• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, February 1, 2018

According to The State of Media Advertising by 4C, (a leader in data science and media technology) as consumer attention is increasingly split across screens, marketers are looking holistically at all touchpoints to find their audiences in the right place, at the right time. It’s not enough anymore to look at digital media and TV advertising as separate channels with separate audiences that may potentially overlap. Advances in technology have allowed for incorporating audience data into both digital media and TV campaigns, presenting advertisers the opportunity to launch true cross-screen advertising efforts.

Given these industry changes, we thought it’s time to take a holistic approach ourselves. Previously, we presented our State of Social Media reports to show key areas of social advertising growth within the channel. Now,

As marketers orient their campaigns around audiences, and platforms expand beyond social content and utility, 4C presents the State of Media report, detaiing data and advertising trends across premium channels, specifically:

• DIGITAL ADVERTISING, a representative sample ($400 million in media spend across 1,000+ individual brands) of brands active across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Snapchat.
• TV ADVERTISING, looking at which brands were advertising the most in the US and UK over the past quarter, measured on cross-screen engagement, combining TV & social data together

Digital Advertising

• Overall digital ad spend through 4C increased 28% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and 54% year-over-year (YoY). In Q4, retail and apparel drove ad spend across several publishers. Advertisers in these verticals made a push heading into holiday shopping season, when consumers are likely to be drawn in by ads as they actively search for gift ideas.
• The government/organizations vertical also led spend growth in Q4 especially drawn to platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, where the user base tends to skew younger. With political campaigns constantly making an appeal to Millennials (the largest generation in the voting population) these platforms represent an important opportunity for reaching potential voters.
• Facebook  ad spend through 4C grew 38% QoQ and 125% YoY. The value of engagement with Facebook ads continues to grow, with the average cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) and cost-per-click increasing 27% and 17% QoQ, respectively.
• The apparel and government/organizations verticals grew the most on Facebook in Q4, with increases of 178% and 106% QoQ. Features that allow for highly-visual ads, like Carousel ads, as well as continuous improvements to targeting features have contributed to growth in advertising spend on the platform.

INSTAGRAM: Advertisers continue to invest in placements on Instagram, with spend through 4C growing 27% QoQ and 155% YoY.

• The government/organizations and travel verticals were responsible for the greatest growth in Instagram ad spend in Q4, with 373% and 145% QoQ. Instagram continues to use its place as a visual platform to appeal to advertisers, with features like Instagram Stories allowing for full-screen ad experiences. With a 1,006% increase in ad spend YoY, travel brands are investing heavily in Instagram’s visual strengths

LINKEDIN: Business-to-business marketers are turning to LinkedIn as a resource for branding and demand generation. While the cost of advertising on LinkedIn tends to be higher than other platforms, ad spend grew 85% QoQ and 81% YoY, showing the investment continues to pay off.

• The telecommunications and apparel verticals led the charge for LinkedIn advertising growth in Q4 with astronomical 8,062% and 3,935% increases QoQ. Following this past summer’s introduction of LinkedIn Video, the platform is becoming increasingly engaging, and it’s continuing to attract advertisers.

PINTEREST: Pinterest Pinterest holds a unique quality as a destination where users directly express their interests simply by using the platform. Ad spend on Pinterest increased 76% QoQ and 73% YoY in Q4

• The electronics/technology and services verticals led advertising growth on Pinterest with 292% and 175% QoQ increases. Leading into the holidays, many Pinterest users lean on the platform for shopping ideas, and advertisers can benefit from features like Buyable Pins.

SNAPCHAT: Snapchat Since the introduction of Snap Ads, advertisers have continued to increase investment in the platform. Ad spend through 4C increased 29% QoQ and a whopping 2,977% YoY to close out the first full year of self-serve Snap Ads.

• The services and government/organizations verticals saw the greatest increases in ad spend on Snapchat, with 188% and 146%, respectively. A continuous increase in content from publishers and the recent app redesign creating a publisher “hub” of sorts, as well as the ever-attractive younger demographic, draws advertisers to the platform.

TWITTER: With seasonal shopping as a main focal point for Q4, tech brands like Google, Apple, and Samsung upped their broadcast ad time, as did retail powerhouse Target, to capture the attention of consumers in the market for their products. As popular destinations for holiday shopping, these brands likely benefit from the wide reach of broadcast TV where viewers from varying demographic groups could be potential customers.

• Car brands like Toyota and Chevrolet also continued to make investments in broadcast TV ad time, where they are likely to reach broad audiences that may be in the market for new vehicles.
• The top brands advertising on cable TV in the US stayed relatively the same from Q3 to Q4, with Burger King and Volkswagen as the only two new additions to the top 10. Cable ad time is a popular investment for both insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

TV SOCIAL LIFT RANKINGS: In the US, Amazon and Disney saw the greatest increase in social engagement in the two minutes following their TV ads in Q4. Amazon’s TV spots featured humorous ads showcasing AI-assistant Alexa’s capabilities.

Concluding, the report says that  with big events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars coming up in Q1, it’s important for marketers to leverage audiences across screens during big moments. Large advertisers paying premium prices for ad spots during the big game can increase their impact by running cross-channel campaigns to reach not only the live broadcast audience but also deliver more custom, targeted messaging across digital media. Advertisers who aren’t investing in Super Bowl spots can still leverage the game on the second screen by syncing ads to big moments or including audience targeting to reach football fans across channels.

For more data and charts online, please visit here.