A permanent state of flux

Learn how the global pandemic has impacted media and advertising with insights from our roundtable of experts.

New normal or an extended period of change?

Experts evaluate the short- and long-term impact on media and advertising

In September 2020, we gathered nine experts in media, advertising, research and data for the fourth of our annual GfK Roundtables. Appropriately enough, with the global COVID-19 pandemic still restricting travel, working practices and many other aspects of our lives, this year’s roundtable was held online.

The objective was to evaluate the impact of the ongoing pandemic on media and advertising, both in the short- and long-term.

When we scheduled the roundtable, we had hoped that we would be mostly talking about the crisis in the past tense. While its impact varies from country to country, the pandemic persists. Concerns about a second wave mean that it is hard to talk about what a ‘new normal’ might look like, given that - at the time of writing this paper – we are in a new ‘abnormal’, with no idea of how long this will persist. We are in a permanent state of flux. Depending on the development and distribution of an effective vaccine, this period of adaptation and limitations on behavior could last for years as opposed to months.

So our panel faced something of a challenge, but this white paper shows how well they rose to the challenge of attempting to make sense of these unprecedented times for the media and advertising industries.

Contributors to the debate and this white paper are:

  • Roland Abold – VP Sales & Commercial Excellence, GfK
  • Daniel Bischoff - Chief Marketing & Operations Officer, RTL AdConnect
  • Jenny Bullis – Regional Director Marketing Science, EMEA, Facebook
  • Alfred Heidekum CTO | Practice Lead Data Sciences EMEA, Publicis Media
  • Daniel MeyerDirector Market Insights, Central Europe & Eastern Emerging Markets, Google
  • Katty Roberfroid – Director General, egta
  • Saskia Schatteman – CEO, VAR, Belgium
  • Phil Smith – Director General, ISBA
  • Timo ThomsenVice President Strategy, Product & Innovation GfK

The roundtable was moderated by Richard Marks, founder of Research The Media and Research Director of asi.

Get the interactive whitepaper: