For marketers, these are challenging times – and they require creative solutions. The restrictions we are experiencing now across marketing and comms won’t last, but they may well affect the way we do things, forever.

Shoot production has been dramatically disrupted. It seems a long time ago now – but at its height, the pandemic spawned its own genre of advertising, constrained by everyone’s circumstances, where the footage for commercials by big-name advertisers was broadly crowd-sourced; where consumers stuck at home were the stars of all the ads. Where sparse piano soundtracks and titles over images of empty streets told us that ‘we’re all in this together, life will return to normal soon and that we will overcome this setback’. These were heartfelt ads where brands engaged us on an emotional level, and they felt right for that moment.

We’re over that approach now though. Ads that were relevant back in March don’t seem so relevant now – because of the public’s changing perception of the ongoing pandemic.

Most marketers cancelled or delayed their original plans. According to a World Federation of Advertisers’ survey, 89% of large advertisers delayed planned ad campaigns that they deemed out of step during the first wave of the pandemic. And 60% of major companies have cut advertising budgets, with one International Advertising Bureau survey estimating budgets will fall even further than they did during the 2008 financial crisis.

With restrictions tightening again as we try and avoid a second wave, and with additional pressure on budgets, should advertisers simply wait it out and re-start their marketing down the line, when the pandemic is over?

The answer is no.

Warren Jolly in an article on AdAge thinks that brands will take what they have learned about consumer media consumption and spending during March and April and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. They won’t – and shouldn’t stop marketing completely.

Marketers know there are opportunities to connect with audiences, to provide real value and, depending on their product or service, to drive consumer spend – even amid the pandemic. A company’s livelihood could depend on its sales and marketing team’s ability to bring in revenue. Marketing needs to act.

But if shoot production is impossible and budgets have been reduced, what are marketers to do? There are creative approaches to hand. Domeble stock provides you with powerful, creative solutions – as visual environments in which you can place your products. These pre-shot contexts, in conjunction with the sophistication of today’s CGI artists, meaning you can create absolutely any visual treatment you want for your brand. This is particularly true in the automotive world, where Domeble imagery is used as an integral part of the car design process, as well as in the manufacturer’s marketing processes that follow.

It also helps that Domeble produces the highest resolution backplates (landscapes) and 360 Degree HDRIs (High Dynamic Range Imaging) with the highest pixel count available. Domeble’s creative solutions extend to offering ‘comp licenses.’ This allows our clients to use as many comp images as they need but only pay for one license. Perfect for the majority of companies who are now working with reduced budgets, aren’t able to travel or are worried about the implications of shoot productions for health or environmental reasons. Check out the video below for more information.

Having said that, some advertisers have been able to get back to some sort of physical shooting – but they rightly need to take many extra precautions, adhere to more health and safety rules and certain additional insurances need implementing. This results in logistical challenges and production costs being far more substantial.

Domeble, on the other hand, gives you immediate access to tens of thousands of high quality, creative, pre-shot visuals. These creative visual solutions are a fraction of the cost and time it would take to do a physical production.

Kantar, the data, insights and consulting company have revealed that only 8% of people surveyed believe companies should stop advertising because of the pandemic. This would seem to make sense, now that it’s clear we will be living with this virus for a while yet.

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Written by Ashley Jouhar – COO at Domeble.