Unruly / About us / News / Unruly Data Reveals How COVID-19 is Reshaping Consumer Content Consumption, Spending Habits and Advertising Preferences Across Australia

Unruly Data Reveals How COVID-19 is Reshaping Consumer Content Consumption, Spending Habits and Advertising Preferences Across Australia

Only 4% of Australians Think Brands Should Pause All Advertising During Pandemic
48% Want Ads to Make Them Feel Informed; 34% Want Brands To Make Them Feel Happy

SYDNEY — April 16, 2020 — Video ad tech company Unruly today released a study that investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting consumer interests and behaviors across Australia. 

Unruly, part of Tremor International, surveyed more than 3,000 consumers globally, revealing that overall time spent online has dramatically increased in Australia — with 1 in 2 Aussies now spending more time on their mobile phones and connected TVs since the pandemic.

 

Consumers’ daily routines in Australia have drastically changed since the Government’s Stage 2 Lockdown, with 53% practising social distancing and 42% self-isolating. Only 5% are continuing as normal. As a result, their views on how brands should advertise to them have also changed. 

 

Almost half of Australians (48%) want brands to be more informative, with consumers particularly looking for advertisers to share how they’re supporting staff and customers (25%).

 

However, at the same time, a fifth of Australian consumers (20%) want brands to create funny and positive content that distracts them from what’s going on. More than a third (34%) are looking to advertisers to make them feel happy, while a quarter (24%) want funny ads. A further 15% of Aussies want brands to provide a sense of continuity and normality. 

 

While a lot of ad campaigns are being put on hold or are being cancelled, only 4% of Australians think brands should pause their advertising, with younger audiences (18-24s – 3%) even less in favour of any freeze on ad budgets. 

 

Away from their digital devices, more than half of Australian consumers (54%) are spending more time cooking, while there’s also been a significant increase in the amount of time people are spending improving their homes (42%) and reading books (33%).

 

Other key findings include:

  • 35% of Australians have significantly increased the time they spend on their mobile phones, along with connected TVs (28%) and laptops (26%); 72% of under-45s in Australia have increased their mobile usage significantly;
  • Unlike other countries such as the UK, the US and Singapore, Australians are more likely to tune into the news (56%) than watch TV dramas (54%) or comedies (54%);
  • 78% of 18-24s have increased the amount of time they spend watching online videos, with almost half (45%) preferring brands to communicate to them through online video;
  • More than two-thirds of under-45s in Australia (68%) have increased their social media usage, while 59% of 18-24s are spending a lot more money on home entertainment.

 

“The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in rapid, unprecedented changes in consumer behaviours and their preferences across Australia,” said Heath Irving, Head of Programmatic and Partnerships, ANZ, at Unruly. 

 

“The vast majority of consumers still want to see ads, but the key to success is in the content and the way a message is conveyed. The magnitude of these changes requires brands to be nimble in adapting their advertising strategies to maintain and grow connections with consumers, provide support and minimize disruption to performance.”

 

To view the full study, click here. 

 

About Tremor International

Tremor International Ltd is a global leader in advertising technologies, it has 3 core divisions: Tremor Video, RhythmOne, and Unruly. 

 

Tremor Video helps advertisers deliver impactful brand stories across all screens through the power of innovative video technology combined with advanced audience data and captivating creative. Tremor Video is one of the largest and most innovative video advertising companies in North America, with offerings in CTV, instream, and in-app.

 

RhythmOne drives real business outcomes in multiscreen advertising. Its highly ranked programmatic platform efficiently and effectively delivers performance, quality, and actionable data to demand and supply-focused clients and partners.

 

Unruly is a data-driven marketplace with more than 2,000 direct integrations with publishers, unique demand relationships with the world’s biggest advertisers and privileged access to News Corp inventory. Unruly works with 95% of the AdAge 100 and 82% of video views are delivered across ComScore 1,000 sites.

 

Tremor International Ltd is headquartered in Israel and maintains offices throughout the US and Canada, Asia-Pacific, Europe, India and Latin America, and is traded on the London Stock Exchange (AIM: TRMR).

 

Media Contact

David Waterhouse

Email: david.waterhouse@unrulygroup.com