Advertising During Power Outages Will Work Differently: What Brands Should Consider

The autumn-winter period is traditionally one of the most important for many business categories: from October to February demand rises, and advertising activity reaches high levels. However the season of 2026/27 may unfold under an unusual scenario – possible prolonged power outages can change not only consumer behavior but also the availability of certain advertising channels.

Blackouts should already be built into the media plan

Earlier, power outages could be perceived as a separate factor not necessarily to be considered during advertising planning. Now the situation is different, so brands should pre-check whether their media strategy will remain effective under different energy system operation scenarios, according to Tavr Media's study.

For the 2026/27 season, it is not enough to compare media only by traditional indicators – reach, contact frequency, and advertising cost. It is equally important to ask a different question: will this channel be available at the moment when the brand particularly needs contact with a potential buyer?

It is not possible to determine in advance the duration of possible outages. At the same time, the risk of long outages can no longer be considered secondary. As far back as 2024 year, the Center for Combating Disinformation modeled scenarios in which power could be unavailable from 12 to 20 hours per day.

On the eve of last winter, the former head of Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, also suggested that under adverse conditions outages could last 14 – 16 hours. The final scenario, as before, depends on a set of factors.

Three scenarios brands should prepare for in advertising

Tavr Media advises advertisers not to rely on a single forecast, but to pre-check the media plan against several scenarios. The options include:

Optimistic. Local or short outages – power may be missing for a few hours a day.

Baseline. Power is absent for a significant part of the day, so you need to check each channel’s availability and distribute ad contacts across different media. In such a situation FM radio can become one of the stable sources of reach.

Pessimistic. Outages are long, home Internet is unstable, and mobile networks are overloaded. Then channels that do not require a constantly on screen, home Internet, or stable power connection become particularly important.

Tavr Media infographic

This approach allows you to see the campaign’s weak spots in advance rather than reorganize it after problems begin.

Another risk is mobile connectivity. According to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, 92% of base stations of mobile operators are equipped with batteries capable of operating for up to eight hours. More than a third of base stations have generators.

However during outages the load on the mobile network rises sharply. When users switch en masse from home Wi-Fi to mobile Internet, load can increase by 3 – 4 times.

Which brands should prepare especially carefully

Categories most sensitive to such changes are those for which autumn and winter are periods of higher demand. Among them:

pharmaceuticals and health products;

FMCG;

retail;

e-commerce;

financial and insurance services;

household appliances;

goods for the home;

automotive segment;

children’s goods.

For retail and online stores, the active season begins even before the New Year holidays. First brands compete for consumers’ attention in the autumn, then Black Friday, followed by the pre-New Year period.

In the pharmaceutical segment seasonality is also noticeable. According to the Ministry of Health, the influenza and ARVI epidemic season 2025/26 lasted from 29 September 2025 of year to 17 May 2026. The highest incidence was recorded 16 – 22 February. The peak last season also fell in February.

Hence, it is precisely during the demand growth that advertising load increases. If a brand loses part of its contacts with potential buyers at this time, the consequence could be not only fewer sales at that moment but weaker demand in the future.

Seven problems brands may encounter

1. One channel may perform differently under different conditions

An advertising channel that reliably shows good results in normal times may lose some availability during long outages. According to Tavr Media’s scenario model, mobile digital availability during blackouts can be about 72%.

At the same time, the company notes that this is not a ranking of channel effectiveness and not a forecast. The model is needed to show how contact availability could potentially change depending on the situation.

Tavr Media infographic

2. Digital does not vanish, but it should not be left alone

There is no reason to abandon digital advertising due to outage risk. The government and mobile operators continue to strengthen infrastructure autonomy. In particular, the Cabinet reported procurement of over 15 thousand generators by operators in preparation for possible outages.

However, digital should be viewed as part of a blended system. It can effectively support search, site visits, retargeting, and conversions, while other channels can provide additional reach in case of digital infrastructure problems.

Tavr Media infographic

3. The largest number of digital contacts may occur in challenging times

For digital, the evening period is important when people actively consume online content. But it is precisely in the evening during outages that mobile network load can increase. Radio has a different consumption pattern. It can be listened to in the car, on the way to work, during the workday, or at home – without needing to continuously look at a screen.

According to Kantar Ukraine DAR W2'25, among radio listeners in cities with populations over 50 thousand people:

49% listen via car stereo;

46% – via computer or smartphone;

32% – via radio receiver or portable tape player.

This gives brands the ability to distribute contacts throughout the day: use FM for more stable daytime reach, and digital for demand and conversions during periods when digital infrastructure runs more reliably.

Tavr Media infographic

4. A brand can disappear precisely when a buyer is ready to choose

For seasonal goods, it is not enough to simply launch an advertising campaign. It is important to remain visible at the moment when a person moves from general interest to a specific choice. For example:

in pharmaceuticals this could be the appearance of first symptoms;

in retail – searching for promotions and deals;

in e-commerce – product comparisons;

in financial services – choosing a specific product.

Therefore, the campaign can be split into several stages: preliminarily form interest, strengthen presence during peak demand, and then continue brand support.

5. One creative ad might not be enough

An unstable season requires greater flexibility in advertising communication. Instead of one audio creative or one brand message, it is worth preparing several variants in advance that can be used at different stages of the campaign.

To check how well advertising is remembered and how it affects the brand, TAVR Media suggests using Radio Recall Test.

6. In peak demand season there may be a shortage of ad inventory

In the autumn and before holidays, brands compete not only for consumer attention but also for available ad inventory. Communication Alliance monitoring for the first half of 2026 year showed periods of high load for direct advertising and sponsorship.

For companies planning active advertising during Black Friday or the pre-New Year period, this means that placements should be booked in advance.

Tavr Media infographic

7. Campaign results may appear with a delay

Another mistake is to evaluate ad effectiveness only by sales immediately after the campaign ends. A person may see or hear an ad today but search for a product, go to a site, or make a purchase after several days or even later.

Therefore when analyzing a campaign you should consider not only direct sales but also other metrics:

brand recognition;

branded search;

direct and organic traffic;

lead count;

sales;

delayed advertising effect.

Why radio can help during outages

One of radio’s key advantages in conditions of unstable power supply is that a person does not need to constantly look at a screen. Radio can be listened to while driving, on the way to work, during the workday, or while doing housework. Therefore this channel can maintain reach and contact frequency in situations when part of screen media becomes less accessible.

Kantar Ukraine data also show that the audience uses different listening methods. Almost half of listeners in large cities use the car stereo, and a significant portion use a computer or smartphone.

According to Tavr Media, radio has already undergone similar stress tests during previous outages. In some periods its audience even grew, in particular due to online listening.

Tavr Media infographic

Tavr Media infographic

How to check if the media plan will withstand a blackout

TAVR Media suggests evaluating the resilience of advertising strategy based on several data groups:

open data from state bodies, including the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the Ministry of Health;

industry research and media data from Kantar Ukraine, Communication Alliance, and TAVR Digital Audio;

the company’s own scenario models.

At the same time, these models are not official forecasts of future outages and do not replace primary research. Their task is to help advertisers assess how the role of different media may change depending on infrastructure availability.

Tavr Media infographic

What brands should do before the season starts

Preparing an advertising campaign for the autumn-winter period, you should start not with choosing a single channel, but with checking the entire strategy under different conditions. Practically this means:

Test the campaign in three scenarios – normal, moderate, and difficult.

Calculate potential reach and contact frequency in each of them.

Check the presence of a channel without constant dependence on a screen.

Do not abandon digital, but also do not make it the sole basis of the campaign.

Use FM for reach, especially during daytime.

Combine FM and Digital Audio to achieve different types of contacts with the same audience.

Distribute contacts throughout the day, rather than concentrating all activity in one timespan.

Prepare several ad creatives before the season starts.

Book ad inventory in advance, especially for Black Friday and the pre-New Year period.

Evaluate not only sales but also recognition, search demand, traffic, leads, and delayed effect.

Tavr Media infographic

Thus, Q4 2026 and Q1 2027 may become a period when the resilience of the media plan is as important as its usual reach and contact cost indicators. Therefore outages should be taken into account already at the planning stage of an advertising campaign, not after the problem arises.