This month’s virtual IAB NewFronts will be a chance for advertisers to learn more about streaming media platforms as they plan for the fall season and beyond. Confectioner Hershey is looking ahead to the second half of the year, and the possibility of putting its media dollars to work during the key Halloween and holiday shopping seasons.
The company had shifted spending to digital media going into 2020, a decision that proved to be especially prescient amid a surge in sales to consumers who stocked their pantries during the early days of pandemic lockdowns.
“We made a huge bet this year on streaming,” Jill Baskin, Hershey’s chief marketing officer, said. “It’s turned out to be a very good bet. We believe that streaming is going to become a bigger and bigger part of our media spend.”
The company has a surplus of media dollars that have gone unspent during the first half of the year, when many advertisers canceled or postponed campaigns. Media prices fell amid the drop in demand, giving Hershey a chance to hit its viewer impression target at a lower price.
“Because the cost of media has come down so dramatically, we actually are fading a lot of media dollars toward the end of the year to see if we need them,” she said.
There are still many uncertainties about Halloween, including the possibility of a resurgence in coronavirus cases during cold and flu season. Hershey is planning for different scenarios, and expects that streaming will be a key part of its media strategy, she said.
This video is a preview in a series leading up to the 2020 IAB NewFronts. Please visit this page for additional segments from the Road to the NewFronts 2020. This Beet.TV series is presented by the IAB.
