By Action Global Communications

It seems no sector will emerge immune from the Covid 19 pandemic. Communications will be no exception and will need to address a media landscape dramatically transformed by shifts in information consumption patterns.

Reports around the world highlight that people are spending more time consuming social and online content,yet altering their consumption preferences and rallying to brands that demonstrate purposeful messaging. Up too is radio – Talk Radio in particular –  and TV consumption. In the UK, live and same-day TV viewing is up 22% with young adults among the main consumers. In some markets, print is witnessing a revival, with research showing 32% of consumers – including the 18-24-year-old age group – reading newspapers, physical or digital, more often.

The shift reflects a keen hunger for credible information and for wellbeing-focused content. Purpose is the new communications currency. Websites of highly credible organisations, such as WHO and official government sites, have seen visits more than quadruple since March. There’s a whole new breed of influencers across markets – the scientists and health experts that people now trust!

Whether the trends endure post Covid 19 remains to be seen, but there will be shifts in media landscapes to some extent. Talk Radio, for instance, may have won over listeners that continue to consume it when they settle into the post-Covid norm. What is certain is that communicators will have to adapt to the shift and work to help channels fulfil increasing demand for trustworthy informational content.

For internal communicators, there appears to be no way back from the huge surge in the use of video comms technology. Microsoft Teams and Zoom have recorded enormous increases in users since the pandemic pushed the remote workplace into the new reality. Zoom had 10 million users at the end of last year, and since the beginning of March this year, it has reported 200 million users and growing! The US has banned its use for classroom learning and, in the UK, analysts and researchers have raised concerns over how older versions of the app have been used to send analytics data to Facebook.

Action Global Communication’s research across its key markets reveals some market-specific media preferences and cross-market generalities. Read more here…