Some 86 per cent of brands have changed their digital ad spend over the last month, with more than half reporting they are reviewing advertising plans on a daily basis, according to the COVID-19 Digital Ad Impact survey conducted by IAB Australia.

It was a comment made by Cancer Council’s Adelaide Thompson which finally prompted me to pen this piece on brands and marketers giving it a go in the face of COVID-19.

Getting Australians to meet over a cup of tea or coffee and raise funds for cancer patients has become a virtual undertaking this year as the Cancer Council pivots to an online campaign.

The University of Sydney has developed a chatbot utilising artificial intelligence (AI) to help it handle the raft of COVID-19-related student inquires it’s fielding as a result of the pandemic, which has seen classes move online, facilities closed and students unable to attend university.

Ever heard that saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention”? Well, the COVID-19 crisis is the very mother of situations organisations and marketers must innovate their way through right now.

A range of new campaigns have launched by brands, charities, supermarkets and advertisers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide support for social distancing, health measures as well as help support local businesses effected by the shutdown.

Jayride’s CMO said his decision to take a voluntary redundancy as part of dramatic staff cuts at the online travel services marketplace was necessary if the business is to make it through the current COVID-19 crisis.

​The current global COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in unprecedented disruption to every aspect of our lives as marketing and brand professionals, from the ways we work, to how our organisations operate, and the way in which we acquire and engage customers. So we’ve drawn on our wonderful CMO50 alumni community to explore different aspects of the crisis facing all of us right now. In our first episode, we catch up with Telstra chief marketing officer, Jeremy Nicholas, on how he's helping the telco navigate the crisis and meet customer demand.

B2B marketers must adapt to the shifting sands the COVID-19 crisis has presented them by shifting the brand message from one of product and service capability to one of how they’re helping the community solve an immediate pain point. Unfortunately, too many are still pushing sales or self-serving messages.

Brand advertisers are reportedly avoiding advertising on news media websites around coronavirus coverage, prompting an urgent call from both publishers and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) for them to stop the practice and get behind publishers and the media community. And it’s a call that’s now provoked a response from the CEO of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), John Broome, defending brand owners from cutting spend and preserving cash while reiterating the advertising community’s appreciation of trusted news sources and a commitment to working through issues.

Spirits Platform wants out-of-work bartenders who have lost their jobs because of the hospitality shutdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to create simple cocktail video tutorials aimed at home consumption for its ‘Home Five O’Clock-tails’ initiative.

The Federal Government's recently released official Coronavirus Australia app utilised human-centred design principles to ensure it could satisfy a diverse customer experience, according to Delv, the Canberra-based technology outfit that created it.

The Covid-19 crisis has led to a steady rise in TV and catch-up viewing each week in March, according to the latest figures from ThinkTV.

According to media buyers and planners, and marketers, ​COVID-19 will have a bigger impact ​on advertising than the ​GFC​.

Brands are continuing to pull together and offer added value to both customers and the community at large during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s a situation many brand marketers want to get to: A healthy and highly engaged customer loyalty program delivering potentially millions in sales and value to business and customers alike. And for iced bubble tea franchise outlet, Chatime, efforts to deliver just that will not only help build long-term brand equity, but provide some tools to help cope with the current COVID-19 crisis.

OOh!media has called its latest $167 million equity raising round and leadership plans both a positive for the company as the COVID-19 crisis bites, as well as a sign of long-term business value.

Finder has released a solution for secure online identity verification for banking details in its new app, a very timely solution given the current necessity for Australians to self isolate.

​Unilever, the manufacturer of brands including Dove, Rexona, Lifebuoy, TRESemme, OMO, Surf, Streets and Continental, announced a wide-ranging set of measures to support global and national efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian consumers are looking to trusted brands to provide them with safety and security during these difficult times as more of us become concerned about the economic, social and health impact of COVID-19, a new report claims.

Keeping marketing teams engaged during the COVID-19 crisis by upskilling on marketing and brand strategy fundamentals has prompted a new education offering from the Association of Data-driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA) and marketing thought leader, Mark Ritson.