How the Coronavirus is Impacting the Advertising Business


As of mid-May, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 4.5 million, killing more than 310,000 people and upending every aspect of U.S. life as we knew it. Sectors of society most affected by this global health crisis have been the healthcare and educational systems, but efforts to “flatten the curve” and slow the spread of coronavirus have affected nearly every area of the economy.

The advertising business is no exception.

Even while online sales of essential products including food have skyrocketed, sales of discretionary items have plummeted. In the face of these challenges to their bottom lines, rather than ramp up their marketing efforts to encourage sales, many enterprises have greatly reduced or eliminated their advertising budgets as they struggle to prevail.

TV networks that pull down a large portion of their revenue from ad sales during major sporting events are facing a disastrous impact on their annual revenue. Centralized media brands resource and ad-buying agency MagnaGlobal predicts that the measures to slow or eliminate the spread of COVID-19 that have forced cancellations, postponements, and other modifications that will result in decreased viewership, fewer advertising contracts, and far less revenue for TV networks.

According to the think tank, cancelled NBA and NCAA events will cost TV networks up to a 25% drop in viewership. Major League Baseball in the United States and the European Formal One Grand Prix racing circuit have both proposed shortened seasons without fans in the seats. Perhaps most significantly, says MagnaGlobal, the International Olympic Committee and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics— while a prudent public health measure— will force advertising projections that will have a deleterious effect on TV networks around the world.

Although one industry source estimates that cancelled ad campaigns have resulted in a reduction in advertising revenue approaching 60%, the good news is that advertising hasn’t completely stopped. Astute ad agencies are taking great care to be sure that all their clients’ messaging is right for the times— even if it means shelving entire campaigns for the moment. The most effective agencies are also making sure that they continue to stay in close contact with their clients through every digital avenue available, and that they are leveraging the most sophisticated video-conferencing applications available to keep their existing clients well-informed on real time changes. The current advertising climate is also a good time to foster relationships with potential clients who may need assistance navigating the post-COVID world of advertising and marketing.

Digital media companies like The Verge, Gizmodo, and others are facing the worst downturn in a generation. Silicon Valley startups launched on business models dependent on meteoric growth driven by online spending appear especially vulnerable as people reduce discretionary purchases and prepare for possible unemployment or furloughs.

According to industry insiders, advertising companies will not only sustain temporary body blows as the country weathers the current COVID-19 outbreak. Instead, the advertising companies should anticipate fundamental changes in how they do business, well past the resolution of the current pandemic.

Coming Soon… A New Home for AW!

arachnidworks office building in frederick
When our founder and CEO Monica Kolbay realized that ArachnidWorks was fast outgrowing its current home, she set her sites on finding us a new one. She approached her search in the same way we approach every client— with fresh eyes and a view toward new possibilities.

At the top of her wish list was a historic building in Downtown Frederick that she could purchase and adapt for use by our modern, creative business. She envisioned a building near the epicenter of our community that was easily accessible to our clients from Baltimore, Washington, and Virginia…with space for our staff of a dozen employees and growing with plenty of room to spread out…and a place where we could comfortably welcome clients and host the occasional AW happy hour on a Friday afternoon.

aw office interior

When she toured 47 South Carroll Street late last year, she knew she had found everything she wanted in a new home for ArachnidWorks before she had even reached the top floor.

Today we are proud to officially announce our new headquarters in downtown Frederick, MD.

Just steps away from Frederick’s Carroll Creek Linear Park and across the street from the Delaplaine Center for the Arts, the circa 19th century brick building was ideally located and extremely well-constructed. A former owner, a talented architect, had designed the interior space with a view toward historic preservation and future sustainability. From the weathered brick facade to the original cross-grained wooden floors, the building is functional, practical, and beautiful!

Monica and Brian Kolbay purchased the building earlier this year, paving the way for moving day later this spring. We look forward to sharing our new space with you and the rest of our clients and friends very soon.

We’ll keep you posted!

arachnidworks rooftop view

ArachnidWorks Named to Frederick’s Top 50 Workplaces

arachnidworks staff
We are so pleased to announce that we have been recently named one of Frederick’s Top 50 Workplaces by the Frederick County Office of Economic Development (OED)!

To develop the list, OED identified a variety of data points that are important to economic development, such as the number of Frederick-based jobs, local property taxes paid, how many square feet the business occupies in the county, and how long the company has been in business. Final selections were made on the 132 nominees’ responses to questions regarding employee benefits, median salaries, community involvement, work environment, growth opportunities, and work-life balance.

You can check out the full press release here!

ArachnidWorks Celebrates The Season With Its Annual Holiday Party

ArachnidWorks at Stumpy's

Our 2019 holiday party was a huge success! We had a really fun time throwing hatchets at Stumpys Frederick – as all of us got the hatchet on the board at least once! We also had a wonderful time at The Wine Kitchen, where we hosted our 2nd annual ADUB Awards and had a delicious four-course meal.

We can’t wait to see what 2020 brings AW, so feel free to stay up to date on our Facebook/Instagram pages or right here on our blog!

entryway with tree

ArachnidWorks Participates in 2019 TechFrederick Games

ArachnidWorks techfrederick teams

ArachnidWorks was once again proud to participate in the 4th annual TechFrederick games! TechFrederick is an organization that was formed to identify, highlight, support, foster awareness of, advocate for, and develop Frederick’s growing high tech community through community education and human resource development, entrepreneurship training programs and seminars, and related events. This yearly event is designed to bring out the great employees of Frederick companies for some friendly interaction… and competition!

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ArachnidWorks Welcomes Graphic Designer & Copywriter Brett Thompson To The Team

copywriter and graphic designer

We are very excited to welcome a new team member to ArachnidWorks! Meet Brett, our newest Graphic Designer & Copywriter. Not only does he love dogs just as much as we do, but he’s also an advocate for the Oxford Comma.

“Brett has a great attitude and is eager to help out with a variety of graphic design and content-related projects. That’s going to make a great addition to our team,” noted our President of ArachnidWorks, Monica Kolbay.

As we continue to expand our marketing capabilities, Brett will be a key part of our team. We’re looking forward to the amazing work he’ll provide our clients!

Jennifer Alexander Obtains CAPM Certification

project manager jen alexander
We would like to say congratulations to our very own Junior Project Manager/Inbound Marketing Specialist, Jennifer Alexander, for obtaining her Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification!

Because the CAPM recognizes knowledge of the profession’s preeminent global standard, we could not be more proud of her hard work. We are very excited to have her begin working more closely with a number of our great clients!

The Ultimate Guide To Facebook Marketing

With over 1 billion active Facebook users, having a strong presence on the social media platform is extremely important for any business. With the ever-changing algorithm, the growing number of Facebook users, and a spike in Facebook advertising, it’s harder than ever for companies to stand out among their competitors. To maximize the reach their content has, companies need to be diligent and strategic with their marketing plans. Here are a few things to consider when creating effective Facebook campaigns.

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Announcing the Launch of Our Redesigned Website!

apple mac pro on table
As you can probably tell, things look a little different around here! That’s because after months of hard work and dedication, we are pleased to announce the launch of our brand new website! We’ve made some exciting new changes that better reflect our services and the great clients we help represent. We invite you to browse and let us know your feedback!