Biggest Ad Tech Underperforming Smaller Players During Ad Downturn

Ad-supported digital media companies recorded their slowest quarter in five years during the fourth quarter of 2022, but smaller companies outperformed so-called Big Ad Tech by a wide margin, according to an analysis of fourth-quarter advertising receipts processed by OAREX (Online Ad Revenue Exchange).

"Digital media revenue growth experienced a median growth of only 5%," OAREX notes in its fourth-quarter 2022 digital revenues report, released late Tuesday.

“'Big Ad Tech' performed worse than the rest," it continued, noting: "Google, Meta, and Snap also saw revenues dip, roughly in line with the companies reviewed.

"Outside of 'Big AdTech,' bigger was better," it continued, noting: "The data suggest that size and performance are correlated, with the year-over-year growth of larger companies (excluding Google, Meta, and Snap) outperforming the smaller ones."

The report concluded that the quarter wasn't "all grim," citing "some big winners," including ad-tech suppliers such as Unity, Perion, Zeta Global, Innovid, Hubspot, and DoubleVerify that each experienced year-over-year growth rates greater than 25%.

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