How is the advertising industry changing in times of Corona? And how do you best react to the new circumstances? Does it make sense to reduce the advertising measures at first or should one be more present right now and respond to the current situation? In a representative online survey from 14th to 16th April, 500 people in Germany between the ages of 14 and 69 were interviewed on this topic in the fourth wave on behalf of Havas Media.

Online as a communication channel for the family over Easter
With a constant high level of media usage, Internet usage (including social media) continued to rise by 8% over the Easter holidays, in contrast to TV and streaming. Concerning the latter, the motto over Easter was: less news, but more films & series. On the other hand, the Internet was used primarily to stay in close contact with loved ones despite physical distance. Especially the risk group of the generation 50+ doubled their online usage in comparison to the 1st survey wave. The risk group is aware of the danger; which is why 91 percent stayed at home at Easter.

Cinema reinvented
Drive-in cinemas are currently opening in some cities, which is attracting interest throughout Germany. Especially the 14-29 year olds mutate in the COVID-19 crisis to drive-in cinema fans.

New shopping habits establish themselves
Over recent weeks, panic buying was not the only evidence of the impact Corona has had on our shopping behaviour. 46% of those surveyed only go shopping once a week. This is an increase of 175% compared to « normal » shopping behaviour. In addition, weekly shopping is shifting from the weekend to the week.

Holiday planning on hold
Half of the respondents postponed planning and booking of the coming summer holiday for the time being. Pessimism currently prevails above all when it comes to air travel: almost 70% do not believe that long-distance travel or holidays within Europe will be possible by plane this summer. 50% of those surveyed even think that they will not be able to travel unrestrictedly at home and abroad again until 2021.

But not everything is negative – Corona also has advantages
Despite the fourth week in isolation, the respondents still see positive aspects of the current situation: deceleration, a tidier home, the urgently needed digitalisation and the more intensive cooperation despite spatial distance are only some of the positive points that the respondents draw from the Corona crisis.

The complete results of the study can be found here (German only).