Commentary

YOY Ad Spend Performance Predictor

 New data released by data science and marketing technology company, 4C Insights, disproves skeptics predicting a doomsday scenario for Facebook, revealing a 19% increase in ad spend on its core platform, and Instagram quarter-over-quarter and a 48% increase year-over-year.

In Q2 2018, says the report, the media world continued to adapt to industry-changing developments. In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, privacy was a topic on every marketer’s mind this quarter. While some skeptics predicted a doomsday scenario, 4C saw a 15% overall increase in digital ad spend quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and 49% increase year over- year (YoY), showing that advertisers aren’t shying away from social and mobile platforms. 

Digital Advertising  Each of the digital publishers, saw a YoY increase in ad spend, through 4C. Since seasonality tends to cause advertising investment to fluctuate on a quarterly basis, year-over-year increases are typically a strong indicator of sector health. 

In Q2, the travel and home & garden verticals made outsized contributions to advertising growth through 4C across several publishers, in keeping with the trend for both vacations and home improvement activity that increases in the spring season. Brands that reached destination-minded consumers with relevant content saw great results. 

  • Facebook Facebook saw a 26% increase YoY through 4C in Q2 and increases in ad pricing and engagement metrics. New developments like Story Ads continue to draw advertisers to the platform. As our CMO, Aaron Goldman, wrote in MediaPost, “when we look back in a few years, we’ll characterize this period as a mere pit stop while the Facebook train kept a-rollin’.” 
  • Instagram Advertising spend through 4C increased 204% YoY for Instagram in Q2. Instagram continues to be a popular investment for advertisers looking for high-impact placements. Instagram announced IGTV in Q2, and according to Mara Greenwald, Media Director at Performics, “While ads are not yet available, IGTV ads will likely be in a full-screen, in-stream, non-skippable format. With viewability concerns about feed-based video content, IGTV has huge potential for a successful ad product, especially as social video continues to be measured more closely with television and online-video.”
    • LinkedIn LinkedIn saw the largest YoY increase in ad spend through 4C in Q2 at 212%. Video Ads rolled out to marketers in Q2, contributing to the growth in budget. Health and travel verticals led LinkedIn’s advertising growth through 4C in Q2, with 1,257% and 1,411% increases YoY, respectively. As LinkedIn continues to introduce more visual ad formats, verticals like travel that rely heavily on imagery are investing more in these placements.
    • Pinterest Ad spend on Pinterest increased 36% YoY through 4C. Offerings like Shoppable Pins, which expanded to more advertisers this quarter, continue to draw advertisers to the platform. Brands in the entertainment and home & garden verticals contributed to Pinterest’s YoY advertising growth through 4C this quarter. 
    • Snapchat Snapchat advertising spend increased 45% YoY through 4C, led primarily by the health and apparel verticals. Snapchat introduced Shoppable AR lenses in Q2, offering advertisers a new direct response ad placement, and helping to draw in advertisers. As our CMO, Aaron Goldmanwrote in Adweek. “When it comes to AR, Snapchat has reached significant scale, with 70 million people playing with AR Snaps each day for an average of three minutes each based on figures provided by the company. 
    • Twitter Twitter saw a 26% YoY increase through 4C. As the platform continues to build its reputation as a destination for video and live streaming, advertisers are looking for opportunities to reach audiences during this content. The home & garden and travel verticals led advertising growth through 4C for Twitter in Q2, says the report. As Twitter finds its groove in the live programming space, it’s beginning to draw in a more mass market audience, and advertisers looking to appeal to this demographic are following suit. 
    • TV Ad Rankings TV viewing is now a multi-screen experience, and marketers are seizing the opportunity to mirror that experience with multi-screen advertising. In Q2, major sporting events like the NBA Finals and World Cup, and the ads accompanying them, drew in global audience attention across screens, says the report. 

During Q2, in the US, Toyota was the biggest broadcast TV advertiser, and Geico held its spot as the top cable advertiser. Brands with mass market appeal like car manufacturers, pharmaceuticals, and insurance companies dominated the rankings for US TV this quarter.

Ranked Advertiser 

Ad Mins

Ad Spots

QoQ

YoY

PrevRank

1. Toyota 

474

1,042

17%

-19%

4

2. Nissan 

473

961

6%

-8%

3

3. Chevrolet 

447

896

-5%

-11%

2

4. Ford 

346

728

0%

-11%

5

5. Geico 

328

678

-32%

-10%

1

6. McDonald’s 

325

926

16%

59%

9

7. Spectrum 

309

376

31%

15%

 

8. Lyrica 

302

322

-13%

-1%

6

9. Honda 

280

564

0%

-15%

8

10. Verizon 

267

550

33%

-12%

 

Source: The State of Media Advertising, 4C Insights, Inc. 

Trends 

Each year during Upfronts season, the industry talks about how TV planning & buying needs to change, and by the time the next Upfronts season rolls around, we seem to have the same conversation again. However, 2018 demonstrated some true steps forward, such as the NBCUniversal announcement and A&E proclamation that they will start measuring ad performance by business outcomes, concludes the report. 

 

 

 

 

 

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