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While past financial crises barely made a dent in sponsorship expenditures (chiefly due to ongoing agreements), this pandemic has impacted the sports and entertainment industry like no other calamity in recent times. As shows, festivals and sports ground to a halt, many brands were obliged to axe activation and slash their budgets, ending decades of growth for the communication medium.

Is it just me or has life felt a smidge different lately?

Yes, no matter the industry, everybody has had to adapt to a world dealing with the chaos, confusion and all-around challenges that have come with COVID-19. That’s been particularly true in our industry, where current events have transformed the way we approach production at every single stage.

At first blush, it might seem like COVID safety restrictions might automatically lead to serious budget savings…

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a disruptive force like no other, fundamentally changing the world as we know it – and how we interact with it. People are living, thinking and buying differently. Brand marketers must recognize that consumers’ new habits will endure beyond the crisis and permanently reshape their behaviours, values and confidence levels.

Considering the effects of the virus, some people feel anxious and worried – contributing to panic-buying of household staples – while others remain indifferent and even resistant to new health and safety requirements, especially those now mandated by certain cities and shops. Targeting the “consumer in crisis” requires moving from the days of one-size-fits-all marketing to customized and personalized messaging strategies. Brands need to know their customers better than ever before, and how their priorities may shift in the long term.

Over 135 days have passed since the declaration of the global coronavirus pandemic. It was just a few days earlier that the NBA took swift action suspending its season indefinitely due to safety concerns when a player tested positive for COVID-19 – how quickly things evolved from there. Since that time, we’ve witnessed thousands of live entertainment events around the world, and here at home, having no choice other than to postpone, cancel or shut-down permanently, leaving many questioning the future of live entertainment.

As the situation has evolved, discussion in the media around the industry and future fan and consumer behaviour has heated up…

Every year since 2016, we’ve released the Nourish Trend Report. It’s our look ahead at the significant trends we predict will change the landscape of the food and agriculture industries. We’re happy to say that, almost without exception, every trend we’ve identified is either still going strong, or has undergone its natural evolution to a new phase. You can view some of our previous years’ Trend Reports here:

• 2019 Trend Report
• 2018 Trend Report

Let’s start with the bad news. According to a survey by McKinsey & Co., very few businesses are satisfied with their marketing efforts around personalization, which involves applying data and artificial intelligence on individual users to deliver them relevant offers and information.

The good news is that there’s lots of room for improvement, and therefore plenty of opportunity.