Queen Elizabeth II's Death Will Affect Market And Advertising, Analysts Say

Queen Elizabeth II is still in good shape, but some are already speculating on what will happen to her family and Britain upon her death. Analysts recently predicted that if she passes away, it will greatly affect the market.

According to The Drum, brands played a minor role in society in the past. In fact, when King George died, no brand mentioned it. No news source picked it up either. But this has changed over time, especially with the presence of social media these days.

If Queen Elizabeth II dies, her death is predicted to affect the market and advertising similar to Princess Diana's. The Princess of Wales' shocking death made waves worldwide and some major commercial channels in ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 were canceled.

After Princess Diana's funeral and airtime slots resumed, advertisements for alcohol, automobiles and insurance were vetted. A similar or bigger change might be observed when Queen Elizabeth II dies.

"The Queen's death will be a shock that will make the passing of Diana, now some 20 years ago, look relatively tame in my view," said Francis Ingham, director general of the PRCA. "Brands must make some tough decisions quickly. Do they continue to run adverts? How do they change their social media activity? Have they in fact prepared contingency plans for just this very eventuality, as doubtless central government has?"

According to Alice Enders, head of research at Enders Analysis, deaths and weddings involving the royal family are special events in the history of news. Thus, they will likely displace ordinary programming and associated marketing messages.

"If the event is joyful, like a royal wedding, it's a boon for audiences and the advertisers that buy slots," Enders explained. "If the event is sombre, it will cut out advertising as it's very hard to strike the right note. And audiences don't like interruptions anyway in these ceremonies."

Meanwhile, Tamara Littleton agreed that brands should recognize events like deaths of royal family members. They believe that the companies with "genuine human connection" are "more successful." Thus, brands will likely mention the queen's passing when she dies.

According to Dr. Bob Morris of the Constitutional Unit at University College London, the talks about Queen Elizabeth II's death has "broken surface rather more." The Privy Council has also prepared by posting a detailed account of what it will do if the monarch passes away.

Prince Charles is expected to take over the throne after the queen. The polls revealed that the Brits prefer Prince William and Kate Middleton as the next king and queen. But the Duke of Cambridge "has no desire to take the throne early," Gill Knappet said.