COVID-19 Intelligence - JANUARY
Our monthly COVID-19 Connections Readiness Report
Welcome to the 19th edition of our COVID-19 Intelligence Report, which has a new home on SUBSTACK! This report will now live as a newsletter, but you will be able to find the same trending consumer behaviors & insights in the content below!
This report is 1,000 words, about a 5 minute read.
Latest News
Global confirmed cases surpass 100 million (CNN)
In the US, reports of new cases are down 33% from two weeks ago, but limited vaccine availability and the spread of new variants continue (NYT)
President Biden announces plans to purchase 200 million additional vaccine doses and increase the supply to states to at least 10 million a week (Vox)
J&J announces that its single-shot vaccine is 72% effective in the US, and plans to apply for emergency authorization as soon as next week (NYT)
The Public Mindset
50% of Americans now say they trust the federal government regarding COVID info, a 10% increase from before the inauguration (Axios/Ipsos)
Nearly half of Americans are interested in receiving the vaccine “as soon as it’s available to them”, a dramatic increase from mid-December when less than one-third fell into this same bucket (Axios/Ipsos)
Even with the recent declines in vaccine skepticism, 55% of Americans say it’s “reasonable to have concerns about the vaccine”- the most common being: “side effects” (73%), “rushed development” (61%), and “not knowing what’s in it” (61%) (Harris)
47% of Americans feel the vaccine roll out is moving too slowly, with Democrats slightly more pessimistic than Republicans (Axios/Harris)
With Super Bowl LV approaching, 25% of Americans plan to gather with people outside their home to tune-in, though the majority surveyed (64%) are opting to watch from home. The survey also found that public excitement for the game is down this year, with 47% agreeing the game will be less exciting due to COVID restrictions (USAToday/SetonHall)
Changes in Consumer Shopping
Nearly half of Americans say a $2,000 stimulus check is the best option for improving their personal finances, while slightly less (39%) believe its the best proposal for improving the overall US Economy (YouGov/Forbes)
Americans are looking for Companies & Brands to lead where other institutions have failed: 77% think it’s important for brands to acknowledge COVID in TV & digital advertising - such as stressing the importance of masks & social distancing (Harris)
Consumers are setting an even higher bar for Brand after January 6th:
60% say they will stop purchasing a product if the brand’s ad is seen next to false, objectionable, or inflammatory content, 51% say they will tell their friends to stop purchasing as well (Harris)
42% say Brands should use their voice & advertising dollars to denounce disinformation, though this issue varies widely across the political spectrum with 54% of Dems agreeing vs only 29% of Republicans (Harris)
Changes in Health Care Needs
2 in 3 Americans say they plan to continue using Telehealth post-COVID, but if given the option most still prefer in-person (44%) or a hybrid approach (42%), while far fewer would opt only for virtual visits (15%) (MedCity/Harris)
Weekly prescriptions increased in the last week of December, but Total Prescriptions (TRx) were down 2.3% in 2020 vs 2019 (IQVIA)
TRx in many specialties are in-line with pre-COVID levels, including Dermatology, Endocrinology, and Neurology, while New Prescriptions (NBRx) remain lower across all specialties (IQVIA)
Consumer Content Interest
CNN has seen unprecedented success since the election and in the first month of 2021, moving from 3rd to 1st in ratings. They were also the most viewed network for the inauguration
Netflix aims to release at least one new movie every week with 70 films scheduled in 2021, far outpacing their closest rival Disney’s 22 planned releases
Netflix is projecting the new French series “Lupin” will be watched by 70 million HHs in its first 28 days - making it the 3rd most viewed Netflix debut behind “Bridgerton” (82 million) and “The Witcher” (76 million)
The heavily anticipated “WandaVision”, Marvel’s first series on Disney+, debuted on Jan 15, garnering nearly 700k mentions on Twitter:
Changes in Media Behavior
SHOP
Personalization drives impulse buys: 50% of online grocery shoppers say they’re more likely to impulse buy online vs instore (Valassis)
Fulfillment continues to be critical: 41% of online grocery shoppers actively look for faster & cheaper shipping options (Valassis)
Discounts make a difference: 60% of consumers say receiving a coupon or discount speeds up their purchase decision (Valassis)
WATCH
Linear TV continues to see declines, averaging a 15% drop among A18-49 in January vs YAG (MAGNA)
Connected TV streaming continues to pick up the slack, showing notably high growth for A50+ (38% increase in time spent in Jan), who may have been slower to adopt in the earlier months of the pandemic (MAGNA)
Subscription services continue to grow as well: in Dec 2020 the avg US HH spent $47 / month on these services, up from $38 in April (MAGNA)
INTERACT
Latest research shows 71% of Americans still turn to Social for news content
The avg US adult spent 11 more minutes per day on Social in 2020 than ‘19
US Consumers spent 21.5 hours per month on TikTok in 2020, beating out Facebook (17.7) and Instagram (7.5)
Apple will soon require that all App Store apps show a tracking permission prompt to users on iOS 14 devices. The policy will prohibit certain data collection & sharing unless people opt-in
Pinterest launches new dynamic creative automated ad targeting
Snapchat launches TikTok-like personalized scrollable video viewing content through Spotlight
LISTEN
Podcasting consumption continues to grow: 25% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly, 1/3rd of whom listen to at least 1 episode per day (MAGNA)
What Brands are Doing
Facebook and NYU Langone Health use AI to predict the health of COVID Patients (Adweek)
Dollar General to pay hourly workers to receive the vaccine - incentivizing its frontline staff to get vaccinated, without requiring them to do so (Adweek)
Pfizer, BioNTech, and others launch a PSA to instill confidence in the vaccine, showing everything we’ve missed out on during the pandemic. (Adweek)
A number of big-name brands who are mainstays of Super Bowl advertising will sit this one out and instead donate ad dollars to pandemic relief. Included are Coke, Pepsi, Budweiser, and Audi (AP News)
M&M’s will reveal its Super Bowl spot in the most 2020 way possible: A Zoom Call (Adweek)
Thanks for reading! Be well!