Nielsen estimates that brands that cut advertising for an extended period such as the remainder of 2020 could face revenue declines of up to 11% in 2021.

A second wave of pandemic crisis later this year in the U.S., dependent on the re-opening of states and various emerging scenarios, could put brands in a precarious position when it comes to COVID-related messages.

Declines in COVID-19 themes could act as a barometer for how ready brands think the market is to get back to focusing on return on investments and their traditional core messages.

Considering that it takes between three and five years of solid and consistent brand building to recover from extended “dark periods” of media, marketers should try to maintain brand equity by adjusting their creatives, even if only to add COVID-related awareness messages to existing campaigns.

The amount of COVID-19-related messages continues to increase. The total amount of ad units in the U.S. rose to 2,623,118 during the week of April 13 through April 19 — up from 2,520,977 during the week of March 30 through April 5.

The total of COVID-19 creatives in the U.S. rose to 491,839 between April 13 and April 19, compared with just 251,414 between the week of March 30 and April 5.

During the past few months, consumers were open to trying new brands as favorites went out of stock or they were just ready to explore other options.

A survey conducted by Nielsen and Wizer, a consumer insights platform backed by Nielsen, found 72% of respondents cite a company’s efforts in helping people affected by COVID-19 as a reason they would consider their brand of consumer packaged goods (CPG).

Some 84% of respondents agreed that companies that offer support as consumers comply with COVID restrictions are setting themselves apart from companies that do not.