• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 3, 2021

Media ad budgets in 2022 are expected to increase 13% compared with the prior year, according to media buyers and brands participating in a study from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) released Wednesday.

First-party data acquisition, partnerships, and measurement are key factors in the coming year.

The IAB's second of two studies conducted in 2021 provides insights into the ad-supported internet ecosystem focusing on buyer investments and trends needed for strategic planning.

The first study, conducted in March 2021, provides a baseline for ad spend in 2021 by channel.

The 2021 Fall Impact Study, Buyers Perspective on 2022 Media, Planning & Budgeting provides insight into whether ad investments, planning, strategies, and tactics will shift in 2022.

The survey was completed by media buyers, planners and marketers between September 2 and September 21, 2021.

The findings show that budgets continue to shift to digital, with traditional media projected to lose 6% in 2022, mostly from linear TV.

Digital video will take the greatest percentage of share in the U.S., with an estimated budget spend of 19.3% in 2022.

Social media is estimated to take 16.6%, digital display about 16.4%, and paid search about 13.7%.

Linear TV is estimated at 13.3% and all other traditional such as radio, print and direct email about 13.3%.

Top investment areas include partnerships with content publishers that have first-party data.

Companies are expected to spend about 21% more in this area in 2022, compared with the prior year. Top investment areas for ad formats and channels show that buyers want effective targeting and performance.

With this change, social media ad placement is estimated to receive 19%, addressable TV about 17%, paid search platforms at 17%, and shoppable ads at 17%.

Half of buyers said their 2022 budgets will include greater investment with minority audiences, with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and those related to Latin American origin or descent will get the majority of that increase.

Those buying advertising said positive shift to digital will be distributed across the channels fairly evenly, and while digital video holds the greatest percent share of the total media budget, it does not show a year-on-year growth.

The findings also show that budget allocation and reallocation will be examined with greater frequency than has been occurring historically.

The ad industry also continues to explore ways to address and correct the racial imbalance in staffing.