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With the news this week that the whole country is moving to Level 5 for six weeks, an already under pressure economy is bracing itself for another COVID lockdown shock.

Over the past ten years, the podcast industry has gone from something a core niche audience engages with, to becoming a staple on many organisations' media plans for 2021 and beyond.

Over the last week Ad Week 2020 has been hitting our homes and offices with virtual events bringing us marketing, media, technology, and creative industry insights to drive change and hopefully, aid recovery after such a dramatic few months. Datasine published an interesting piece of research looking at the pressure points facing marketers.

Unruly have just released some really interesting research on how campaigns with Black Lives Matter messaging has been received. They looked at 4 ads in the US market for Nike, P&G, McDonalds and the NFL.

With more businesses open since the easing of restrictions and reinvented shopping protocols we are starting to see positive signs coming from the retail sector.

It seems like a lifetime since lockdown began, and we wanted to look at how audio consumption has changed over this period. Audio played a major part of our lives pre-COVID with the drive time listeners, the public transport podcaster and the pavement pounder looking to stay informed or for a bit of escapism on the way to and from work.

In a recent Radiocentre webinar they discussed how high street retail has experienced the biggest fall in sales since records began with many retailers being forced to close temporarily, or in some cases permanently, since the COVID-19 outbreak.

While COVID-19 has caused massive upheaval to the global economy and job markets, it has also led to an upward trend in the number of people looking to start new ventures and businesses adapting their offerings.

This week the HSE launched its latest technology tool to help manage the COVID-19 outbreak, the COVID Tracker App.

People feel mixed emotions about the relaxation of lockdown, with both optimism and concerns regarding financial implications dominating feelings.

As lockdown eases and businesses reopen, consumers are still expressing a real level of anxiety in terms of socialising, shopping and travel.

With restrictions on travel lifting, airlines operating from July and holiday destinations opening we are seeing positive moves in consumer sentiment in terms of travel.

The reopening of retail stores across the country will be a massive boost for the economy, with retail experts claiming over 100,000 people hit the streets of Dublin for some retail therapy on Monday.

With live sport returning we wanted to take a look at what to expect from its return and we’ve taken some insight from our colleagues in TalkSPORT about just how popular sport is with the public.

The latest Kantar Grocery research has shown just how people have adapted to the forced change of being at home by trying to recreate traditional socialising experiences.

The motor industry in Ireland has been badly affected by COVID-19, but as it opens in earnest there are some positives that can help make up for the dramatic losses in new car sales in March and April.

One of the interesting trends in consumer behaviour since the outbreak of COVID-19 has been the impact on traditional adoption curves.

A recent survey conducted by Ipsos MRBI highlighted the significant levels of listening to the radio during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topline results showed 91% of all 15+ adults tuning in over the past week and 96% tuning in over the past 4 weeks.

What are people looking forward to after we get back to normality in the coming months? Recent Kantar research highlights consumers desires and these can provide insights into brand messaging as we return to the "new" normal.

What are the potential trends facing us when we get back to the "new" normal?

What are the key communication strategies for advertisers in the current environment? People will remember those companies and brands who did the right thing...

We’ve taken a look at some strong arguments as to why it is vital to continue to maintain or increase your advertising spend through times of crisis.

Why is radio so strong in the midst of this pandemic? We've seen massive increases year on year on our digital stream listening hours up by +61%. Engagement on our websites has also grown significantly with total website pageviews up by 168%. Below are some of the reasons why people are tuning in to radio.

Radio is still the most consumed audio at 83%, but streamed music and podcasting have found their place in the market

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