Media Buying

The coronavirus pandemic dampened growth in US mobile ad spending. This year, we expect US mobile ad spending will rise by 22.2% to $117.35 billion, which falls below our pre-pandemic estimate ($123.59 billion).

Out-of-home ad spending was the hardest-hit ad sector during 2020, according to our estimates. Lingering concerns about crowded public spaces will potentially drag on the sector for years.

Amid the pandemic, US adults spent 1 hour more per day on digital activities (across all devices) than they did in 2019, according to eMarketer’s latest time spent forecast from Insider Intelligence. Total digital time is now on track to surpass 8 hours by the end of 2022.

France to make Google pay for news: It took two years, an EU copyright directive, and battle with antitrust regulators—but France's success could set a precedent for other news publishers in Europe.

eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Sara M. Watson, along with junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch, discuss the true power of the social media giants, how Gen Z viewers like to consume sports, Twitter leaning into audio, news use on social platforms, how the pandemic has reshaped children's screen time, why people get "red eye" in photos, and more.

*Social networks will boost US mobile video ad spending this year.* In-app video advertising on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat was the main driver of growth, with new YouTube and Roku ad inventory helping, too.

A dry Super Bowl: Coca-Cola will join Pepsi in holding off on running advertisements during the Super Bowl LV, after a tough year for the beverage giant.

Automotive digital ad spending will grow by 21.4% in 2021 to $13.29 billion, slightly below its pre-pandemic peak.

Time ticks away on TikTok: US consumers now spend more time on TikTok than other social apps, according to new App Annie data—and that’s not surprising given how they use the app.

Univision dives into the streaming market: Spanish-language broadcaster Univision will launch a free ad-supported streaming service this quarter, building on its YouTube presence to extend further into digital video.

Advertiser demand for video impressions has always outstripped supply, but supply has gotten a big boost as consumers started adopting streaming video viewing in larger numbers—especially on CTV devices—and more of those impressions have been made available programmatically.

Marketers shift their strategies to focus on CTV—that includes those that take advantage of CTV’s better targeting and measurement. But even though linear TV is on the decline, it’s still massive, and marketers need to balance their strategy shifts accordingly.

Kantar estimates that the slots will average $5.6 million a pop this year, reflecting the NFL’s unique ability to continue pulling in viewers and marketers.

eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin discusses some big questions heading into 2021: What kind of traditional media rebound do we expect, will there be a tidal wave of pent-up demand, and how has the customer journey changed forever? She then talks about the implications of IAC spinning off Vimeo, whether we have already given up on privacy, and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) opening a public beta.

Net connected TV (CTV) ad revenues from YouTube, Roku, and Hulu made up about half of all US CTV ad revenues in 2020, with YouTube in the lead as the largest seller.

eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Yoram Wurmser discusses what he's paying attention to in 2021 and why: how the coronavirus changed mobile, the importance of iOS 14, and regulation's impact on location data.

The major auto companies reported improved Q4 2020 sales figures yesterday, a good indication for ad spending growth this year if momentum persists.

Never in the past two decades of social media history have the features, ad formats, and other business initiatives of the four major social platforms looked as similar as they do today.

The iPhone 12 Pro became the first phone to have a back-facing Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) camera, which enables more sophisticated augmented reality (AR). (Top-end Android phones use a similar Time-of-Flight, or ToF sensor.) Lidar can near-instantaneously detect depth and size, allowing for rapid and very detailed mixed reality functions for apps, such as furniture placement or full-body Snapchat Lenses. This should supercharge mobile AR spending and make such ads more feasible.

During the pandemic, consumers made fewer local searches, and local search advertising dropped dramatically.