Will War in Europe Affect your Campaign Success in 2023?
Will war in Europe affect the success of your advertising campaigns in 2023? A lot of people are worried about a lot of things because of the war in Ukraine.
Falling traffic stats
Many have seen their total traffic contract or even collapse as Russia is isolated more and more by the world and in fact, as Russia isolates themselves. But does it really matter to your overall success?
Fear
One thing the war in Europe has done is to create a lot of fear and uncertainty. The closer people live to the conflict, the more the events in Ukraine captivate their attention. Shopping for anything but the most necessary things of life becomes less important. Many are going into a kind of survival mode.
Effects on the world
But the effects the war in Europe is having on the minds of the people is just a small part of the picture. On a larger scale, we see this affecting the economy of the entire world. Fuel prices, already high, often due to environmental taxes that governments have added to try to curb greenhouse gases are shooting up due to shortages or investor worries about shortages as Europe’s largest supplier of petroleum products, Russia, is cut off from the world.
Currency uncertainty
Not all European countries are ready to abandon Russian oil and natural gas, but with an almost universal banking sanction, Russia finds itself unable to function in the recognized currency of the world, the US dollar, and is forced to work in its own currency, the ruble. But most other countries, including all European countries, are unwilling to pay for Russian oil and gas in rubles, creating a situation where Russia needs to sell their products, they need to buy the products, but neither side can do business due to the currency restrictions.
So, Europe now looks to other sources for oil and gas, but due to production restrictions via taxes, pipeline cancellations, and drilling permit refusals in Canada and the United States, two of the world’s leading producers, there is now real concern that there is going to be a major fuel shortage, and that concern is driving fuel prices to historic levels.
High fuel prices
The high price of fuel is driving up the price of everything from fertilizer to food, as well as any other products and commodities that must be transported. Inflation levels unseen since well back in the 20th century are just beginning to take off, crushing the value of the dollar, moving banks to raise rates as is inevitable whenever inflation begins to rise quickly.
However, as banks raise rates, the auto and real estate markets slow down due to the inability of consumers to qualify for loans and mortgages. This then leads to slower growth and eventually to recession or worse.
Risks and opportunities
What does this mean for online business? Unfortunately, it also risks a real slowdown.
However, there is an advantage in the online world, even an opportunity.
Online marketing eliminates the “brick-and-mortar” expenses of the purchase or rental of retail space, as well as the higher number of employees necessary for such establishments. This translates into the ability to offer substantially more competitive pricing.
This means that while war in Europe affects everyone in one way or another, it does not mean that our ad campaigns will be failures. Instead, it means we need to tweak our ad campaigns for the changes we face in this world, offering our customers a better overall virtual experience, better prices, and stellar service from their first visit to any after sale service they may need.
No time for fear
More than anything, now is not the time to fear the future, but it is a time to embrace it! Those who do will think it through, adjust as necessary, and come out on top. Those who promote wisely will prosper. Those who despair will not.
What are you doing? Let us know in the comments!