News in Numbers

AI could reduce Black Friday “content chaos” as marketers work 11 extra hours this weekend

Black Friday requires more marketing materials than other annual holidays and AI could help save 10 hours in creating seasonal assets.

Best Global Brands 2023: Apple retains top spot while total brand growth slows significantly

Airbnb’s brand value increased 22% in 2022, outpacing the rest of the field, while the Automotive sector became the biggest global driver of growth as two tech giants plummeted.

Retailers face exodus of marketers as economic pressure continues

Redundancies, budget constraints, unsold stock and skills shortages, where do all these dilemmas leave the retail industry?

Brands are wasting adspend on annoying ads that irritate 70% of Brits

Pain points in the user experience when viewing ads can do more harm to brand reputation than good, as 86% of adults are inclined to ignore overwhelming advertising altogether.

Top 5 business objectives for 2024: 60% of marketers view 'data collaboration' as pivotal to future success

With the death of the cookie finally set to take place in 2024, marketers must look beyond the use of third party cookies for data collection. Considering the success of retail media this year, data collaboration has become a top priority.

Should Christmas ads be liked or be memorable?

John Lewis’ latest Christmas ad has, as always, prompted plenty of discussion on social media. But does it matter if the sentiment is positive or negative?

Brits budget for a tight Christmas as 58% believe holiday products are released too early

Market research reveals how consumers will stay festive despite reduced spend during a tough winter.

With 45% of Brits concerned about TV costs, free ad-supported content is becoming king

UK consumers are increasingly choosing CTV over linear. Free-ad supported streaming services are becoming the medium of choice for 68% of Brits as economic concerns force them to reevaluate paid streaming subscriptions.

Black Friday: sales expected to increase 7.5% with Amazon’s foothold on the younger market loosening

Christmas present purchases are expected to dominate 54% of spend this Black Friday period despite consumers’ faith in the efficacy of the shopping event floundering.

WARC: global retail media ad-spend to increase 10.2% in 2024, set to soon surpass linear TV as third-largest channel

With retail media’s popularity continuing to increase, Amazon is expected to reap the rewards and overtake Alibaba as the world's largest retail media owner by ad revenue this year. But as revenue grows, so does the risk.

Bayer, Shell and Unilever top brands for ESG and sustainability communications

The 2023 Sustainability 100 report identified the top global brands providing transparent and clear sustainability information, with Sainsbury’s and Shell leading the way for UK brands.

66% of SME leaders urge data privacy reform on the eve of DPDI Bill’s trip to House of Lords

With GDPR’s shortcomings sowing seeds of discontent among many SME business owners, driven by confusing legal text, some view DPDI as a solution.

Peak TV slots are best value for money as advertisers underestimate their longevity

New ITV study discovers Peak TV slots are more cost effective and last for longer periods than previously assumed.

Brits plan on holiday shopping surge with 73% reducing spend in past months to save up

With UK consumers on the hunt for bargains, speciality sales events like Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) present big opportunities for brands to win over customers.

Incentivised loyalty drops 20% in effectiveness – how can brands secure long-term loyalty?

With loyalty incentives like discounts, deals and rewards not moving the needle for consumers in the face of the cost-of-living crisis, brands need to find new ways to deliver enough of a value exchange to convince them to stick around.

China’s six largest social media platforms – and how to engage its users

From Little Red Book to Weibo, how can western brands unlock the largest – and most varied – social media market in the world?

56% of UK consumers admit to always accepting cookies

Terms like ‘digital sovereignty’, ‘data compliance’, and ‘third-party cookies’ may be common throughout the industry, but consumers’ confusion is turning into apathy, creating a conundrum for brands.

Rugby World Cup quarter finals causes huge spike in addressable audiences

Brands can take advantage of significantly larger interactive audiences in the lead up to the Rugby World Cup final, especially as tourism spikes for France.

Rewriting the playbook for today’s CMO

Marketing demands fluidity and quick adaption from everyone involved, but perhaps from no-one more than the CMO – 90% of whom say their role has become more complex.

57% of YouTube’s UK viewers watch ads to support favourite creators

YouTube ranks top in the UK – above TV – for having video content that people identify with.

More than half of British adults are willing to view ads in exchange for free streaming

Slowly but surely, CTV’s popularity is growing, but how can advertisers best leverage this change in viewing habits? Are paid ad-free tiers the way of the future, or will cheaper ad-supported alternatives win viewers over?

YouTube is the most popular free video service across all generations

The Google-owned video sharing platform has been crowned the most popular free video service, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z.

'Gen Z spends more time on Roblox than TikTok' – how can brands tap into virtual environments?

Traditional gaming has changed and become a new way for brands to connect with engaged users.

UK leads the charge as 65% of global mobile app budgets shift from brand to performance

Economic uncertainty brings out faith in performance marketing, research finds, with 63.2% of global companies intending to increase the performance marketing for mobile ads budget.

Trust gap: B&M, Lidl and Boots among most trusted retailers while broader industry struggles to meet consumer expectations

With 80% of shoppers aware of retailers’ intrusive data practices, the industry needs to bridge the trust gap or risk losing consumers to competing retailers who are getting privacy right.

Top 10 industries using ChatGPT the most and how they’re using it

Since ChatGPT’s launch last November, the search for artificial intelligence has rocketed by 1,700%.

87% of marketers plan to leverage retail data as post-cookie alternative

Although retail media networks still present some challenges, their viability as a post-cookie alternative to walled gardens has marketers excited with 79% currently using retail data.

Retail marketers have lost control of social media ad spend, study finds

Consumers are flocking to social media for purchasing, but new research sparks concern in how retail marketers place their social ad spend.

Is TikTok underrated by analytics? Platform ‘only gets 21% of credit for clicks’

TikTok has released a new first-party data measurement tool to solve campaign measurement issues.

Gen X set to be richest generation of all time, so why do advertisers ignore them on social?

Wavemaker report shows that 92% of Gen X are on social media, but advertisers aren’t accessing them. Here’s how.

UK advertisers to increase programmatic DOOH spend by a third

Programmatic digital out-of-home is taking budget out of digital and traditional channels, proving high value for both brand and performance campaigns.

Despite AI’s growth, 60% of marketing managers are considering a career change for access to better technology

Burdened with increasing financial pressures and budget cuts, the majority of marketing managers are eyeing the exit door in search of more flexible working conditions.

Are customers ghosting you because of poor email deliverability? Probably.

Just 8% of all email traffic is delivered to the intended inbox and 44% of businesses admit they are not confident in their deliverability knowledge, likely hindering their email marketing revenue.

Battle of the brands: 49% of UK adults discover new brands from streaming TV ads

Amazon Ads offers new insights for brands looking to break into the streaming TV ad game – from how much emphasis to place on innovation to ensuring you capture the correct audience.

Consumers are blind to AI’s benefits – brands need to prove the data value transaction

Despite continual demand for better personalisation and more streamlined purchase journeys, British shoppers remain sceptical of the benefits of AI-powered automation and for one reason: data privacy.

Exactly how much attention is required to drive lower funnel actions?

New study reveals exactly how much attention is required to drive campaign outcomes and minimise media wastage.

Global ad spend recovers: to top $1trn for first time next year

Performance channels lead the recovery as five companies – Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Bytedance and Meta – now draw over half of global advertising investment.

Programmatic ad spend to increase in anticipation of cookie demise

Investment in automated ad buying is increasing as tracking cookies crumble. New research highlights the top eight ways marketers are trying to fight adspend wastage in the privacy-first age.

Gamers, learners, and positive about the relevance of online ads: how can your brand get – authentically – in front of a TikTok user?

Latest data profiles the younger audience on TikTok, and reveals the possibilities for brands to get ahead on TikTok are endless, if you can understand what makes the platform’s users ‘tick’.

‘Delete Snapchat’ searches soar 1,019% as ‘My AI’ feature scares users

Humanising AI comes with many dangers, as Snapchat discovered when its ‘My AI’ feature caused panic it posted stories without command and ignored chat messages.

The TV market monopoly is over, but why is CTV adoption still so slow?

Retail media is growing three times as fast as CTV and YouTube’s ad revenue is set to be 17.4% higher.

Diversifying online and offline investment: don’t overdo digital

Focusing on digital in isolation can cost businesses 20% of their marketing spend’s ROI - a potential solution? Omnichannel investment.

Which Fortune 100 companies have the most loyal customers?

Tech companies dominate the top of the list, with Alphabet (Google) customers named the most loyal.

Half of UK consumers are bored or frustrated by “unhelpful” personalisation from brands

Startlingly, 70% of consumers believe the promotions they receive from brands do not align with their interests and the use of outdated technology is to blame.

Is ChatGPT better than Google?

Two-thirds of people prefer websites recommended by ChatGPT instead of Google – what does this mean for the future of search results pages?

Short term solutions: marketers’ investing heavily in strategies that deliver quickfire results amid economic gloom

Areas such as social media have enjoyed increased investment at the expense of brand strategy as marketers search for short-term strategies that will get budget-restricted customers buying.

“Sustainable media performs better”: Scope3 identifies a 36% overlap between ‘green’ advertising and high performing ads

Q2 has seen an uptick in sustainability initiatives from digital advertisers, prompting optimism from experts that although ads continue to be a major carbon emitter, more organisations are removing their heads from the sand.

Marketers rank their top 11 uses for automation: report generation, data monitoring and quality control top list

Experts within the ad industry believe that automation may not only lead to increased profitability but could also be the key to solving typical ad ops pain-points like inefficient processes and human error.

AA/WARC: Online formats dominate UK adspend as search and online display takes 76% of £9bn investment in Q1 2023

Adspend in the UK was up just 0.1% year-on-year, with a forecast of 2.6% growth for the next three quarters of 2023 as AA/WARC report forecasts online to prop up growth even more than previous years.

More than half of marketers ousted from strategy talks, but still expected to ‘do the work’

Despite being able to contribute, marketers are seen as more ‘doers’ than strategists, according to new research, while half of marketing managers are concerned that using AI may steal their jobs as they feel pressured to use it more for efficiency.

IPA Bellwether: UK marketing budgets hold on to “stronger than expected” growth ahead of a predicted flatline in 2024

Marketing investment remains in a stubborn growth period as brands support customers with sales promotions and respond to competitor challenges with innovation, but warnings arise of the need for a longer-term approach to bolster performance ahead of the Golden Quarter.

Google and TikTok’s popularity grows as UK advertisers move away from Meta in the interest of diversification

UK-based ecommerce businesses have been diversifying their ad spend at the expense of Meta, as overall ad-spend sees dramatic decline as inflation pinches, but experts say this is no cause for alarm.

59% of marketers turn to retail media and data collaborations to optimise customer journey

Study finds marketers’ priorities have shifted towards better understanding the customer journey with a 16% increase in concern identified since Q4 of last year.

Nervous Nellies: is your use of AI suitable for the cautious consumer?

On a global scale, AI has the majority of people excited, but the majority of people are also nervous. What does this mean for businesses and how should marketers go about advertising AI-powered products and tools to consumers?

How to build brand fast with short-term success in TV ads

System1 and ITV reveal the secret to short-term TV ad impact for brands in new performance marketing report.

Stop the email noise: 79% of consumers delete your brand’s emails at least half of the time – even if they love you

Scanning subject lines and giving fake addresses are just some of the lengths consumers will go to avoid emails from brands, but the email address is still the top piece of information they share, and they are open to (personalised) offers as long as you’re not creepy about it.

Social media use is on the decline but TikTok continues to rise

Time spent on social media has declined among consumers for just the second time in a decade, but a switch to a more ‘focussed’ rather than casual audience might be good news for advertisers.

#TravelTok - how marketers and brands can leverage its popularity

TikTok is fast becoming the go-to platform for travel inspiration and new data sheds light on the insights that could take your brand to the top of TikTok’s trending travel videos.

Influencer marketing ‘influences’ sales growth: 6 in 10 marketers report boosted sales, clicks and traffic when using creators

New research reveals that despite a quarter of marketers suffering budget cuts, influencer marketing remains steadfast as over 50%l said they are investing more into the channel this year.

ChatGPT hit 5 million app downloads in only three weeks…but how does it stack up against the competition?

Generative AI large language model and OpenAI’s global phenomenon, ChatGPT, hit global app stores late last month and in just three weeks has surpassed 5 million downloads across the iOS and Google Play stores.

Digital publishers’ year-on-year revenue sees almost no increase despite 18.3% growth in subscriptions

It’s been a static period of revenue growth for digital publishing in Q1 of 2023, with boosts to subscription and audio offset by the declining popularity of desktop and surprisingly, mobile.

Is retail media diminishing consumers’ shopping experiences? 64% of brands and retailers think so

This figure falls to just less than half (48%) in the UK, a region supposedly drastically lacking in its use of off-site programmatic advertising and open web’s retail media opportunities.

"70% of marketers are making vital decisions alone"

“The great reshuffle” is separating marketers from other decision makers, with job transitions causing longer sales cycles and lower win rates.

Business leaders list AI and tech skills gap among top 3 concerns for 2023

UK business confidence has stabilised, but with the skills gap still a significant cause for concern and generative AI growing, how can marketers and their organisations work together to keep-up with innovation?

Brits have been hit with festival fever and advertisers should be getting in on the fun

Data from eBay Ads UK has found that this summer’s festival season is primed to be one of the biggest in years, presenting an exciting opportunity for advertisers to capitalise on search and e-commerce trends.

Global adspend to rise by $23bn in 2023, but signs of slowing growth in digital pointing to maturity

The downgraded forecasts from dentsu’s latest analysis reveal media price inflation to drive growth and APAC enjoying the strongest regional uplift, but digital growth slowdown still paves way for the channel to take the lion’s share of spend for the next three years.

Audiences love CTV – but marketers are yet to crack the cross-platform code

Research from Nielsen has revealed that CTV’s booming popularity is driving marketers to invest, but inconsistent measurement solutions and difficulty reaching target audiences has them struggling to maximise ROI.

Post-cookie concerns: just 24% of publishers and advertisers have a plan in place

Publishers and advertisers are planning to prioritise contextual and attention-based solutions in the coming months, but the majority remain woefully unprepared for how they are going to compete in a cookie-less world.

Content marketing budgets boom but 58% of marketers unable to secure strong ROI

Research has identified a stark contrast between marketers’ use of analytics and data in their content marketing among those satisfied with their ROI and those not.

UK consumers prefer product placement in TV and film rather than traditional TV advertising

An affinity for product placement in TV and film over traditional commercials was identified because of the authenticity it adds to the viewing experience, creating an opportunity for brands to increase awareness in an era of ad-free streaming.

Six in 10 Gen Z social media users turning to platforms for money-saving content

Consumers are rethinking the value of social media and with a significant uptick in the popularity of money-saving content across platforms, brands need to be cautious they don’t fall “out of touch”.

Why women’s football is full of untapped advertising potential for brands

Women’s football has greater mass consumer reach than men’s, experts say, after a record breaking 77,390 spectators attended the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley last week.

Head in the sand: brands risk losing their audience if they don’t switch to post cookie targeting solutions

Advertisers are far less aware of the cookieless targeting technologies available to them than they should be, prompting a need for marketers to educate themselves on what ID-less solutions are out there.

6% of ad spend was 'wasted on fake traffic' in 2022

Research estimates a total of $142bn in revenue was lost last year due to marketers inadvertently optimising campaigns for fake audiences.

When is the best time to post on social media in 2023?

Are you posting high quality content but not getting the engagement you expect? Check the time before you post to avoid social media dead zones.

Marketers are eager to leverage generative AI but lack the understanding to do so

Almost three quarters of marketers plan to incorporate generative AI into their martech stacks but 59% fear they lack the knowledge to fully capitalise on the tech’s potential.

CX disconnect: businesses believe in AI-driven personalisation but consumers aren’t sold

Over 80% of businesses maintain that AI-driven personalisation will improve customer experiences, but fear over how their data will be used is holding consumers back from embracing the technology.

Extra extra: advertising within news brands increases consumers’ trust and perception of a brand

Nearly four in five (79%) Brits are worried about fake news circulating on social media and almost three quarters are turning to news brands for help verifying stories.

“It seems that ‘going private’ is no longer just for the rich”: increasing interest in private healthcare spells trouble for the NHS

Analysis of online search data reveals a dramatic leap in interest for private healthcare and with the NHS floundering, with brands such as AXA, BUPA and Benenden reaping more SEO exposure.

NEWS IN NUMBERS