We conducted a survey of over 200 ADA clients
(representing mid-large brands across a variety of
consumer-focused industries throughout Southeast
Asia and South Asia) in early May 2020. They told us:

• Nearly 50% of Southeast Asian marketers plan to
  scale down their marketing budget
• Roughly 24% plan to continue spending the same
  as before
• Another 24% haven’t decided how to adjust their
  budget as a response to this pandemic
• A tiny 2% plan to increase their spends to make up
  for lost business.

Respondents also told us that a majority of them will
shift their focus to digital channels. Hardly surprising
as digital is considered more budget-friendly than
above-the-line channels, and because of the lack of
availability in linear TV inventory such as sports.

• New customer acquisition remains at the top of
  priorities, both pre and post-COVID.
• However, the biggest shift is now seen in customer
  insights which has the next highest increase in
  important. The substantial increase to refocus on
  customer insights reflects marketers’ desire to learn
  how consumers are shifting behaviours because of
  the pandemic, and how to retool their existing
  marketing strategies.
• Attribution comes up next as many marketers are
  more conscious about eliminating waste on
  advertising channels and audience segments that are
  no longer producing results.

Now to answer the burning question. Should YOU cut
your budget? For data driven recommendations and
expert analysis of our ADA experts, checkout our
on-demand webinar or download our whitepaper.

Should I cut my budget?

The matrix (figure 2) looks at both the ability to serve, against consumer demand; where ability to serve is defined as your ability to serve your consumers despite the pandemic and whether your consumers still have the demand product/service.

For example, if you are in the aviation industry, your ability to serve is almost none since most airports are locked down, and demand for it is also rock bottom because of travel restrictions imposed by most governments.

On the flipside, if you are in the e-commerce business, your ability to serve is not hampered because of pandemic related restrictions and the demand has gone up because people are reluctant to buy through brick and mortar outlets.

Why Indiscriminate Budget Cuts are a Bad Idea?

Wherever you fall on the matrix above, it’s likely you’ll to deal with some form of marketing budget cut. The first instinct for marketers and their CEOs or CFOs is to make indiscriminate budget cuts across the board. This is the most common approach because it requires the least amount of cognitive strain.

But it is important to remember that not all areas of our marketing budget have the same impact. Making indiscriminate budget cuts across the board might result in short term savings, but could harm your brand in the long run. The figure below shows how indiscriminate budget cuts would reflect across a wide range of your marketing activity.