OP: How has the pandemic changed how you will do business moving forward?
Marc Kidd: Like most businesses, Covid-19 significantly shifted our business in a way we could have never expected, but it also established a new level of innovation and commitment from our company. It reinforced our brand promise to keep our audience up to date with the latest news, information and a sense of community while also creating necessary avenues to address the new normal.
We developed two new wellness products – Captivate | SCAN and Captivate | CLEAN – to meet the health and safety needs of buildings and businesses. We also created a Work, Live, Play strategy – now targeting valuable audiences at home, at the point of care and on the golf course. Finally, we’re transitioning our content delivery to the cloud with enhanced programmatic and attribution partnerships.
OP: What is the overall outlook for Captivate in the next 12 months?
Marc Kidd: We expect Covid-19 to be with us into the first half of 2021. During that time, we remain bullish on our expansion and partnership efforts to excel the company to new heights. We intend to reach these goals as it becomes safe to return to offices nationwide and our ability to reach audiences at various points of their daily life expands via new products, partnerships and compelling content in Captivating locations.
OP: What do you think the pandemic's impact will be on advertising in the next 12 months?
Marc Kidd: Covid-19 will have a lingering effect on the advertising industry and venues where advertising is most impactful until people feel safe and can return to a cadence of modern life. The most optimistic predictions put a vaccination at scale in the first half of 2021, which could give the public the confidence they need to return to a new normal. In the meantime, brands who maintain a share-of-voice during times of uncertainty and economic downturn such as Covid-19, tend to accelerate beyond their recovery and growth goals. While we have seen the Captivate audience quantity impacted by government lockdowns, we have not seen an impact on the quality of our audience – such as senior leaders and essential workers who remain in office buildings and workplaces during this time.