At Insider Intelligence, our forecasting team is constantly analyzing historical data, combing through insights from thousands of data sources, and reacting to industry forces to predict where markets and segments are heading. Peter Newman, senior forecasting analyst, worked on our latest forecast for US digital ad spending in Q1. He tells us how the recent market turmoil, supply chain issues, and economic uncertainty could impact the numbers in our forecast.
US adults are spending more time watching YouTube on connected TVs and less time watching it on mobile devices. This year, for the first time since we began our forecast, less than half of time spent with YouTube will be on mobile, as viewers pivot to watching these videos on the same screen as their TV programming, separate from their TikToks and Instagram Reels.
Google is releasing its “automatically created assets” feature into the wild, with more advertisers noticing the beta tool popping up in their Google Ads interface. This feature was first announced on May 24 at the Google Marketing Live virtual event, and it was suggested that this tool wouldn’t be made available until later in the year. The fact that it was showing up for some advertisers scant weeks later is a welcome surprise for those in the pilot group. Here’s how it works: These Google elements may use material from advertisers’ landing pages, domains, and existing ads and keywords to produce headlines, descriptions, and other assets. These automatically produced assets can be accepted and rejected at the campaign level. Why it matters: The assets Google generates could improve ad relevance by customizing ad headlines and descriptions to better respond to users’ unique search queries. Creating ads can be a somewhat monotonous process, and laborious as well. Making it easier for advertisers to create ads and variations of existing ads has the potential to be a net benefit for the search giant’s massive advertising business.
This year, 57% of US video ad spending will go to linear TV, a decline from 62% in 2021 and 71% in 2020. By comparison, ad spend share is increasing for connected TV (CTV) and other digital formats such as social video.
A bipartisan data crackdown is coming: A new bill restricts use of personal data, but leaves exceptions for anonymized data.
Search advertising is the oldest form of digital promotion, with roots in Google’s rise during the late 1990s. Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) were disciplines that brought legitimacy to digital marketing departments. The sustained performance of search to this day is a big part of why Google remains such a powerful digital ad platform.
Among US social network users, those ages 18 and older will spend an average of 1 hour, 40 minutes per day on those platforms in 2022, the same amount as last year. This figure is peaking after pandemic restrictions fueled a rapid rise in social media use over the past two years, and it will decline by 2 minutes next year.
Ford could follow Tesla’s lead eschewing transitional advertising for EVs: The move could dramatically impact media platforms—but will other EV makers follow suit?
Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Meta at a crossroads: Departure of No. 2 exec comes as company faces major business challenges.
The average US adult will spend more time watching digital video than TV in 2024, marking a victory for connected viewing in the streaming revolution. Daily time spent with TV will fall below 3 hours next year, down more than 1 hour, 30 minutes over the course of a decade.
Warner Bros. Discovery could use its size to boost ad costs: Media powerhouse seeking higher prices for its content in initial upfront talks.
Nielsen tries to modernize with new tools: The measurement giant is focusing on “bingeable” shows to inform licensing and production decisions.
ITV and Twitter try to capitalize on social media fandoms: Social media has long been a hub for fans, and networks are starting to tap in.
Nielsen avoided the death knell during upfronts: Competitors are emerging, but the measurement company still has time to prove its new alternatives can compete.
Amazon will make up 77.7% of US ecommerce channel ad revenues this year, contributing $27.94 billion of the $35.96 billion total.
Meta clashes with Apple over AppTrackingTransparency: The change damaged Meta’s profits, but Apple’s ad business is soaring.
Reddit trails other social networks in time spent: The platform’s efforts to boost its mainstream appeal could improve engagement.
Soft growth in a big market: Economic and pandemic headwinds restrain ad growth in China as tech crackdown challenges digital publishers.