The latest move in Musk’s never-dull life sent shockwaves through the social media sphere. Millions of users logged off for the last time, Tweeps (what Twitter employees call themselves) left, and advertisers scurried away. 

After all, Musk hates ads, so why would brands stick around? 

Many of them didn’t. 

In short order, more than half of Twitter’s top 1,000 advertisers, including Coca-Cola, Jeep, Merck, and Unilever, put their Twitter budgets on hold. 

But it’s been over a year since Elon took the reins of Twitter, and recently said that “Almost all advertisers have come back.” 

Is that the case? 

According to MediaRadar data, advertisers from 10.2k companies (up by 13% YoY) spent more than $774mm on Twitter between January 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, representing a 2% YoY decrease. (For context: Musk reached a deal to acquire Twitter on April 25, 2022.) 

Overall, spending in Q1 2023 fell by 3% YoY to $444mm, while April and May both saw decreases of 1% YoY. 

So what’s really up with Twitter’s ad business a year into the Musk era? 

Was it doomed from the start, or is there a reason to be optimistic? 

Spending Slowed By Finance Advertisers

Declining ad revenue is never a good sign and often signals trouble on the horizon. But Musk took the helm during a tough time for advertisers, especially those in the finance industry. 

Overall, spending on Twitter from financial institutions and services advertisers fell by 65% YoY to $32mm between January 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023. 

Unsurprisingly, MediaRadar saw spending from digital currency (crypto) advertisers fall by 79% YoY from $26mm to $5.5mm. 

For these advertisers, the sharp decline comes following rampant spending and industry growth. Through October 2022, crypto-related advertisers spent $223mm, up 150% from $89mm in 2021. 

Much of that spending came from advertisers at Crypto.com who shelled out millions to sponsor the 2022 World Cup, buy the naming rights to former Staples Center in Los Angeles, and run a Super Bowl ad. 

But their stock turned quickly. 

The collapse of crypto exchange FTX, the massive devaluation of Coinbase, and the bankruptcy of Blockfi disrupted the industry; the crypto winter arrived, and advertisers felt it. 

The CEO of performance marketing firm Headlight, Grant Harbin, said, “Crypto winter is a crypto advertising winter. There’s probably very little consideration on scaling advertising budgets right now.”

At the end of the day, crypto advertisers would have pulled back on Twitter regardless of who was at the helm.

The same goes for banking advertisers who collectively dropped their Twitter budgets by 83% YoY following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), diminishing consumer confidence, and slowing loan growth.

One ad executive told Digiday that they immediately started working with investors to thrash out a bridge loan, while another executive said their ad tech business lost all of its funding because of the financial meltdown. AcuityAds, which had over 90% of cash in SVB, even had to halt its stock trading.

Big Brands Give Twitter a Second Chance

In November 2022, Twitter’s biggest ad buyer, GroupM, began telling its customers, including Google, L’Oréal, Bayer, Nestle, Unilever, Coke, and Mars, that buying ads on the platform was a “high-risk move. The announcement came on the heels of the mass departure of Twitter executives, high-profile impersonations by “verified” users, and concerns about Twitter’s ability to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC).

GroupM’s warning was a worst-case scenario for Twitter, which has historically relied almost exclusively on ad revenue to keep it above water. Fast forward a few months, and those fears seem to be lessening. Not only has GroupM removed Twitter’s “high-risk” status, but the number of companies advertising on Twitter is increasing. 

According to MediaRadar data, the number of companies buying ads on Twitter in Q1 2023 increased by 29% to 8k (from 6.2k advertising in Q1 2022). That surge continued into Q2, with the number of companies buying jumping by 34% YoY in April to 4.8k companies. That said, the number of companies fell in May by around 25%. 

Even more promising is that many companies are spending big. 

Companies that spent more than $5mm on Twitter between January and May 2023:

• Amazon (+46% YoY) 
• Apple (+68% YoY) 
• Buzzery (+1,000% YoY) 
• Comcast Corporation (-41% YoY) 
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development (+1,000% YoY) 
• IBM (+643% YoY) 
• Monday.com (+96% YoY) 
• The Motley Fool (+1,000% YoY) 
• The Walt Disney Company (-50% YoY,
• Warner Bros. Discovery (+330% YoY) 

Outside of The Walt Disney Company and Comcast Corporation, these industry giants are regaining trust in Twitter, collectively spending $246mm or 32% of the overall investment in Twitter ads during this time. 

As Twitter regains the trust of advertisers with deep pockets, those with less to spend will naturally grow more comfortable, which is even more good news considering nearly 70% of the companies that invested in Twitter spent less than $10k (these advertisers were responsible for just 2% of the overall investment through May 2023.) 

What’s Next for Twitter Advertising? 

Elon Musk has a history of ruffling feathers, but he also has a penchant for turning everything he touches into gold. Betting against him to restart Twitter’s advertising engine probably isn’t the best idea. 

Although ad revenue is down, there seems to be a path forward under new CEO Linda Yaccarino, who helped overhaul NBCUniversal’s advertising sales business and launch its ad-supported streaming platform Peacock in 2020.

In May, Twitter extended into open-programmatic advertising, making its inventory available to outside parties for the first time and, more importantly, easier for ad dollars to flow through its walls. 

It’s a savvy move but not unexpected.

“It’s almost like Twitter doesn’t really have a choice but to go down the ad tech route because they need to explore every avenue they can to fortify that ad revenue stream following the changes made to policies and content moderation as well as the loss of personnel,” said Evelyn Mitchell, a Senior Analyst for Digital Advertising and Media at eMarketer. 

Twitter also plans to focus on video, creator and commerce partnerships to introduce revenue streams beyond advertising. 

So, what’s next for Elon? More innovation, efforts to regain advertisers’ trust, and a cage match with Mark Zuckerberg. 

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

If so, consider this: 94% of the Internet-using population uses social media. 

That means that about 4.7b people use at least one of the major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

Let that sink in. 

Say what you want about social media, its harm to society or the “supposed” downfall of significant players, but saying it’s anything less than a dominating force is foolish. 

Advertisers know that, which is why ad spending on these platforms will rise in perpetuity. 

Between 2020 and 2021—at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—social ad spending increased by more than 10% in the United States.  

So, is social advertising the pillar everyone makes it out to be? 

Absolutely—and as social commerce gains mainstream appeal and Gen Z makes it clear that TikTok is their answer for everything, it’ll only grow stronger.

That said.

Social media ads aren’t the only ones in town, and advertisers who are seemingly locked into social media only aren’t off limits. Omnichannel advertising and diversifying ad spend is, after all, also on the rise.

Here’s what you need to know to sway them away from social media’s hallowed walls.

Fish Where the Fish Are

If you’re steering away from social media advertisers for any reason—it’s time to rethink your mindset. Social media giants are targeting your advertisers and they’re quite compelling.

According to our data sample, thousands of advertisers have collectively invested almost $12b on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter through June— 37% of the overall digital spend in H1.

There are 3,000 advertisers who each spent more than $150k in H1.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the social media entities only compete with other social media firms. They’re after your advertisers, and it’s important to be equipped to understand how they’re being wooed.

More importantly, it’s time to call attention to the opportunities and performance gains advertisers are missing by crowning social media their “ride or die.”

Fish where the fish are. With 4+ million U.S. advertisers on Facebook and Instagram alone, social media is a good place to start.

Know Their Media Mix

Digital advertising is like a puzzle. 

For social advertisers, you know a few of the pieces: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Those corner pieces are only the start.

To convince social advertisers there’s more outside of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (or to get them to venture out even farther), you need to know what else is in play. 

• Are they buying OTT and CTV ads?

• Are they giving Twitter another shot now that Elon Musk owns the platform?

• Are they riding the waves of podcast advertising?

What you’ll find is every advertiser’s puzzle is different—and understanding the media mix is key to your pitch.

For example, within the technology advertising space,  website advertisers invested over $2.2b in social media advertising and another $1.2b in other ad formats. 

Software advertisers spending on social media ($495m) also invested $1.3b in other formats.

 Most advertisers aren’t in a monogamous relationship with social media. Understanding their media mix is step one to knowing how to pitch them properly.

Do they lack the resources needed to handle the native ad tools? Are they operating under the assumption that social isn’t “cool” anymore? 

By understanding an advertiser’s media mix, you can get squarely inside their head and craft a pitch that gets them thinking outside the box. 

Social Media’s Your Friend (and Foe)

On the surface, social media advertising’s dominance is bad news. 

While social media is firmly entrenched in the ad strategies of millions and will continue to dig deeper, the good news is that you can use its greatest selling point to your advantage. 

Community. 

Regardless of maturity, every social media platform survives by forging bonds between people (and businesses). 

Over time, these communities have grown exponentially, and new ones are forming daily. 

For example, 870 communities revolve around Type 2 diabetes on Facebook, making the platform a goldmine for companies like Medtronic, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and others that rely on this patient population. 

These audiences position social media as the go-to choice for advertisers looking to zero in on a specific subset of social’s addressable audience.

Many advertisers are already seeing this opportunity and investing big bucks in getting in front of audiences that align with their ideal customer persona (ICP). 

Within the technology advertising space, website advertisers spent more than $2.2b on social media advertising in H1, while software advertisers spent nearly $500mm.

Use Tools to Sift Through the Social World 

These strategies are great in theory, but they’re all for naught if you don’t know how many of your existing advertisers are already investing in social.

To put your best foot forward, it’s imperative that you truly understand the overlap between ecosystems and where advertisers are spending. 

For better or worse, identifying this overlap is easier said than done; the term “walled garden” follows social media platforms for a reason.

Luckily, advertising intelligence tools are tailor-made to uncover insights, spend distribution, cross-media trends and competitive opportunities to help you see the full programmatic landscape and craft pitches that strike a chord with advertisers. 

You’re Not Going to Win Em All—But You Could Win Some

Fighting any of the social media giants, even the ones struggling to stay afloat, is a losing battle. 

Their reach and mature ad tech are too good for advertisers to shrug off because other ad-supported ecosystems exist.

With all advertisers trying their darndest to drive efficiencies and milk every last penny out of their budgets, the advertising mainstays—think Facebook, Instagram and Twitter—will remain just that.

Yet while it’ll be impossible to convince advertisers to ditch social media entirely, there’s no padlock keeping them inside. Some advertisers just need convincing and to see the opportunities before them.

In fact, of the nearly 66k companies advertising on social media in H1, only 25% spent a penny outside of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

That means that 50k companies that collectively spent millions on social advertising in H1 didn’t spread their love elsewhere.  

To sway them away, it’s up to you to read their minds—or use an advertising intelligence tool— to understand their strategies, their competitors and the opportunities with the biggest impact on their bottom line. 

Even a few steps outside the social world can be the tipping point needed to woo advertisers away, especially as newer ecosystems gain footing and prove their worth. 

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

MediaRadar did an analysis of thirty large brands who participated in the boycott—including Coca-Cola, Unilever, Verizon, and more—to see how these brands advertised across multiple channels in July.

We encourage you to subscribe to our blog for the latest data surrounding the advertising industry. We will provide daily updates as COVID-19 continues to make its mark on the US economy.

Facebook exits July rather unscathed

Though thousands of advertisers didn’t spend money on this social channel during July—the campaign didn’t impact the platform’s bottom line too much. 

There were already downward trends in advertising spend due to the pandemic, but Wedbush analysts estimate that only $100 million of near term brand revenue was at risk—which is less than 1% of year-over-year (YoY) growth in Q3. 

According to Facebook, its July ad revenue growth performance was in-line with the whole of Q2 and Q3. It expects an ad revenue growth rate of 10% in Q3. Some think this growth rate looks meager—considering it experienced 15% growth in May and June.

Regardless of the interpretation of the numbers, this wasn’t the first time that brands boycotted a social media platform, and brands are likely to return. It’s just a matter of when. Many small to mid-sized brands that depend on Facebook to reach customers will return in August—but several large brands will wait it out until next year.

“With things downturning a bit, brands are spending less. But I think that brands are going to start to spend more once the economy picks up, and possibly also after the (U.S. presidential) election,” said Eric Levy, a lecturer in marketing at Queen Mary University of London. 

Unilever, for example, already announced that it won’t be advertising on Facebook or Twitter in the U.S. for the rest of the year. 

In the meantime, where are large brands that are not spending on Facebook placing their dollars?

MediaRadar Insights

As a whole, it does not seem that the large brands who participated in the boycott reallocated their marketing dollars to other mediums. When we analyzed the sample of thirty brands, they spent 15% less in July month-over-month (MoM) and 21% less YoY.

Across TV, print, and digital (not including social), we saw the same trends. Brands spent less in July compared to June and July 2019.

However, diving further we saw several companies increase their ad spend on digital websites (excluding social) during the month of July.

Companies that increased spending on non-social digital channels include: 

• VF Corp. (The North Face, Vans, Jansport)
• Hershey’s
• Levi Strauss & Co.
• Chobani
• Adidas 

Collectively, these companies boosted spending by 52% in July (MoM) on digital ads, and by 32% YoY. 

While it is impossible to predict exactly how companies will advertise over the next several months, we can offer the latest data on spending and creative trends to guide your prospecting. 

For more updates like this, stay tuned. Subscribe to our blog for more updates on coronavirus and its mark on the economy.

Each social platform has a different stance. Here’s the latest.

We encourage you to subscribe to our blog for the latest data surrounding the advertising industry. We will provide daily updates as COVID-19 continues to make its mark on the US economy.

Facebook

Facebook is the platform most resistant towards interference of free speech—including political lies and misinformation.

Right now, it is facing the Stop Hate for Profit campaign. More than 1,000 companies are not advertising on its platform this month to flag Facebook’s attention. The Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Color of Change and more are asking Facebook to stop the spread of hateful posts and incitements on its platform. 

Though the campaign did not make much of a dent in Facebook’s ad revenue, it did stir up friction for the PR team. In response, Facebook pledged to ban white nationalism on its platform, hire a new executive with experience in civil rights and meet other boycott demands.

This follows a development from last month. Facebook closed a loophole surrounding political ads. 

Political ads previously had a disclaimer saying “paid for by” attached to the creative. However, if users shared the ads to their own feed, the label disappeared. This allowed misinformation to spread. Now, Facebook discloses if these images were at one point ads.

It is also rumored that Facebook is considering banning political ads altogether, but that update has yet to become official. If this change happens, it will be a big reversal for the company’s long-standing bent towards not being an arbiter of facts.  

Twitter

Last year, Twitter completely banned political ads.

In a tweet, CEO Jack Dorsey wrote, “the Internet political ads present entirely new challenges to civic discourse – machine-learning-based optimization of messaging and microtargeting, unchecked misleading information and deep fakes, all at increasing velocity, sophistication and overwhelming scale.”

Essentially, Dorsey is saying social media platforms and the U.S. democracy can’t handle the type of political campaigns (or interference) a candidate could execute. 

Due to this, Twitter won’t allow politicians to micro-target audiences and place paid images in their feed without their knowledge. They will avoid making profits from politicians in order to avoid any deep fakes.

Reddit

Reddit announced changes to their policy three months ago. All ads, including political ads, were prohibited from using deceptive or false information. Each ad is manually reviewed and only federal level politicians are allowed to run ads on the platform. 

“That said, beginning today, we will also require political advertisers to work directly with our sales team and leave comments “on” for (at least) the first 24 hours of any given campaign,” the Reddit team wrote in the announcement. “We will strongly encourage political advertisers to use this opportunity to engage directly with users in the comments.”

Also, Reddit launched the subreddit r/RedditPoliticalAds to offer full transparency on political advertisers, their campaigns, targeting and spend. This includes transparency on political advertising from earlier in the campaign, starting in January 2019.

Take one example. Users can see that Kamala Harris ran an ad on January 30, 2019. Users can see the copy, that it gained less than 10,000 impressions, who it targeted and that it was purchased for less than $100.

This approach is a valuable approach as it doesn’t forbid political promotion and it is less likely to spread outright lies. 

Snapchat

Similar to the manual revision process of Reddit, Snapchat says the team personally fact checks political ads before allowing them on the platform.

“I think what we try to do is create a place for political ads on our platform, especially because we reach so many young people and first-time voters we want them to be able to engage with the political conversation,” explained Snap CEO Evan Spiegel to CNBC. “But we don’t allow things like misinformation to appear in that advertising.”

Social doesn’t have to be an enemy of democracy—it can be a great way to encourage people to vote and learn about candidates. Snap’s taking a more exhaustive approach, but one that may perhaps encourage participation without manipulation.

Google and YouTube

Google (i.e. YouTube) will restrict political advertising to a certain extent, especially in a campaign’s ability to micro-target users. 

Campaigns will still have some access to targeting features like: age, gender, and geography across products. However, ‘Customer Match,’ a tool based on more advanced online profiles, will no longer be a possibility.

The main formats Google will offer to political advertisers are search ads, YouTube ads and display ads.

As the campaign approaches, policies may continue to change. We’ll follow the most recent updates and share interesting developments here. 

For more updates like this, stay tuned. Subscribe to our blog for more updates on coronavirus and its mark on the economy.

This year, the platform will generate even more.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, creators have increasingly turned to the platform to teach a wide variety of classes. Likewise, followers have more free time to watch Instagram Live or IGTV to learn cooking, fitness or art tips from the influencers they admire.

Until now, Instagram influencers have made money outside of the platform by signing contracts with brands or receiving tips from followers using Venmo. 

Last week, Instagram announced they were offering influencers new ways to make money directly within the platform. 

“We have always been committed to supporting creators as they turn their passion into livelihoods,” said the team at Instagram in an announcement. “Given the uncertain circumstances many are facing today, that commitment is more important than ever.”

These changes are framed as great for small businesses and personal brands, but they’re also new opportunities for advertisers.

What are the latest features (and what does it mean for YouTube)?

We encourage you to subscribe to our Blog for the latest data surrounding the advertising industry. We will provide daily updates as COVID-19 continues to make its mark on the US economy.

Instagram’s hints become a reality

After being hinted at for over a year, Instagram is beginning to directly monetize content via two new main features. 

Badges

Instagram said it has seen a 70% increase in viewership of Live since the health crisis changed our daily realities. People have been at home using social media more, looking for ways to alleviate boredom, exercise or learn new skills.

Users engage with Live videos by responding with likes, comments and donations to the creators. 

The new Badges will allow fans to give money to influencers. In return, they will stand out in the comments, be put on a list of the creator’s badge holders, have access to a special heart and have access to other features.

There are three tiers of Badges valued at: $0.99, $1.99 and another at $4.99.

Currently, all the revenue will go to the influencers, but as the program scales, Instagram will begin to take its cut. 

IGTV Ads

Insta is adding advertisements to IGTV videos. If a viewer clicks through to IGTV after watching video previews in their feed, a brief ad shows up before watching the entire video.

While currently limited to 200 creator partners and big name advertisers, like Sephora, IKEA and Puma, Instagram said that it plans to test user experience throughout the year to make it a good fit for people, creators and advertisers.   

The ad partner program has unlimited room to grow once Insta fine-tunes the experience. MediaRadar found that over 500 brands have placed ads on Snapchat. The appetite for social media is there — and people are willing to see ads to access the content. 

Just like YouTube, Instagram will share 55% of the revenue with its partner creators.

The IGTV rollout comes after the recent release of Facebook and Instagram Shops.  

Instagram Shops allows small retailers to shop on the platform without switching to Amazon or another website. This will make advertising on Instagram even more valuable for consumer brands.

Instagram and YouTube ramp up the competition

As the platform transitions its revenue model, it will become a direct competitor to YouTube.

They both allow anybody to upload videos and now offer the same cut of revenue for self-made stars. However, Instagram has the advantage of learning from YouTube’s weaknesses. 

For starters, Insta has created a strict monetization policy for partners. Instagram is coming off aggressive in this arena because YouTube, on the other hand, has had a difficult time assuring brand safety.

Each video with an will be human-viewed first before being given the green light to ensure that content is safe for brands.

They aren’t just putting brands at the center. Creators appreciate Instagram’s approach with them — it treats them as collaborators, rather than treating them as expendable resources. 

One creator, actress Amanda Cerny, who has 24.8 million followers, is transitioning away from YouTube to Instagram.

“I never know who I’m going to reach [on YouTube], when I’m going to have ads, when I’m not going to have ads,” she explained to The Verge. “It’s not very transparent, and I don’t really understand it fully. Even as one of their bigger creators on the platform, I’m still trying to understand the platform.”

Instagram has its own talent-scouting and development team, much like Hollywood, rather than relying on algorithms to find the next star. Instagram wants to treat creators as valued members of a community and make sure they are set-up for success, rather than letting them guess how the algorithm is changing. 

YouTube has its own plans to increase revenue for creators. Its Super Chat feature is improving, but more importantly it’s launching new ways for creators to sell merchandise, membership subscriptions and Super Stickers. 

As the advertisements roll out, we’ll see how the two platforms create better experiences for all participants: consumers, creators and advertisers. 

For more updates like this, stay tuned. Subscribe to our blog for more updates on coronavirus and its mark on the economy.

If you’re over the age 21 and you’ve heard of TikTok, congratulations: you’re either a particularly hip adult or a marketer with your finger on the pulse.

Launched just a couple of years ago, TikTok was originally a social video app designed to share lip synced music videos. After its international launch, TikTok soon eclipsed its new defunct precursor Vine with over 500 million active monthly users in 2018, and passed 1 billion installs earlier this year. 

Now, the app is positioned as a somewhat major player in both influencer marketing and programmatic advertising.

TikTok has only been around a few short years, but it really came out of the gate swinging. It’s been hailed as both the new Vine and the next Instagram, both in terms of audience and meme-creating potential.

The New York Times wrote that the app is rewriting the way social media works. “TikTok assertively answers anyone’s what should I watch with a flood,” John Herrman writes. “In the same way, the app provides plenty of answers for the paralyzing what should I post?”

That combination — along with the fact that the app’s user base skews very young — means TikTok was poised for ad potential from the very beginning. For starters, the app offered a low cost of entry for influencer marketing when compared to Instagram or other established social media platforms.

“TikTok’s viral, user-generated nature makes it easy to obscure what started as a paid campaign,” writes Lauren Strapagiel at BuzzFeed News. The app still maintains an air of “amateur authenticity” and can feel like a breath of fresh air compared to Instagram. “TikTok is still a relatively new platform, and it seems likely that sponsored content will only increase,” Strapagiel concludes. “The question is whether we’ll be able to tell.”

Now, TikTok is finding ad tech-supported ways to reach the teens using the app and pull in ad revenue for itself. 

For starters, AdWeek reports that the app’s developer documents show a new native audience network for the 260 million users in China and Japan. The network will allow advertisers to “target these users across a bevy of third-party apps, rather than just within the confines of TikTok.” The app was already keeping up with other popular social media apps in terms of users; testing an audience network means it only has room to grow.

At the same time, TikTok is working on a biddable advertising platform, making ads on the app more accessible for brands of all shapes and sizes. Before this was revealed, TikTok only offered direct ad buys in a single format.

The new platform means the app can start pitching advertisers different ad formats (i.e. in-feed video ads and brand takeovers) and buying options based on both interest and demographics. The grocery chain Kroger, for example, was one of the first brands to test shoppable ads on the platform. 

TikTok already had a very young audience with particularly high engagement. With the new ad tech offerings, it’s a chance for marketers to test its effectiveness.  

Here, we dive into three distinct developments that promise to take programmatic advertising to new heights.

#1: Programmatic Hits OTT Television Advertising

Programmatic TV advertising may still be in its early stages, but the shape of this advertising medium will almost certainly be determined by OTT and streaming services. For example, Hulu recently expanded its programmatic advertising offerings as its inventory grew with its audience.

According to the IAB Singapore Programmatic Committee, online forms of TV capture more than a third of total daily TV time across the globe. In North America specifically, online consumption of TV online is at 29 percent. “As infrastructure and connectivity improves particularly across the region, online TV and consequently PTV will steadily grow in adoption,” the Committee concludes.

Programmatic advertising for OTT and Smart TVs is a necessary step as digital takes over content delivery. The editors at eMarketer write that many traditional advertisers are turning to OTT to recoup an audience lost to digital channels.

But it’s not as easy as other, tried and true digital programmatic advertising efforts. “early adopters are finding that pairing digital data with connected TV and OTT ads isn’t a simple plug-and-play exercise,” write the editors. “Those hoping to benchmark connected TV and OTT performance against standard digital video advertising metrics are also finding this a complex task.”

#2: Social Network Apps Update Programmatic Approach

A couple of years ago, Snapchat gambled with lower revenue in the short-term in return for higher revenue in the long-term as it repositioned itself as a programmatic including a self-serve ad platform.

The move made Snapchat more competitive with other big name social media platforms with self-serve advertising options. “The low inventory prices and data and user-tracking features that have accompanied Snapchat’s programmatic transition are making the company more competitive with Facebook and Instagram,” writes James Hercher at AdExchanger. “Snapchat’s improved measurability come as Facebook’s platform grows opaquer and user data policy changes make it harder for advertisers to run Facebook attribution.”

Snapchat also transformed its ad sales team into “brand consultants” in order to push business solutions to the top of its programmatic platform. The combination, along with the popularity of Snapchat for direct-to-consumer brands, may continue to give the social platform an edge over Facebook and Instagram.

Tinder (more accurately, it’s parent company Match Media Group) is also shaking up the way tech companies can take advantage of programmatic advertising. The dating app now sells programmatic advertising using Google’s ad server to sell programmatic ads.

“For almost any company that isn’t Google or Facebook, you’re going to have impressions that you don’t have demand for,” said Peter Foster, head of global advertising and brand solutions at Match Media Group. “We think about both those platforms as excellent partners that provide ways to reach advertisers that we won’t be able to get on our own because we don’t have that scale.”

Rather than using Google as a source of demand, Tinder will instead be utilizing the giant’s tech and ad server for its own demand generation and direct interactions with advertisers. “It’s an alternative way to transact with us but is similar to how our insertion order business runs today,” said Foster.

#3: Personalization & Retargeting Hone Programmatic

Personalization in programmatic allows for more effective and tailored retargeting campaigns across more channels. And at the crossroads of programmatic and personalized ads is data — which has only recently become available in unimaginable amounts. “Vast amounts of data… mean that advertising creative can dynamically change to be all the more relevant to users, with ads adapting to factors like location, device, weather, time, and demographics,” writes Nikki Gilliland at eConsultancy.

For example, media agency Mindshare developed an “always-on retargeting campaign” for AirAsia. The dynamic campaign allowed the airline to serve thousands of creatively distinct ads tailored to the last destination travelers searched for on the AirAsia website. By automating the creative side and the programmatic side, Mindshare created more than 5,000 ads in three months. According to Gilliland, the campaign generated a higher ROI for the airline.

Programmatic ads powered by data-informed and even AI-curated personalization will almost certainly account for a larger percentage of digital ad spend — and soon.

Krizelman expressed optimism in anticipation for the release of the official report from Snap Inc. He stated, “We are encouraged, but not surprised, to see SNAP have another positive quarter. The company has a healthy mix of both new and returning clients, has the loyalty of major advertisers like Comcast, Adidas, and Disney, and saw their roster of advertisers swell by 15% in Q1 2019.”

Shortly after Krizelman shared his predictions, Snap Inc. released strong Q1 Earnings. Snap Inc. reported, revenue increased 39% to $320 million in Q1 2019, compared to the prior year.

“In the first quarter we delivered strong results across our business with growth in daily active users and revenue,” said Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap Inc. “Our new Android application is available to everyone, with promising early results. This month we announced several new products that we believe will drive further engagement and monetization. As we look towards the future, we see many opportunities to increase our investments, and will continue to manage our business for long-term growth.”

Snapchat Key Advertising Insights for Q1

MediaRadar reviewed advertising across Snapchat’s platform. Overall, Snap’s advertisers see success on the platform.

• The number of brands placed on premium Snapchat Discover channels is up 15% Q1 year-over-year.

• 58% of Snapchat’s Q1 2019 advertisers renewed from a prior period, which is a great sign of long-term adoption.

• Snap is also breaking new business. During Q1 2019, 42% of advertisers were new to the platform.

According to their earnings report, as of March, Snapchat reaches 90% of all 13-24 year-olds and 75% of all 13-34 year-olds in the U.S. Snapchat continues to defend the title of one of the most powerful platforms to reach them. MediaRadar shared, during Q1, Snapchat saw strength in the following key categories: Media & Entertainment, Tech, Retail, Apparel.

MediaRadar’s breakdown of Snapchat’s 2018 ad revenue by category

Top Snapchat Advertisers in Q1 2019

According to MediaRadar’s data, the top 10 advertisers on the platform increased their investment in Snap in Q1 2019. Snapchat’s top ad buyers are Comcast, AT&T, Mars, The Walt Disney Company, Adidas, Pepsi, Exxon Mobil, Procter & Gamble, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and Verizon.

We anticipate the release of Facebook Inc’s earnings report later today. Snap Inc’s Earnings report was released at 4:10 pm, and stock prices jumped approximately 5% in the first 20 minutes after their earnings were released. Will Facebook have the same success in Q1 2019?

In recent years, the media mix has shifted. Publishers, even previously successful ones, could end up with a negative ROI (return on investment) or become overwhelmed by their competitors – that is, unless they found even more novel and engaging ways to reach their audiences or figured out the latest ad buying fluctuations and trends.

One of those upward trends became mobile, an effective way for publishers and brands to advertise to their consumers.

Top 5 Mobile Advertisers

Below are the advertisers, who invested the most money in mobile advertising.

o   Carnival

o   Comcast

o   Amazon

o   SoftBank Group

o   HP

Top 3 Mobile Product Categories

Here are different product categories, and the top three brands within each division, that spent the most on mobile ads.

o   Tech (In order: Samsung Group, Intel, and then Nintendo)

o   Retail (In order: Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, and then Walmart)

o   Finance (In order: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, Wells Fargo, and then Capital One Financial)

The product category that increased the most year over year (YoY) was cigarettes and tobacco (See: JUUL and eCigs) while the product category that decreased spend the most YoY was toiletries and cosmetics (See: Estee Lauder and Edgewell Personal Care).

From the first half (1H) of 2017 to the first half of 2018, mobile advertising increased 42%, noted an IAB Internet Ad Revenue report conducted by PwC. By 2021, mobile video is expected to reach approximately $16.2 billion.

Snapchat capitalized on this expanding market.

The mobile messaging and social media app began deploying mobile ads in 2014. Its growth slowed in March 2017 after going public. Fortunately, however, Snapchat regained steam, as proven by its Q4 report, published towards the beginning of fall 2017.

Recognizing the key benefits of Snapchat, major brands started jumping on the many different customized and high-CPM ads formats, videos, and sponsored lenses offered by the app.

What are Snapchat‘s Sponsored Lenses?

For starters, a sponsored lens is a filter. Users of the app can apply one to any of their previously-taken photos and videos.

There are many different types of lenses. Some act as a frame for still-shots, some are incorporated into interactive clips, and some, including the “World Lenses,” are just added to users’ current environment.

Advertisers have a lot of say when it comes to creating their long Snapchat campaigns. They can get additional lenses within their filter for photos with multiple people, lenses for the rear and/or front cameras, and even switch out one lens for another during their campaign.

Sponsored lenses not only allow advertisers a great deal of creative freedom and say, but they also help them engage more with their consumers. The Cinco de Mayo snapchat lens from Taco Bell, for example, received approximately 224 million views, according to an article by Adweek. At the time, it quickly became the top campaign in the app’s history.

5% of all companies advertising on Snapchat in 2018 ran a sponsored lens. Food is the product category that’s most likely to run this type of filter. Only categories with at least 10 advertisers were even considered, however.

Snapchat‘s Ad Revenue Comes From … 

Top Five Snapchat Advertisers

Here are the advertisers, who invested the most money in advertising on Snapchat.

o   Comcast

o   Mars 

o   AT&T

o   Adidas

o   P&G

Top 3 Snapchat Product Categories

Below are different product categories, and the top three brands within those divisions, that spent the most on Snapchat ads.

o   Media and Entertainment (In order: The Walt Disney Company, Hearst, and then Spotify)

o   Retail (In order: Exxon Mobil, Apple, and then McDonald’s)

o   Apparel and Accessories (In order: Nike, American Eagle Outfitters, and then Macy’s)