Agencies and clients say Covid-19 will accelerate shift to performance media.

IAB GCC conducted a quick pulse survey between April 6 and April 12, 2020 where nearly 30 Leaders of Agencies and Clients marketing teams have been surveyed. IAB GCC would like to thank those who participated.

The findings suggest an immediate downturn with 48% saying they have already seen up to 30% budget cuts in April and 20% saying they have paused all ads until further notice.

With Ramadan expected to start within weeks, there are still 38% saying they had yet to make decisions on Ramadan budgets while 51% are unsure about the direction of second half budgets, suggesting a high proportion of marketers are in ‘wait-and-see’ mode.

Winners in the 2nd half are expected to be Performance media with 59% of respondents suggesting they would increase Performance media budgets.

Overall, 77% of respondents report that Covid-19 will have a more significant impact on MENA marketing budgets than the 2008/9 Financial Crisis.

Click here to access the full study.