Successful brands spend 82% of their budgets on TV and digital channels combined according to WARC’s new Media Allocation Benchmarks report.

Using its database of effective advertising campaigns, WARC has analysed over 1,130 case studies between 2009 and 2018 that contain budget and media allocation information for TV, digital (including online and mobile), OOH/experiential, print, and other media (including radio, design, direct marketing, cinema, PR and any other media).

The report finds that the biggest determinant of media allocation is the size of the budget: successful, prize-winning low-budget campaigns are highly digital-focused. At high budget levels, TV takes up more than 60% of a prize-winning brand’s advertising investment.

Media allocation also varies by sector. Categories with low budgets are highly digital-led, whereas categories with high budgets, such as drinks, tend to spend more on TV. Alcoholic drinks brands allocate just under half (49%) their spend to TV, while soft drinks slightly less (41%).

It’s also the case that campaigns with higher TV allocations often use storytelling as the creative strategy: prize-winning storytelling campaigns allocate 44% of their budgets to TV (and also have the lowest allocation to digital).

Campaigns centring on a stunt have the most varied media allocation, dominated by digital but supported by a 19% allocation to OOH and a 14% allocation to media other than TV, digital, OOH or print.

“Getting the right balance when allocating media budgets is critical to the success of a campaign,” noted Amy Rodgers, Managing Editor, Research & Rankings WARC.

“The findings in this year’s report show an increase of adspend for TV, which delivers reach, and digital, which supplements reach and aids activation.” 

WARC subscribers can download the full Media Allocations Benchmark report, which includes charts, sector and country data, here.

Sourced from WARC