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Alphabet, Meta and Amazon to take half of $1 trillion ad market in 2025

The global ad market has largely weathered the impact of COVID-19, so far, and is on course to reach a value of US$1 trillion in 2025, with more than half of this money paid to just three companies – Alphabet, Meta and Amazon – according to the latest Global Advertising Trends report from WARC Data.

Global Advertising Trends: Where is the money going?

• Following on from a meteoric 23.8% rise to a total of US$771 billion this year, advertising investment is forecast to rise by a further 12.5% and 8.3% in 2022 and 2023 respectively, with e-commerce platforms set to lead this growth.
• A survey of 1,350+ marketing practitioners, carried out recently by WARC (before the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19), shows that two in three marketers already committing budgets to Amazon are intending to increase that spend, while heightened advertiser demand is pushing up the average cost-per-click. 
  
• Two thirds of advertising professionals are planning to up spend on TikTok next year, while YouTube (61% of surveyed practitioners), Instagram (60%) and Google (57%) are also set to benefit from higher spend in 2022.
• All product sectors are projected to top pre-COVID investment next year, while most sectors were able to record a full recovery this year. Notable exceptions include transport & tourism, which led growth with an absolute increase of $12.5bn this year but this is still almost $2.9bn down on pre-pandemic spending levels.

WARC says 

“Despite potential headwinds, market data show that we are currently witnessing a boom in advertising trade like none seen before, led by increased demand for retail media and ancillary publishers such as Google and Instagram, which is now the world’s largest social platform. Our projections show that this trend is set to continue” – James McDonald, Director of Data, Intelligence & Forecasting, WARC.

Details of trends by media, format and product category can be viewed here.

Ten things CMOs can do to build a business case for their budget

With hard revenue figures, CMOs can show the short-term effects of marketing to the satisfaction of CEOs and CFOs but persuading them of the value of the long-term impact of their spending requires a different approach – one that is based on patience, trust and confidence.

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Christine Moorman of Duke University and Jennifer Veenstra of Deloitte outline ten key actions CMOs can take, based on evidence from recent and forthcoming studies.

1. Align marketing with wider business priorities and strategies

If market leadership is sought, for example, then brand building is important, but if the business is defending itself against new market entrants then strengthening customer relationships will be more important – and the metrics tracked most closely will differ accordingly. 

2. Work closely with the CFO

It’s a good idea for marketing and finance to work together more than is currently the case. With finance becoming involved at the early stages of marketing initiatives there is scope to improve planning and decision-making, and enable agile reaction if necessary.

3. Develop a shared logic 

Explain clearly how and why marketing spend will impact various business activities and outcomes. Getting all senior decision makers – and especially the CFO – on board means buy-in from the start.

4. Measure consistently

Marketing leaders must show their impact on KPIs associated with the brand and customer relationships – and they must regularly track these measures.

5. Create a full funnel view

CFOs understand the success of marketing investments in terms of financial data, which generally comes from the bottom of the funnel. CMOs have to show that marketing delivers value in each part of the funnel: how will that be measured and how will that tie in with business strategy?

6. Build relationships in the C-suite

The case for marketing spending is best made one-on-one, rather than in monthly meetings of the senior management team. 

7. Use control groups 

The case for marketing spending is best made by demonstrating, via an experiment using a control group, what happens when there’s no spending. An ambitious approach here can guide marketing investments and build C-suite confidence.

8. Remind what marketing does for costs

Happy customers are more responsive to brand marketing and sales efforts and more likely to share positive word of mouth. That means an average 3% savings in future expenditures. 

9. Close the metrics gap

Marketing leaders need up-to-date knowledge to drive conversations about budgets. Ensure that all metrics are collected regularly, not just those pertaining to sales and digital performance. 

10. Make the investment case

All of the above can help CMOs educate senior non-marketing colleagues as to why marketing should be regarded as an investment not a cost.

Sourced from Harvard Business Review

All product sectors projected to top pre-COVID ad investment next year

Most product categories were able to record a full advertising recovery this year but there are notable exceptions, according to WARC Data's latest Global Advertising Trends report.

Why it matters

COVID caused a severe disruption to advertising budgets but this latest research shows most product categories have rebounded this year and those that haven't will fully recover by 2022.

At the same time, some categories have registered continuous growth throughout the last couple of years – telecoms & utilities advertising is worth up to $35bn more than before the pandemic.

Takeaways

• Most product categories were able to record a full advertising recovery this year.
• There are notable exceptions, though - transport & tourism leads growth with an absolute increase of $12.5bn this year but is still almost $2.9bn down on 2019 levels.
• When compared to 2019, shortfalls of varying degrees were also recorded among a number of CPG sectors this year.

WARC Data's latest report provides advertising investment forecasts for 2022 and 2023. The full report is available to WARC Data clients while a free sample is available here.

Sourced from WARC Data

Morrisons targets carbon-neutral eggs: Its secret weapon? Insects

Morrisons, the UK supermarket, is aiming to sell carbon-neutral eggs in 2022, thanks to a scheme that will see chickens fed on insects grown in shipping containers on farms.

Why it matters

In sustainability terms, it’s potentially a big step forward – a sort of proof of concept of “circular agriculture”. This scheme sees waste from one of the supermarket’s fruit and vegetable processing sites used to produce insects to feed chickens, and is a huge shift away from the use of imported soya which has been linked to deforestation in the Amazon.

The man behind the start-up supplying the insect farms claims they could cut almost 35,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year if used across all 60 of Morrisons’ egg farms, the Financial Times reports.

Takeaways

• Bought-in feed makes up 85% of an egg’s carbon footprint, according to the British Free Range Egg Producers Association.
• Morrisons is also working with Queen’s University Belfast on a three-year trial looking at the use of seaweed supplements to help to reduce methane emissions from cattle. 
• Sainsbury’s has introduced a carbon-neutral egg that eschews the use of soya as a feed and relies instead on locally grown beans. 

Key quote

“Reducing soya from livestock feed is one of the key challenges for farms needing to lower their carbon footprint and we wanted to help find a solution” – Sophie Throup, head of agriculture at Morrisons.

Sourced from Financial Times, Morrisons

Tatler Asia to pivot for today’s values-driven consumer

Tatler Asia, a luxury lifestyle media publication, will be placing greater focus on topics with purpose – such as female empowerment, sustainability, equality, LGBTQ, philanthropy and entrepreneurship – following a survey to understand what people want and require from the media they consume.

Why it matters

There has been a shift in people’s outlook on media and lifestyle preferences in the last five years, with individuals re-evaluating life choices amid the pandemic, thus requiring a redefinition of media for the future and the introduction of new initiatives while leading conversations that matter.

Key insights

Some useful statistics from the report include:

• 51% of luxury consumers in Asia have shifted their definition of luxury, valuing personalised products and experiences.
• 85% of luxury consumers believe wellness is a luxury, becoming more health-conscious and focused on sustainable alternatives.
• 70% changed their luxury purchase preferences during the pandemic, opting for quality over quantity.
• Fine dining is considered the number one hobby for luxury consumers in Asia, followed by shopping and exercise.
• HNWIs and UHNWIs engage more often in leisure activities than emerging affluent luxury consumers.
• Luxury consumers would like to read more content on entrepreneurship and environmental issues.

Quote

“Our ultimate goal is to empower Asia’s most influential and affluent communities to live their best life and make a positive impact on the world.” – Michel Lamunière, chairman and CEO, Tatler Asia

Background

From July 13 to Sept 10, 2021, the Tatler Audience Survey studied over 2,000 respondents from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, with 51% having an annual household net worth of over US$1 million, 36% with US$100,000–US$1 million, and 13% under US$100,000.

China's 'cleanfluencers' signal sustainable trend

International brands still see China as their route to growth, but they may need to revise their approach as younger Chinese consumers develop a taste for a simpler lifestyle.

Why it matters

Years of economic growth and enthusiastic purchasing of all manner of consumer goods, not least during sales festivals like Singles Day, have resulted in people accumulating a lot of stuff. Now comes the backlash as a younger generation looks to not only declutter their living space but to embrace a new “inspirational minimalism” that can bring greater happiness and less financial stress. 

Takeaways 

• Searches for wardrobe organisation and decluttering content on China’s search engine Baidu have tripled in two years, Vogue Business reports, leading to a growing number of “cleanfluencers” on social media (but especially video sharing site Bilibili) advising on these issues.
• Consumers are looking beyond simply decluttering to the root cause of the problem.
• Shopping as a relaxation activity may be replaced with a “low-desire life” as younger consumers fight back against constant encouragement to buy things.
• There is now a RMB 100bn ($15.6bn) professional organiser industry in the country, according to research firm CIRN, one that is forecast to grow at more than 20% a year for the next five years.

Sourced from Vogue Business

A dictionary of Web 3 terms for those who don’t have the time to learn them all

The decentralised web, NFTs, POAP, crypto-anything: if you’re finding the whole thing exhausting, you’re not alone. Across LinkedIn and Twitter, the 'crypto-bros' are getting excited about this stuff, and it’s time we paused to understand it – all in less than 5 minutes.

Why it matters

Blockchains have been an esoteric technology despite existing for around a decade now. Web 3, according to its promoters, is when it hits the mainstream and could end up overturning the whole thing.

Many webs

Web 2 was based on rich experiences, interactivity, social networks and other platforms to find content. Despite an explosion of user-generated content in this time, advertising remained core to its funding.

Web 3, by contrast, remains an idea but holds decentralisation as an article of faith. Blockchain is touted as the key that will unlock it.

In part, it’s an utopian ideal that saw the explosion in cryptocurrencies as an indicator that there was an alternative way to construct the web according to principles of shared ownership or other kinds of anarcho-libertarian organisation, rather than access according to the rules of a handful of ultra-powerful gatekeepers.

Questions, however, remain about the possibility of open protocols that make the web interoperable, and then whether a blockchain can be built that can deal with all of the information that mainstream finance moves around.

Why should you care

Actual brands, including Budweiser and Adidas,  are now starting to invest real money into this stuff.  It wouldn’t be the first time (and certainly not the last) that money is thrown at the new new thing just in case it gets big, but Adidas’ method is worth noting, given its heavy reliance on partners.

Terms you should know

Blockchain: A distributed ledger, effectively a record book held together by cryptography where every additional change – say a transaction – is recorded across the ledger. As a result, it’s impossible to alter a single record without affecting all the others.

NFT: Non-Fungible Tokens are coming close to being synonymous with images of monkeys but the image is, in many ways incidental. What matters is the collectable digital asset: who made it, who owns it, and a load of other possible metadata about it are stored on the blockchain. While the focus has been on the massive profits (and massive carbon emissions), perhaps the more interesting aspect is what it offers creators who are able to retain a connection to their work even as it spreads about the internet.

POAP: A Proof of Attendance Protocol is like a digital ticket stub: a digital record (NFT) that proves that you were at an event. Adidas is now dabbling in this space. This is one to really look out for as this has enormous potential for brands and companies in general, somewhere between a voting share, a poster, and loyalty card.

PFP: This is a kind of NFT employed as a profile picture. A good example of this is the craze for CryptoPunks (or the Gorillaz-style monkeys popping up all over the place). In March 2021, one of those CryptoPunk NFTs sold for $7.5 million. And the buyer became the proud owner of a digital icon of a pipe-smoking alien. However, with online presences incredibly important to people’s lives, this is a clear opportunity for apparel/fashion brands.

The metaverse: Something of a panacea that all this digital ownership can help to colour. This is a huge mass of different technologies, but mechanisms of digital ownership need to exist across different systems – if you buy an NFT you want to be able to use it on Meta apps and on Niantic or Microsoft apps.

^{[Image: Bored Ape Yacht Club, announcing a partnership with Adidas]}

Why consumers are right on greenwashing

When it comes to sustainability, UK consumers lack trust in the brands they buy from – but businesses themselves don’t have much trust in their suppliers either, new research shows. 

Why it matters

A survey by compliance management software company NAVEX Global found that 55% of businesses agree that profit, rather than making a positive difference to the world, is the primary driver of action on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Add in a large element of uncertainty around the good faith of their suppliers and it seems consumers are rightly sceptical of claims made by brands in this area. Businesses face a real challenge to avoid accusations of greenwashing. 

Key findings

• Less than half of consumers (49%) trust brands that say they’re sustainably and ethically driven in their marketing and branding, or that they are aiming to achieve net zero by a certain date (47%).
• Only 17% of all businesses surveyed were completely confident that the businesses they partner with or outsource to operate ethically and sustainably, despite 45% saying they personally research companies they work with.
• Only a quarter (25%) of consumers think making a positive difference in the world is one of businesses’ top two motivations for undertaking ESG efforts. 
• Just 27% of businesses say ESG investment is one of their top three priorities for the next financial year, despite the fact that over half (55%) of consumers think it should be a top three priority.

Key quote

“Ethics and sustainability are major issues in our fight to save the planet and businesses that are driven by that, rather than the bottom line, will engage with customers more authentically and build trust where it’s lacking” – Fathia Murphy, ESG product specialist, NAVEX Global.

Sourced from NAVEX Global

Consumers to spend more on food and drink but less on gifts this festive season

Consumers are expecting to spend more on food and drink this festive holiday season but less on gifts, home goods, furnishings and travel, according to data from Kantar.

Why it matters

Consumer uncertainty and a post-COVID future are potentially weighing on spending this year. For example, while some consumers want this year to be bigger and brighter than 2020's largely muted affair, others want a simpler time at home. Consumer spending this festive holiday season will also be affected by wider trends, such as the growth in e-commerce – a third (35%) of consumers say they prefer to shop for groceries online.

Takeaways

• A quarter (23%) of consumers said they expect to spend more on food and drink this festive season when compared to previous years, with 17% saying they will spend less.
• For other categories, like gifts, home goods, furnishings and travel, the share of consumers spending less is larger than those spending more.

Sourced from Kantar, WARC Data

Mindshare and Unilever top the Media 100

Mindshare is the top agency network and Unilever the top brand owner in the WARC Media 100 rankings for 2021. 

The 2021 WARC Rankings – Creative 100, Media 100, Effective 100 – were postponed from Q1 until now because of the disruption to the awards industry caused by COVID-19. Many award shows paused in 2020 and resumed in 2021 to judge two-years of work. 

The top three spots in the different categories within the Media 100, along with scores and movement from the last ranking, are listed below.

Campaigns

1. Rabbi Bot · Always · MediaCom Connections Tel Aviv / ACW Grey Tel Aviv / GO Digital Marketing Netanya · 95.4 points
2. The Shape of History · Hulu · UM Los Angeles · 81.1 points
3. Naming The Invisible By Digital Birth Registration · Telenor · Ogilvy Islamabad · 70 points

Brands

1. McDonald’s · 135.3 points · up from #8
2. Nike · 118.6 points · up from #4
3. Always · 92.7 points · new entry

Advertisers

1. Unilever · Netherlands / UK · 346.4 points · no change #1
2. Procter & Gamble · US · 278.8 points · up from #3
3. The Walt Disney Company · US · 183.7 points · up from #10

Agencies

1. Mindshare Shanghai · Mindshare Worldwide · 215.4 points · up from #2
2. MediaCom Connections Tel Aviv · MediaCom · 184.1 · up from #6
3. Mindshare Ho Chi Minh City · Mindshare Worldwide · 122.2 points · up from #15

Networks 

1. Mindshare Worldwide · 774.6 points · no change #1
2. MediaCom · 695.7 points · no change #2
3. IPG Mediabrands · 585.5 points · no change #3

Holding companies

1. WPP · 2038.9 points · no change #1
2. Omnicom Group · 1206.9 points · no change #2
3. Interpublic Group · 958.9 points · no change #3

Countries

1. USA · 1274.4 points · no change #1
2. UK · 711.5 points· no change #2
3. China · 431.1 points · no change #3

Adam Gerhart, global CEO, Mindshare, said: “My congratulations and thanks go out to every person at Mindshare who does this every day across our network [and] to our clients who are true partners and believers in our people and our mission.” 

Full rankings are listed here. WARC Rankings subscribers can also view all the ranked creative, credits and case study summaries, in addition to further data by category and region.

These annual league tables are produced by combining the winners’ lists from the industry’s most important global and regional awards shows – as determined by the WARC Rankings Advisory Board and a worldwide industry survey – and by applying a rigorous proprietary three-step methodology.

Omicron hits pause on travel and events

With an ominously titled new Covid variant, companies in sectors dependent on people coming together in close proximity await some certainty about what Omicron means for business.

Why it matters

We are now well into the pandemic, and at this point with the festive period fast approaching, businesses and individuals are starting to work out how Covid – or, better put, the measures used to slow its spread – work. Relentless positivity won’t work, even if governments continue to pursue that strategy, but businesses and the public are following the news closely and are ready to adapt.

What’s happening

As the world awaits scientific consensus on whether this variant is worse than Delta, its effects are being felt around the world.

Low-cost UK airline easyJet has told investors that it expects its quarterly capacity to be just 65% that of pre-pandemic levels (rather than its projected 70%), the WSJ reports.

What’s particularly interesting is that the company is seeing customers adapting plans rather than cancelling. “When they are taking action, they are rebooking to the early part of next year,” says CEO Johan Lundgren. Pandemic flexibility looks here to stay.

Though more stringent testing is adding to this, many events businesses and the auxiliary services like hotels and restaurants are preparing as much for government-mandated measures as individual reticence ahead of the holidays.

Meanwhile, the OECD has said that the new variant threatens to worsen some of the late pandemic’s trickier economic problems by adding uncertainty, which could likely exacerbate supply chain issues and further drive up inflation.

Sourced from the WSJ, FT

Think Forward 2022 social trends report: What you need to know

The socially led creative agency We are Social has surveyed audiences from around the world to map the shape of digital in 2022: what’s important, what’s industry hype, and how people are actually using social media.

Why it matters

Based on a survey of 3,000 daily social media users from the US, UK, France, Italy, China, and Australia, Think Forward 2022 is a chunky piece of work capable of showing up false orthodoxies before they solidify, and illuminating under-regarded areas of the digital realm.

What’s going on

“Many marketers are going to decide if 2022 is the year they ‘do an NFT’ without really knowing why”, notes Mobbie Nazir, chief strategy officer at We Are Social, in a statement. Despite daily social media use, 85% of the survey sample are in the dark when it comes to understanding the concept of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Understanding the deeper motivations will help brands “approach this area more strategically and ensure that if and when that first branded NFT is launched, it’s something effective.”

The trends

• People are beginning to see value in digital goods. Gen-Zers lead here, with 33% of the age group in the survey reporting ownership of some digital clothing. These don’t have to be NFTs, remember; Gucci is selling successfully on Roblox.
• Social media users are using platforms for self-directed learning, with more (57%) claiming they have learned practical life skills online. Having users in a knowledge-acquisition mindset is good news for marketers.
• Platforms hit prime time. Data from TikTok indicates 35% of its users have watched less TV and streaming since downloading, suggesting that entertainment can increasingly sit comfortably in a social-first format, a worthy idea for both brands and broadcasters to engage with.
• Cynicism about social is on the up, especially among the young. 43% of Gen Z users globally agree that the algorithms which determine what we see on our feeds have a negative impact on their media diet. Overdone tropes and coming late to memes is, as ever, rich comedic material; brands need to embrace novelty.
• Social sounds. 30% of 18-34s say they use social with sound on more now than before Covid-19. For brands, this is a chance to inspire emotions in audiences – the ultimate goal of many long-term marketing strategies.

Read: We Are Social’s head of cultural insights, Lore Oxford, delves into the trends

McCann Worldgroup and McDonald's top Effective 100

McCann Worldgroup is the top network in the WARC Effective 100 rankings for 2021, with Ingage Istanbul emerging as the leading digital/specialist agency, while McDonald’s is the most effective brand. 

The 2021 WARC Rankings – Creative 100, Media 100, Effective 100 – were postponed from Q1 until now because of the disruption to the awards industry caused by COVID-19. Many award shows paused in 2020 and resumed in 2021 to judge two-years of work. 

The top three spots in the different categories within the Effective 100, along with scores and movement from the last ranking, are listed below.

Campaigns

1. I’m Drinking It For You · DB Export · Colenso BBDO Auckland / Carat Auckland / Red Star Auckland · 51.7 points 
2. Can’t Touch This · Cheetos · Goodby Silverstein & Partners San Francisco · 50 points
3. Michelin Impossible · KFC · Ogilvy Sydney · 47.2 points

Brands

1. McDonald’s · 209.8 points · no change #1
2. KFC · 163.3 points · up from #4
3. Coca-Cola · 135.9 points · down from #2

Advertisers

1. Unilever · Netherlands / UK · 240 points · no change #1
2. McDonald’s · US · 209.8 points · up from #6
3. The Coca Cola Company · 166.3 points · down from #2

Creative agencies

1. FP7 McCann Dubai · McCann Worldgroup · 95.8 points · no change #1
2. Colenso BBDO Auckland · BBDO Worldwide · 92.9 points · new entry
3. BMF Sydney · Enero Group · 92.1 points · new entry

Digital / specialist agencies

1. Ingage Istanbul · Group M · 46.6 points · up from #46
2. AFFINITY Sydney · 39.5 points · new entry
3. Tribal Worldwide Bogotá · DDB Worldwide · 35.7 points · new entry

Media agencies

1. Carat London · Dentsu International · 61.3 points · new entry
2. Mindshare Istanbul · Mindshare Worldwide · 56.8 points · up from #4
3. Carat Auckland · Dentsu International · 51.6 points · up from #35

Networks

1. McCann Worldgroup · Interpublic Group · 694.1 points · no change #1
2. BBDO Worldgroup · Omnicom Group · 683.3 points · no change #2
3. Dentsu International · Dentsu · 569.7 points · up from #5

Holding companies

1. WPP · 1897 points · no change #1
2. Omnicom Group · 1749.7 points · no change #2
3. Interpublic Group · 1358.7 points · no change #3

Countries

1. USA · 1171.1 points · no change #1
2. China · 699.4 points · up from #4
3. India · 629.6 points · down from #2

Suzanne Powers, global president & CSO, McCann Worldgroup, said: “The WARC honour as the #1 most Effective network for 2021 is a testament to our teams’ unwavering dedication to using the power of creativity to drive impact for our clients’ brands across all of our regions.”

Full rankings are listed here. WARC Rankings subscribers can also view all the ranked creative, credits and case study summaries, in addition to further data by category and region.

These annual league tables are produced by combining the winners’ lists from the industry’s most important global and regional awards shows – as determined by the WARC Rankings Advisory Board and a worldwide industry survey – and by applying a rigorous proprietary three-step methodology.

Australia's News Media Bargaining Code brings small publisher bargaining ahead of review

A piece of legislation that became notorious thanks to Google and the firm FKA Facebook, now Meta, taking robust opposition to its collective bargaining clause has shown some flaws in action as the biggest publishers have secured big, secretive deals, while – as predicted – smaller publishers have struggled to gain a foothold.

The News Media Bargaining Code, which came into force earlier this year, is a tool that aims to correct power and revenue imbalances between global tech platforms and Australian news publishers whose work is surfaced (and sometimes subtly repackaged) for platform distribution.

A collective bargain

• Eighteen small Australian publishers have joined together as the Public Interest Publishers Alliance – with support from mining billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation charity, a representative of which is leading the discussion – the Press Gazette reports. Its efforts to do so are allowed under the law’s waiver of competition law in these circumstances, but require one more important step.
• Now, the problem is that the legislation worked too well until it didn’t. Without the Australian government having to designate who counted as platforms under the legislation, tech giants and publishers got to business sorting out deals on a confidential basis.
• As predicted, this meant that the law never found its bite and the publishers who really could have done with some redistributed income were left out in the cold. The Alliance is now waging a campaign for the government to designate Facebook and Google as platforms in order to force negotiations.
• The question now is whether they can build the requisite political pressure to get that designation in place. Governments, regulators, and indeed platform representatives around the world will be following the news closely.

Under review

As predicted, the law helped the big boys but left out smaller players (there’s a $150,000 revenue threshold to qualify as a publisher that can negotiate). 

Early next year, the Treasury will begin a review of the law’s effectiveness, but as a piece in the Conversation by researchers at the University of Canberra points out, how can it be properly judged if its most important and controversial element – the designation of who is and isn’t covered – hasn’t been put to the test.

Broadly, any review will seek to understand the legislation’s effect on the health of news, notably whether it has impacted the number of journalists employed, how many new journalists are being recruited and trained, and whether outlets have been closed, reduced, or expanded.

Sourced from Press Gazette, WARC, The Conversation

Linear TV sees smaller audiences but higher consumption

Linear TV is settling into a post-pandemic trend of smaller audiences but higher consumption, according to smart TV data from viewership company Samba TV.s

Why it matters

This follows a surge in audiences and viewing last year which has since eased. New habits, including a growing role for online video, will be key to TV's performance next year. For example, sports content, one of linear's biggest drivers, has seen a continued decline in viewership as many sports leagues shift to streaming and fans move to short-form highlights.

Takeaways

• Linear TV is settling into a post-pandemic trend of smaller audiences but higher consumption as daily reach declines but minutes watched rise.
• This comes as the cost of TV advertising is expected to rise by 6% this year worldwide, the largest increase across different media.

Sourced from Samba TV, WARC Data

Tesco launches first-party-data media and insight platform

British grocery giant Tesco is launching a media and insights platform to connect brands and their agencies with the retailer’s extensive first-party behavioural dataset from the longstanding Clubcard loyalty scheme.

Why it matters

Snappily titled Tesco Media and Insight, powered by dunnhumby, the platform aims to unite the retailer’s loyalty and in-store data with dunnhumby’s data science chops to create a closed-loop platform. It follows similar efforts by Walmart in the US.

Context: massive reach

Tesco claims its Clubcard is used by more than 20 million households. In dunnhumby’s telling, the new platform will open access to Tesco’s 27.6% share of the UK grocery market and 36% share of the online grocery market. Dunnhumby began its relationship with the retailer at the launch of the Clubcard in 1994 and is now wholly owned by Tesco.

Given the Clubcard scheme remains successful and popular, Tesco will have to be extremely careful with its deployment of ads on the customer side, given they will come through as personalised recommendations.

Effectively, that means it has a very compelling offer of both high reach media and a solid measurement platform, as a buyer should be able to see whether ad spend has led to instore or online spend. According to a trial, the measurement tools have allowed brands “to see the true return on spend, with an average ROAS of £6.60 with Tesco Media, compared to an average of £3.80 on other channels”.

On the media side, the company claimed to reach 58% of the UK population every week, putting it among some of the country’s biggest media owners, Marketing Week reported.

“Our new platform will bring together the wealth of customer knowledge we have, with the insights from dunnhumby, and use it in a way that helps our brands to be more efficient and targeted and ultimately to serve our customers better”, says Alessandra Bellini, Tesco Chief Customer Officer in a statement.

At the launch event, covered in part by MediaTel, Bellini compared the new system to offers from major US retailers like Walmart’s Connect and Target’s Roundel.

The effort fits into a much wider trend of retail media, and further emphasises the value of first-party data to companies well ahead of the decline of third-party cookies.

Sourced from Tesco, Marketing Week, MediaTel, WARC

5G: Fast mobile networks have brought the world online

New data from Ericsson, the Swedish telecoms and networking multinational, shows how 4G helped to bring the world online, how the pandemic accelerated how we all use mobile networks, and how the rapid spread of 5G will mark another turning point.

Ericsson’s Mobility Report for November 2021 looks back at the last decade of data use, one that saw 5.5 billion smartphone users come online.

Why it matters

5G is rolling out, sometimes controversially, sometimes for reasons that people don’t understand. But networks are becoming more widespread and devices that use the 5G signal are becoming more affordable; 5G connectivity – with all the possibilities that the additional bandwidth brings – is expected to be dominant by 2027.

The figures

• 5G is expected to account for around 50% of all mobile subscriptions worldwide, covering 75% of the world’s population and carrying 62% of global smartphone traffic by 2027.
• More 5G handsets in circulation earlier in the technology’s lifecycle has spurred incredible mobile traffic growth: mobile network data traffic was up 42% year-on-year in Q3 2021.
• In Q3 alone, mobile data traffic was more than all mobile traffic ever generated up until the end of 2016. Think on that.

Sourced from Ericsson