The Current State of Higher Education and Coronavirus

The Current State of Higher Education and Coronavirus

by | May, 2020 | Content, Native Advertising

How has the coronavirus crisis has impacted education? What will students trend towards and how can colleges, universities, and alternate learning programs adjust their solutions and messaging?

Current State of Education

Coronavirus may have sent students home early, but on the other side of this crisis is a chance for a reimagining of “traditional” education: skill-specific online courses, shorter degree timelines, and a more flexible approach to higher education, combining community college, online, and four-year institution education programs. Those with the greatest chance of weathering the storm will be those adopting flexible learning options, technology solutions, and – especially – online learning.

Here’s the current numbers:

  • U.S. colleges are predicting $100 million losses for the spring along with millions in lost ticket sales as athletic seasons were cut short (AP News)
  • A higher education trade group has predicted a 15% drop in enrollment nationwide, amounting to a $23 billion revenue loss. (New York Times)
  • Simpson Scarborough predicts a possible 20% decline in domestic undergraduate enrollment for 4-year institutions.
Download: "Coronavirus Impact on the Education Vertical"

Technology Adjustment and Rise of Online Education

Colleges and universities have already recognized the importance of incorporating technology into learning programs. Even before COVID-19, there was already high growth and adoption in education technology, and this will only increase post-coronavirus crisis. And language apps, virtual tutoring, video conferencing tools, or online learning software, have seen a significant surge in usage since COVID-19 (WeForum).

  • Education providers will increase their tech budgets by 5.9%. Demand for education services is still strong, but disenchantment with the results of online education has introduced caution into tech investments. (Forrester)
  • Cengage has seen a 55% increase in the number of students who have signed up for free subscriptions to its online textbooks. (New York Times)
  • The New York Times predicts that faculty will permanently incorporate online tools(to which many are being exposed for the first time) into conventional classes.
  • The overall market for online education is projected to reach $350 Billion by2025 (WeForum)

Online learning and community colleges will fare the best

Online Learning Institutions Can Teach Colleges Something

Online learning works well for developing specific skills and second careers/career pivots, but many institutions are still working out the kinks (to put it mildly). Among those that have mastered online learning are dedicated online institutions like Coursera and Udacity, who also partner with universities and companies. They tend to offer a mixed model of free and paid-for learning options of varying lengths.”Digital-skills jobs will be where there is the greatest demand,” Mr. Maggioncalda said, “and those jobs will be less likely to be affected by pandemics in the future.” (New York Times)

Since the popularity of online classes has grown throughout the world, several online websites have added supplementary certificates and online examinations similar to ai-900 exam, ccna 200-301 and many others that could help secure job roles in various fields. That said, websites that are offering online courses and examinations might also be considering offering graduation certificates to the students. It seems that by providing students with diploma certificates, the websites are trying to achieve more popularity among the students. Moreover, such websites happen to send gifts and keepsakes similar to the ones found on websites like https://www.jostens.com/graduation/high-school/gifts-and-keepsakes
to students who are about to graduate to boost their morale. By encouraging students to pursue online courses, the online sites are also helping the IT industry to gain traction at the moment. The world is increasingly becoming a digital cocoon, and it’s past time for people to devise novel ways to enrol students in various courses and certifications. There are numerous websites, such as exam topics, where you may learn more about these qualifications and their importance in today’s digital world.

  • Udacity courses take most students four to six months to complete, if they put in10 hours a week. The average cost is $1,200. (New York Times)
  • Coursera collaborates with 200+ universities and companies, including DukeUniversity and Google, according to their website.
  • Before the pandemic hit, Coursera projected growth of 30% this year to more than$200 million. (New York Times)
  • Fewer than 10% of Coursera students pay for courses; they take them free. (New York Times)
  • 60% of students in Coursera degree programs try free courses first. (New York Times)

Students Are Willing to Move Online

Those that do offer online courses are ahead of the game, offering cost-saving convenience and safety. Real online education lets students move at their own pace and includes such features as continual assessments so they can jump ahead as soon as they’ve mastered a skill, according to Eric Fredericksen, associate vice president for online learning at the University of Rochester. (New York Times)

  • About a third of surveyed students plan to enroll in an online college post-COVID (SimpsonScarborough)
  • 15% of college students who, when given the option to finish their degree online or complete their degree in-person, want to finish online (SimpsonScarborough)
  • More than half of American adults who expect to need more education or training after this pandemic say they would do it online, according to a survey of 1,000 people (Strada Education Network)
  • Minorities are disproportionately affected by the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis: 41% (vs. 24%) of minority high school seniors won’t attend college in the fall and 18% (vs. 13%) will finish college online(SimpsonScarborough)

Traditional Colleges Need to Improve Their Online Learning

If traditional colleges plan to permanently adopt online learning, they have some learning to do themselves. Studies show that students aren’t as happy with the online experience – namely, that they don’t feel they are learning enough or that the quality matches the in-person learning experience. Still, online higher education “is a thin diet for the typical 18-year-old,” said Richard Garrett, the chief research officer at Eduventures. “But today’s 18-year-olds are tomorrow’s 28-year-olds with families and jobs, who then realize that online can be useful.” (New York Times)

Part of the issue is the time and resources it takes to build out a successful online course; COVID left many scrambling to catch up, exposing weaknesses.”Developing a genuine online course or program can consume as much as a year of faculty training and collaboration with instructional designers, and often requires student orientation and support and a complex technological infrastructure.” (New York Times)

  • 75% of students said they don’t think they’re receiving a quality learning experience online (OneClass via New York Times)
  • 67% of college and graduate students said they didn’t nd online classes as effective as in-person ones (niche.com poll via New York Times, April)
  • A few top-tier universities, such as the University of Michigan and the Georgia Institute of Technology, already offer some full degree programs through online platforms. (New York Times)

Cost-Saving Community Colleges Will Grow (even more) in Popularity

There is already a growing trend of students starting college by way of a community college first to complete general requirements before transferring into a more rigorous four-year institution. It saves money and time. For those financially strained after the crisis, the community college choice is a no-brainer, even for the remainder of school, as well. Administrators anticipate that students grappling with the financial and psychological impacts of the virus could choose to stay closer to home, go to less expensive schools, take a year off or not go to college at all. (New York Times)

  • 26% of college students said they were unlikely to return to their current college or university in the Fall. (SimpsonScarborough)
  • 5% of high school seniors and 4% of current college students say they will enroll at a different institution (SimpsonScarborough)
  • Nearly half of surveyed students plan to attend a community college due to the crisis (SimpsonScarborough)

Messaging Suggestions

We’ve said it before: build trust. Be present, offer solutions with prudence and sensitivity, and pay special attention to cost and technology capabilities. Additionally, if you find that using say a video hosting platform is feasible, then go for it too. Because various online video hosting platforms seem to offer highlights and abilities that are in par with the need of todays education. Regardless, you might want to take a look at the following:

  • Be mindful of cost: advertise low-cost and flexible learning options, as well as free trials.
  • Advertise the advanced nature of or improvement of your online learning program capabilities; many students are disillusioned with “Zoom learning”
  • Offer free or discounted learning tools such as online textbooks to help offset costs of learning further.
  • Be sensitive to the changes and mindful of coming off tone-deaf; offer hope and promise of a better future.
  • Over-communicate: 69% of college students who say their institution’s COVID-19 communications are fair or poor have a worse opinion of the school than they did before the pandemic hit (SimpsonScarborough)
Download: "Coronavirus Impact on the Education Vertical"

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Charlotte Otremba is Sr. Manager of Communications and Marketing at Bidtellect.

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How to Refresh Your Coronavirus Ads to Connect With Consumers and Bring Hope

How to Refresh Your Coronavirus Ads to Connect With Consumers and Bring Hope

by | Apr, 2020 | Content, Native Advertising

Consumers want to hear from brands, but are your coronavirus ads alienating rather than connecting with them? Are they just… impossibly stale and generic? Below are best-practices from [b]+studio to refresh your creative assets to (dare we say it?) bring a smile to their faces.

It’s been over a month of self-quarantine and consumers are getting restless.

Notice how coronavirus ads all start with “We are here for you…” followed by tug-at-your-heartstring b-roll, slow music, and sad faces…. Every email starts with “Hope you’re healthy” or “Crazy times!” or “In these uncertain times…” It’s all starting to look and sound the same. Are your ads making your audience uncomfortable or excited?

We need to find ways to connect and build trust with our audiences in spite of this isolating pandemic. Terms like “covid-19,”
“coronavirus,” “pandemic” etc., are creating distance and alienating consumers, not building an emotional connection with the brand. How can you speak to your audience during a global pandemic without sounding robotic and somber?

via GIPHY

Last month was the month of empathy. Now, more than ever – it’s about value.

Consumers want to be uplifted, they want to $ave, and they want to smile again. Let’s instead re-direct messaging to stay positive during such an unprecedented time. Why not (tactfully) calm the nerves of your audience with comfort and reassurance? Connecting and even evoking a smile in such unpredictable times is a powerful gift. You can do that by updating your email list and sending bulk emails to your users with the help of email management services (like the ones offered at simplelists.com/). Try including an assuring and motivating message that can make them feel good during this time of uncertainty.

However, while promoting the value and monetary benefits of your business products, don’t let go of that empathetic element from your ads and marketing strategies. The pandemic has made people more conscious of each other’s health and wellness. So, while promoting your sale and discounts, include emotional factors about your delivery partners, transportation and logistics employees, etc., and how you have special provisions in place (check out the Top HGV insurance quote in minutes by exploring such services online) to ensure their safety during the Covid crisis.

Your online business highly depends on how you promote your services, and products. So, using only one type of emotion in ads to activate customers’ cultural mindset might not be enough in such circumstances. You have to speak their emotional language to attract the attention of potential customers. People are loyal and safe with familiarity, but with the right tools, your advertising campaigns can flourish and attract new consumers. Bidtellect’s in-house creative team, [b]+studio has been testing and measuring the shift in creative in real-time. Here’s what’s working this week.

Polish up with this new set of best practices for your coronavirus ads to bring hope and value:

1. Reposition your creative with witty and trendy adjectives; use abbreviations such as “WFH” or “QuaranQueen” to make light of the situation (tactfully, of course). There are ways to remind us of our current situation without making us sad about it.

2. If you have a loyalty program, announce it. Audiences are more likely to purchase if there are loyalty incentives.

3. SALES! DISCOUNT CODES! FREE SHIPPING! With the uncertainty of economic turmoil, consumers are responding to sales. Brand loyalists are going for a less expensive product and it’s all happening online. Besides, who doesn’t love a sale? Build their trust and your audience will $ave.

4. Try to focus not on selling but on helping your audience with a solution. For example: How Long Has Your Dip Nail Polish Been On? You’re ready for a new color. Try XYZ. (This creative is letting the audience know it’s been a while since we’ve all been to the nail salon and offering a solution to give the audience comfort).

5. Imagery is always important in creative. Bright colors, pleasing images, and happy people as the main focal point always perform well. Cinemagraphs and .gifsdraw attention against the parallel somber images on a webpage.

6. Drive it home with positive and compassionate content, including relevant hashtags: #StayHome

The wave of somber advertising is gently passing and while we are headed into the unknown, one thing is for certain: people want to smile again – even if it’s for a brief moment. Your messaging can easily be tested and updated within minutes on our platform. Between our sophisticated optimization technology and creative refreshes, we are working diligently to put your campaigns to work and get the best results possible.

Want more need-to-know info? Subscribe to our monthly Bidtellectual newsletter!


Charlotte Otremba is Sr. Manager of Communications and Marketing at Bidtellect.

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eMarketer Podcast Insights: What Consumers Expect From Brands During Coronavirus

eMarketer Podcast Insights: What Consumers Expect From Brands During Coronavirus

by | Apr, 2020 | Content, Native Advertising

It’s a difficult time. How can brands possibly survive while remaining sensitive to it all? We pulled key insights from two recent eMarketerpodcasts: What Consumers Expect from Brands During the coronavirus and Effective and Noneffective, Ads During the Coronavirus Outbreak. We highly recommend giving these podcasts a listen. If you don’t have time – or even if you do – we pulled the mentioned statistics and key takeaways.

These are the latest key eMarketer insights for effective brand messaging during the Coronavirus pandemic as of April 8, 2020.

eMarketer: What Consumers Expect from BrandsDuring the Coronavirus

Listen to the Podcast here.

Key Takeaways:

  • Don’t be radio silent. Use your branding and marketing skills by building your own YouTube channel or starting your own podcast channel. Always try innovative ideas to build up your scene. There’s still room to be doing some upper-funnel brand awareness advertising. This can be from die cut stickers advertising to email newsletters which will keep customers in the loop.
  • Empathy: what we should be thinking about all the time. People are worried about the economy and job security, the outbreak itself, and someone in their family getting sick.
  • Deliver content that is helpful. Be sensitive to the climate.
  • If you have money to spend during this crisis, you will come out ahead of those who don’t have the money to continue advertising during this time
  • Stay in touch with loyal customers. Use this time to build a relationship.
  • “There is no rapid return to normal. The new world will have trust at its core.” –Richard Edelman

4 things brands should do according to the Edelman TrustBarometer:

  • Show up, do your part, use resources to help

  • Don’t act alone. Try to collaborate with others

  • Solve. Don’t sell.

  • Communicate with emotion, empathy, and facts

What are Consumers Expecting From Brands?

→ According to the Edelman survey, respondents believe brands should:

  • Tackle social issues
  • Act to protect their employees
  • Keep people informed

→ BUT:

  • 57% of respondents want brands to stop humorous or lighthearted ads
  • Respondents are not paying attention to new products unless they help the pandemic

→ According to Kantar Research: Brands should deliver helpful content in a reassuring tone, and are expected to be supporting employees and hospitals.

  • Only 8% say brands should stop advertising
  • 78% of consumers believe brands should help them in their daily lives
  • 75% saying brands should inform people of what they’re doing
  • 74% thinking companies should not exploit the situation.

→ 29% of Americans have already begun using a brand due to the innovative or compassionate way they’ve responded to the COVID-19 crisis. (Edelman)

→ 44% of Americans polled said they only rarely or sometimes engaged with COVID-19-related ads, and 40% said they never do (The Harris Poll)

“There is no rapid return to normal. The new world will have trust at its core, with the brand mandate expanded to solve problems for all, protect all, care for all, collaborate with all, and innovate in the public interest.“

– Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman (quoted in the podcast)

eMarketer: Effective and Noneffective, Ads During the Coronavirus Outbreak

Listen to the Podcast here.

Key Takeaways:

  • This is a time for branding, not about performance

  • Think about the consumer at this time. Don’t make it all about you. Be Helpful.

  • Now is about: Authenticity, empathy, understanding people’s new realities

  • Brands are being too cautious and overclocking coronavirus content. It’s news.

Brand Messaging:

  • Emphasize trust and reliability

  • Be empathetic to individuals’ new realities, be helpful

  • Speak to core brand dimensions

    • For example, clothing should emphasize comfort and CPG brands that make us feel normal and nostalgic should emphasize that.

  • Acknowledge the crisis

    • Coca-Cola and Guinness are examples (below)

What Do Consumers Want? (AAAA)

  • 43% say they want messages that are reassuring from brands they know and trust

  • More than half are pleased that brands are making a donation

  • 40% want to know what brands are doing in response to the pandemic

  • 15% don’t want to hear from brands at this time

The Three Types of Brands in this Crisis (Mediapost)

  1. “All About Me”
  2. “Helpful”
  3. “Friend in Need”

→ First category was most unappealing, the most appealing is the second. How can you help your customers now? How can you provide comfort, information, and value?

Advertising Near Coronavirus Content?

  • Only a mere 16% says they are NOT likely to engage with an ad adjacent to Coronaviruscontent (Integral Ad Science)

  • Brands are being too cautious, and it’s bad for the economics of the news organizations.

  • It’s news – like any other news – use it to help people stay informed

→ 38% of Americans agree that brands should advertise as normal (Global Web IndexStudy)

→ 28% disagree (Global Web Index Study)

Key Insights from the latest eMarketer podcasts on brand messaging.

Here’s More:

Read how Bidtellect’s in-house creative agency, [b]+studio, can help with your creative messaging and branding needs.

Reach out for personalized information based on your creative needs.

Download eMarketer Insights

Want more need-to-know info? Subscribe to our monthly Bidtellectual newsletter!


Charlotte Otremba is Sr. Manager of Communications and Marketing at Bidtellect.

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Retail gains traction during coronavirus crisis thanks to e-commerce

Retail gains traction during coronavirus crisis thanks to e-commerce

by | Apr, 2020 | Content, Native Advertising

The retail sector is gaining traction during the coronavirus thanks to e-commerce. More customers are turning to online shops, more entreprenuers are looking on this blog to see how they can finance their eCommerce business, and the rapid growth of online sales doesn’t look to be slowing down at any point. Empathetic brand messaging, digital advertising, and shifting to changing consumer needs will help retail grow online sales through the coronavirus crisis.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced that total U.S. retail and food sales fell 8.7 percent from the previous month. But there is light: the worst hit may be over and eCommerce continues to rise. According to experts on eMarketer’s recent podcasting Sizing Up COVID-19’s Impact on Retail, a huge portion of retail may be completely shut down, but it’s those businesses that depend completely on brick and mortar locations for sales with limited to no eCommerce initiative. In order to survive, retail brands should shift messaging to empathy and helpfulness, drive traffic to their sites, adapt shipping capabilities, and above all: don’t go dark. Be prepared to bounce back once this is all over.

Retail is Shifting to E-Commerce

Boost in online orders: Adobe Analytics reported a 25% boost in average U.S. daily online sales March 13-15 compared with March 1-11. In North America, the number of online orders for web-only online retailers were up 52% year over year in theUnited States and Canada for the 2 weeks of March 22 through April 4, according to an online tracker from marketing platform Emarsys and analytics platformGoodData. Revenue for web-only retailers in the U.S. and Canada was up 30% year over year for the period. This could indicate that rapid and massive e orts of retail businesses to shift their operations online as well as aggressive promotional campaigns started to pay off (“Retail sector is getting more traction“).

Use digital advertising to drive traffic to e-commerce sites: Pubmatic reported an 8% increase in ad spend in the shopping vertical and a 3% increase in style &fashion in March comparing the pre- vs. post-global impact of the coronavirus. Everyone is online: Verizon reported huge spikes in device and internet usage thanks to home office work and social isolation. Between the weeks of 3/12 to 3/19, it saw web and internet traffic climb 20% (CNET).

Slow Delivery Times, New Product Pivots – Does it matter?

It’s a good time to take risks, according to eMarketer: “‘Everyone is navigating new territory,'” Stacey Thomson, vice president of eBusiness and eCommerce at agile agency Scrum50 said. “‘Retailers can test and learn new ways to sell inventory and quickly meet new demands. It’s a forgiving time to take some risks.'” eCommerce retailers can look into express courier companies like Fast Courier where they can compare tnt quote offered by different service providers and choose one that best matches their freight budget, delivery and time requirements.

Even Amazon is going back on its two-day delivery promise for nonessential items: “Sharp, unexpected growth in demand for Amazon is resulting in tough choices of how to manage the supply of inbound products and available last-mile delivery capacity.” (eMarketer)

Lasting brand damage? People will be pretty understanding of the changing reality, says eMarketer in their podcast “Sizing Up COVID-19’s Impact on Retail.“

What’s Doing Well:

Online Grocery: NetElixir reported that online food sales surged 183% between Mach 1 and 25, vs. the same period last year. Millions of first-time online grocery buyers are materializing, and millions of infrequent buyers are now doing so on a weekly basis, vs. over multiple weeks or months (eMarketer).

Amazon: The top 10 US eCommerce companies-led by Amazon at 38.7%-will represent about 60% of eCommerce sales in 2020 (eMarketer), thanks in part to their online grocery delivery that is thriving during the coronavirus crisis. One example: “On Amazon, our clients in household goods and fitness are selling more than three times as much as usual” Buy Box Experts’ Thomson said. At this point, it becomes important for existing as well as new sellers to consider going with Amazon as a permanent e-commerce platform for their sales. This is very likely the right time to look for amazon brand registration to empower sellers with authentic sales and reduced infringement. Moreover, brand registration can enable more customers to view products and trust what’s being offered, which is likely to increase sales as well. “Overall, sales are up at least 30% higher than what we would expect for this time of year.” (eMarketer)

The new “essential” items: What may have been considered nonessential are now the new necessities, including sweatpants, self-care items, and electronics to make working from home more effective. As more gyms and fitness centers close to the public, shoppers have increased their spending on at-home fitness equipment.

Online orders for products, such as kettlebells, dumbbells, and treadmills have increased 55% March 11-15 compared with March 1-10, according to Adobe Analytics.

Get creative: A number of retailers have shifted to makeshift delivery options and click and collect options. Forbes wrote about a number of small businesses like Faire, who traditionally sold candles, stationery, and beauty, but has shifted gears to more urgent inventory during the coronavirus crisis. The platform’s top-seller is no disinfectant and it’s added more household essentials like hand soap. Necessity is the mother of invention, reiterates eMarketer in their podcast.

Brand Messaging in Response to the Crisis Matters

Provide value: Think outside yourself. Let empathy and service lead your messaging, your efforts, and the next steps. According to Brit Bulla on Mediapost, three distinct types of brand messaging have emerged during the coronavirus crisis: “AllAbout Me,” Helpful,” and “The Friend in Need.” Can you guess which is the most unappealing? Sharing all of your brand’s current news and how great you’re doing isn’t appealing to customers at the moment.

But empathy and offering ways to help make their lives easier is. Now, you don’t have to do a big grand gesture to get this type of message across, as there are many smaller things you can do to achieve this, all whilst complying to your brand. For example, if your business prides itself on packaging, using a custom box printing service is a great way to be able to create and personalize packaging that can provide your customers with a message of empathy. At the same time, you will be able to create packaging that is out of this world. By doing this, your brand could be meeting the emotional needs of your customers, something that sharing any news you have concerning your brand doesn’t do.

To put this into perspective, 83% of respondents want compassionate connection, including brand messaging that communicates empathy and support with the struggles they face, according to an Edelman Survey. 29% of Americans have already begun using a brand due to the innovative or compassionate way they’ve responded to the COVID-19 crisis. (Edelman) According to another study, 75% of respondents said that the way a brand responds to the crisis will affect future buying decisions (eMarketer).

Cater to frugal spending: We’re in the middle of an economic crisis. Chuck Grom at Gordon Haskett says it could take a couple of years for consumers to recover, he says, especially if the virus returns in the fall. He favors stores that cater to frugality. (Barrons)

Here’s what doesn’t work: Not addressing the crisis at all or continuing with thoughtless and potentially offensive messaging is damaging. 57% want brands to stop any advertising or marketing that is humorous or light-hearted. (Edelman).

The Biggest Piece of Advice: Don’t Go Dark

While sales and traffic may be down, do not go dark during the coronavirus crisis. Brands need to provide certainty and purpose. It’s important for retailers to be very responsive on social media and digital platforms, says eMarketer. And taken a step further, 84% of customers want brand social channels to facilitate a sense of community and offer support to those in need (Edelman). In times where our security is threatened, people are hardwired to seek clarity and calm, according to Econsultancy.

No crisis lasts forever. There is light at the end of this. The post-COVID-19 period will be used by many as a time of rebirth, and many will be motivated by aspirational behaviors, writes Richard Storey for Econsultancy. “The best action for brands is to forecast the emotional state and behavioral changes required of everybody to re-start…In order for a brand to be there in the positive moment of a new beginning, it needs to stay active in darker times.”

Download "Retail Gains Traction During Coronavirus Crisis Thanks to eCommerce"

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Charlotte Otremba is Sr. Manager of Communications and Marketing at Bidtellect.

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