, 22(12), 131-149. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
19. Metzker, Z., Marousek, J., Hlawiczka, R., Belas, J. Jr., & Khan, K. A. (2021). The Perception of the Market and Operational Area of Business by Service Sector and Tourism Companies in terms of CSR implementation. Journal of Tourism and Services, 23(12), 217-236. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
20. Nye, C. W., Roth, M. S., & Shimp, T. A. (2008). Comparative advertising in markets where brands and comparative advertising are novel. Journal of International Business Studies, 39(5), 851-863. [Google Scholar]
21. Nysveen, H., & Breivik, E. (2005). The influence of media on advertising effectiveness. International Journal of Market Research, 47(4), 383-405. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
22. Pacheco-Baldo, R. M. (2021). Cultural values in American and Spanish TV advertising at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic. Communication & Society-Spain, 34(4), 135-147. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
23. Park, J., Kim, J., Lee, D. C., Kim, S. S., Voyer, B. G., Kim, C., … & Yoon, S. (2022). The impact of COVID‐19 on consumer evaluation of authentic advertising messages. Psychology & Marketing, 39(1), 76-89. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
24. Petrovici, D., Golden, L., Orazbek, D. (2019). Direct and Indirect Brand Comparisons, Message Framing and Gender Effects in Advertising. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 13(5), 9-21. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
25. Praxmarer, S., & Gierl, H. (2009). The effects of positive and negative ad-evoked associations on brand attitude. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 21(4), 507. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
26. Shimp, T. (2007). Integrated marketing promotions in advertising and promotion. Mason: Thompson South-Western.
27. Taylor, R. C. (2021). Advertising and COVID-19. International Journal of Advertising, 39(5), 587-589. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
28. WHO (2020). COVID-19 Explorer App. Retrieved from [Link]
29. Yoon, S. J., & Kim, J. H. (2001). Is the Internet more effective than traditional media? Factors affecting the choice of media. Journal of advertising research, 41(6), 53-60. [Google Scholar]