COVID-19 Intelligence - APRIL
Our monthly COVID-19 Connections Readiness Report
Welcome to the 22nd edition of our COVID-19 Intelligence Report, which has a new home on SUBSTACK!
This report is 950 words, about a 5 minute read.
Latest News
New cases are beginning to decrease again after a month of stagnation (NYT)
100 million Americans are now fully vaccinated and 55% of US Adults have received at least one dose (CDC)
India’s crisis continues to worsen with the country averaging 300,000 cases per day; the US announced it will be sending $100MM in supplies (Axios)
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to “fully reopen” the city on July 1, with no restrictions on restaurants, retail, or other businesses (CNBC)
The Public Mindset
According to a de Beaumont Foundation Poll, vaccine confidence continues to rise despite the temporary J&J pause, with 76% of American voters saying they’re as likely or more likely to get vaccinated vs one month ago (de Beaumont)
The same poll also showed that over half (53%) saw the pause as a good example of “rigorous safety monitoring”, while less (29%) saw it as proof that vaccines are “possibly unsafe & untested” (de Beaumont)
A Harris Poll showed the pause in a less positive light: 54% of respondents said they would not take the J&J vaccine, and 62% of those that were already skeptical of vaccines (the “wait awhile and see” group below) said the pause has reduced their confidence in vaccine safety overall (Harris/Axios)
New CDC travel guidelines may help incentivize vaccinations: the ability to travel w/out testing or quarantining would make 45% of those who plan to “get around to” the vaccine more likely to get the shot, as well as 29% of the “wait and see” group and 20% of those who “do not plan” (Harris Poll)
Less than half (47%) of Americans now say COVID is a “very big problem”, an 11 point drop since June; “illegal immigration” concerns saw the largest increase over the same time period, split largely along political lines with 72% of GOP and 29% of Dems now considering it a “very big problem” (Pew)
The majority of Americans (75%) believe they should be vaccinated before the US donates COVID-19 shots globally, while 54% at least somewhat agree we should immediately begin donating and slightly less (48%) believe we should instead stockpile (STAT/Harris)
Changes in Consumer Spending
Instacart’s “Year of Essential Insights” report reveals 2020 online grocery shopping skewing towards weekday work hours with orders placed from 9-to-5 increasing 32% (Instacart)
Early analysis of 2021 shows a meaningful portion of shoppers are continuing this new midweek routine, and 77% of Instacart-ers said they’re likely to continue buying groceries online post-COVID (Instacart)
Other sticky habits include stocking up on cleaning supplies, with 51% of Americans saying they will make sure to always have extra on-hand, as well as price sensitivity, with 36% saying they’ve learned how to save more on groceries in the past year (Instacart)
Instacart also revealed the extent to which Americans looked towards the online alcohol aisle to relieve stress in 2020, with nearly all alcohol categories growing YoY (Instacart)
Over 1 in 4 (26%) Americans say they’re ready to travel this summer, with Millennials (31%) and Parents (28%) being even more travel-ready; 29% of Americans say they’re cautious but optimistic they’ll travel this summer (Harris Poll)
Changes in Health Care Needs
Public approval of Big Pharma has dramatically increased from YAG, with 62% of Americans now viewing the industry in a positive light (Harris/Gallup)
Total Prescriptions (TRx ) across many specialties are in-line with pre-COVID levels, most notably for Dermatology (+2%) and Neurology (-2%), while New Prescriptions (NBRx) remain lower (IQVIA)
Consumer Content Interest
The 93rd Academy Awards was the least watched in history with an audience of ~10.4MM, a 58% drop from the 2020 Oscars ceremony (Deadline)
Despite declining viewers, ad rates have increased, or as AdAge puts it: “even with mediocre ratings, these tentpole events are still among the most-watched of any programming on linear TV” (AdAge)
Spotify launched its new subscription podcast platform this past week, allowing creators to mark episodes as subscriber-only; Apple also announced a forthcoming podcast subscription service allowing creators to better monetize their content (Axios)
Changes in Media Behavior
INTERACT
Snapchat shared its Q1’21 performance, which included adding 280MM new users and strong growth for their TikTok-like ‘Spotlight’ feature
Social CPMs are now rebounding to pre-COVID levels with industry experts predicting further cost increases as consumer confidence accelerates (Adage)
WATCH
Linear TV declines have accelerated the past 6 weeks with 18-49 viewership down 32% YoY (MAGNA)
Broadcast prime also continues to be severely impacted with the five networks showing 25% rating declines YoY (MAGNA)
LISTEN
Americans continue spending an avg of 4hrs / day listening to some form of audio with digital now making up 56% of that time (Edison Share of Ear)
Linear audio ad sales remain slow to rebound as remote work continues, while digital players have posted robust Q4 growth; Podcasts are another source of growth with iHeart’s Q4 podcast revenue up 100% (MAGNA)
READ
Meredith saw Amazon subscription orders increase significantly YoY by 31%, but overall ad sales continue to decline with Q4 down 27% (MAGNA)
SEEK
Top searches continue to be centered around “vaccines”, “testing”, “case numbers”, as well as regions currently experiencing the largest impact - such as “India COVID cases” in the past 30 days
SHOP
Drug & Grocery have seen a surge in traffic as they become neighborhood vaccination centers with the avg vaccinator spending 20 minutes shopping in-store after the shot (Quotient Technology)
What Brands are Doing
Sam Adams used their “Your Cousin from Boston” campaign to promote vaccine awareness, ending with the tagline “Don’t Miss Your Shot” (AdAge)
Budweiser likewise promoted the importance of vaccines, showing pre-COVID images of Americans enjoying the product before directing viewers to GetVaccineAnswers.org
Thanks for reading! Be well!