Commentary

The World According To WARC

In its latest ad trends report, industry research service WARC has identified three broad trends in 2019, including changing consumer sentiment towards data usage, the social slowdown and the rising ad potential for gaming and podcasts. 

The report states that many consumers have taken steps to limit their online footprint in light of concerns around data misuse. Some 44% limit the amount of data they share online and over one-quarter (27%) deploy an ad blocker. 

Among industry pros, brand safety, context and negative adjacency remain major issues. 

On the social-media front, the report states 20% of marketers intend to reduce ad spend on Facebook in 2020, with Twitter and Snap “also facing the prospect of muted revenue growth.” 

The slowdown correlates to growing mistrust in information on social media and calls for greater regulation, per the report, which also notes a rising distrust in influencer content worldwide. 

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The ad potential for gaming is demonstrated by the fact that nearly 25% of adults viewed a gaming live-stream in the past month, a rate that rises to almost one-third among 16-24 year-olds. 

In the podcast sector, advertising is expected to double to $1.6 billion by 2022, per the report, which notes that 17% of listeners are much more likely to consider a brand after hearing its ad during a podcast. 

The full report is available to WARC members only, but a fairly detailed sample can be accessed here.

 

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