But nearly all of those gains were wiped out last year as the brand had a bumpy ride in 2021 with bad press, class action lawsuits, supply problems among their issues. 

Despite their hurdles, MediaRadar’s analysis of Peloton’s ad spend shows an increase in advertising investment by 300% YoY. It’s estimated that the company spent $294 million advertising across all platforms.

However, Q1 of 2022 data reveals ad investment is down 22% compared to Q1 of 2021. 2022 saw an estimated spend of $47 million based on the sampling (compared to $60mm in 2021).

Why? And where is the ad spend going? Let’s break it down.

Peloton’s Wild Ride

Since its founding in 2012, Peloton’s seen its fair share of ups and downs.

On the heels of a successful Kickstarter campaign that saw it attract more than $300k from thousands of people eager to ride the next wave of fitness, Peloton secured funding in 2014, 2015 and 2017.   

In 2018, it raised an additional $550mm at a valuation of more than $4b. 

By the following year, it’d sold 577,000 bikes and treadmills. 

Then, things started to turn sour.

In Q3 2019, Peloton had one of the worst debuts for a major IPO in more than a decade. 

Surely, a sign of things to come, right? 

Maybe not. 

By May 2020—as people began to adjust to no-gyms-are-open life—sales and subscribers increased by 66% and 94%, respectively. 

A year later, Peloton reported its first billion-dollar quarter.

But in March, a child was fatally injured on one of the company’s treadmills. 

Combine that with the world—and gyms—reopening, and Peleton started to unravel.

So, yeah, it’s been a wild ride, which may have you wondering: How have these ebbs and flows impacted its advertising strategy? 

Less Ad Spend, More Variety

There’s no ignoring the fact that Peloton benefited greatly from the stay-at-home world. During that time, Peloton did what any business would do during a period of massive growth: Spend more on advertising. 

Last year, Peloton increased its ad spending by 300% YoY as it invested more than $56mm in each quarter.

This year, however, ad spend is down 22% in Q1—a number that likely has to do with the bad press and gyms-reopening in 2021. In fact, last year, Peloton announced it expected subscriptions to drop by 6% and sizable financial losses in 2022.

As we enter 2022, Peloton has not just decreased their ad spend—they’ve taken a shift on where those ads are going, too. In fact, while there is a decrease in ad spend in Peloton’s Q1 of 2022, it shows the most variety in their digital breakdown to date.

Last year, the company spent the majority of their ad spend (70%) on TV spots and 30% on digital (a 58% decrease from the year prior.) Of this digital spend, 57% went to video, while 26% and 15% went to OTT and Facebook, respectively. 

This year, we’re seeing an increase in digital ad spend, as well as the addition of print advertising, which was absent in the past. In Q1 2022, print advertising accounted for 6% of Peloton’s quarterly spending. 

Of that investment, 99% came in February as it bought ads in The New York Times (44%), The Wall Street Journal (41%) and Harper’s Bazaar (UK) (12%), with the remaining allocated to D Magazine and GQ (UK).

To make up for the increase in print spending, Peloton decreased its TV buys.

The remaining 30% of Peloton’s budget went to digital ads, the same amount it allocated to digital last year. Yet, while the 30% didn’t change, where these dollars went within the digital world did. 

Most of Peleton’s digital dollars went to video (45%), despite being down 39% QoQ from 2021.

YouTube’s Music channels received the most investment from Peloton during Q1 2022 at 7%. FAcebook was closely behind with 6%, then Fox, ION Television, Fox and WE Network all received 4% each.

Outside of video, Peloton spent its remaining budget on display and Facebook ads, the latter of which remained relatively flat in Q1 of 2022 (down by only 1% QoQ), but down significantly from 

Q1 2020 when Facebook got 45% of Peloton’s digital investment. 

What’s particularly intriguing when looking at this data is that, while TV is 64% of spend, the top two properties are YouTube and Facebook. This means the digital spend is extremely concentrated on those two sites, while TV advertising is spread across many networks.

It’s Sink or Swim (er… Bike) for Peloton

While it’s hard to give an exact reason for Peloton’s stabilized spending in Q1 of 2022, it’s likely due to the fact that it’s seeing a major drop in demand due to price sensitivity and increased competition as well as its strategic pivot that’s emphasizing content and digital offerings. 

As Peloton gets its ducks in a row, we expect spending to increase. 

Will Peloton ever eclipse the $294mm it spent on ads last year?

Probably not. But with a new CEO leading the charge and a fresh perspective, expect Peloton to pedal faster than ever to make up ground, which will almost certainly include more ads across digital, print, and TV formats.

Disruptions along the supply chain and an acute labor shortage are causing the nation’s ports to become severely clogged. With public fear of inflation, product shortages and the holiday season just around the corner, private companies are pressured to work 24/7. 

Shipping and logistics companies are in a stressful situation—is that impacting their advertising investment and creative?

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.

Disruption at the ports is no easy fix

For months, the nations’ busiest ports have been overloaded with ships transporting everything from in-demand consumer goods to manufacturing materials and pharmaceutical products. 

On a typical pre-pandemic day at the Los Angeles port, a key point of entry for goods from Asia, there would be no more than one ship at a time waiting to unload. One day last month, there were a record 73 ships waiting in line.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Lars Mikael Jensen, head of Global Ocean Network at A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company. “All the links in the supply chain are stretched. The ships, the trucks, the warehouses.”

Port traffic is leading to rising costs and product shortages, which experts say may get worse before they get better. Because of the severity of the situation, the White House has led conversations with private companies to encourage expanded working hours, data sharing and other solutions. 

Recently President Biden announced that the Los Angeles port would move to 24/7 working hours. Though this is only one small link in the overall issue, it indicates that the government is pressuring companies to accelerate processes as much as humanly possible. 

Companies like Target, Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, Samsung and FedEx have all recently announced new initiatives to move their products from ship to shelf faster. But there is no simple fix here. Even with expanded hours and privately chartered ships, large companies face issues involving full warehouses and a sustained labor shortage.

As shipping companies work hard to move goods quickly through congested ports, how much are they investing in advertising?

MediaRadar Insights

In the first three quarters of the year, shipping and logistics companies invested $14.1 million across digital and print in the B2B space. This is down 6% over the same period in 2020, where $15 million was spent across print and digital advertising.

Lower shipping and logistics spending in 2020 appeared to be a case of not needing to advertise due to pandemic restrictions and an increased demand for shipping. This additional decrease in advertising spending is likely due to the slowdown of goods distribution.

The top advertisers in 2021 are: Old Dominion Freight, FedEx, Yang Ming Group, TLI Transco Lines and Georgia Port Authority.

While the White House can facilitate talks needed to negotiate 24 hour service from longshoremen, the next step is to make sure there are enough trucks, trains and planes to transport these goods (and the workers to go with them). This is why we see an increased focus on the dependability of trucking, rail and employment opportunities. 

It is unclear how long it will take to recruit more employees and untangle this global logistical mess. Until then, advertising spend is much lower than it was pre-pandemic and ad creative is leaning into employment opportunities and key pain points of business customers.

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

This push for more diversity coincides with a shrinking number of eligible recruits.

We’ve addressed how the Army released a new campaign and increased their programmatic advertising this year, but how has the Army adjusted their advertising approach across other formats?

The Army Needs to Expand its Recruitment Pool

The U.S. Army has had increasing difficulty recruiting new soldiers over the past few years due to a variety of reasons. 

There is a smaller pool of young, eligible Americans who want to serve in the U.S. military. Only 2% of Americans between 17 and 24 are qualified, want to serve and have strong academic standing. This number has been decreasing over time and recruiting people who don’t have family ties to the military proves difficult. 

It doesn’t help that public attitudes towards the military have shifted over the last several years. 

Historically, conservative voters have tended to trust the military than voters left of center. This changed under the last administration. With President Trump’s scathing remarks towards top generals and conservative news show hosts and politicians’ criticism of the “woke” U.S. military, Republicans have fallen “out of love” with the U.S. military. 

“Enough is enough. We won’t let our military fall to woke ideology,” tweeted Representative Dan Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas who is a former Navy SEAL. Other conservative pundits like Ted Cruz, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham have made similar comments or tweets this year. 

In 2020, voters on military bases moved toward the democratic party by eight points when the general population moved by only two. Veteran PACs have forcefully fought back against Fox news hosts with advertising. One Veteran PAC railed against Tucker Carlson’s commentary on women in the military. 

One of the latest changes to VA policies now allow LGBTQ+ veterans who were given other-than-honorable discharges under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell benefits that they were previously denied. This update was announced as part of the ten year commemoration of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. 

Tensions running high, recruitment is difficult

This strain between public commentators and the military has made recruitment even more difficult than it already was amid a pandemic and a time of racial reckoning. 

“We’re in a pretty challenging recruiting environment right now,” said Brig. Gen. Patrick Michaelis, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command. “It is because of the effects of COVID, [and] because of the effects of the political discourse and the discussions going on in our country today.”

The military tries to remain apolitical, but in a time when nearly everything is perceived politically, that is quite the challenge. More and more recruits come from the same regions and from military families. 

“A widening military-civilian divide increasingly impacts our ability to effectively recruit and sustain the force,” Anthony M. Kurta, acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service last year. “This disconnect is characterized by misperceptions, a lack of knowledge and an inability to identify with those who serve. It threatens our ability to recruit the number of quality youth with the needed skill sets to maintain our advantage.”

To help with this disconnect, the Army created an animated ad campaign, The Calling, showcasing the stories of five real service members, including an immigrant from Haiti, a second-generation American and a woman raised by two mothers. All of the service members had different reasons for joining the Army.

As the military tries to expand their recruitment pool and the diversity of new members, what other advertising strategies are taking place?

MediaRadar Insights

Even though the Army released The Calling campaign, for the most part the Army’s creative messaging has surprisingly remained fairly traditional. If increasing diversity of recruits is one of the Army’s goals, we don’t necessarily see it in the majority of the advertising creative.

Overall, the US Army has invested $61.8 million into TV, digital and print advertising so far this year. This is down 23% compared to the same time period last year.

This decrease in spend is felt mainly in digital—down 53% year-over-year from $31.7 million in 2020. Print is also down 69% from $1.8 million in 2020.

Industry Publications

In 2020, there were more recruitment advertisements in industry publications, encouraging readers to enhance their career path by joining the Army. 

In both 2020 and 2021, the U.S. Army advertised in: The New England Journal of Medicine, Internal Medicine News, Current Psychiatry, Dentaltown and others.

Regional Magazines

Advertising in regional magazines made up 20% of print advertising from the U.S. Army in 2020. In 2021, this grew to 34%. New placements in regional magazines include advertising in hunting and fishing publications from Connecticut, Alabama and Georgia. This suggests that though print advertising has decreased, the target audience for these placements is in more rural communities.

TV

TV advertising is flat year-over-year at $46.36 million (up 1%). Messaging this year is similar to that from 2020, but the audiences they are targeting using this format differ.

By the number of airings, in 2020, the top networks of air commercials from the Army were: CBS Sports Network, SyFy Channel, UniMas, ESPN, ESPN2, and Paramount Networks. 

By spend, these networks account for 33% of advertising. 

This year, the top networks airing the most spots for the US Army are BET, Univision, TVOne, ESPN and SyFy. 

Spend from these networks also accounts for 33% of ad spend, though the target audience is noticeably different.

With a dwindling pool of eligible recruits and an increasingly diverse population, the military is trying to increase diversity—but it’s not always through advertising messaging. Though the Army did use some creative messaging for this with The Calling campaign, other branches are promoting more women and people of color to leadership and placing people from diverse backgrounds in recruitment positions. 

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

Here, we dive into how the pandemic is affecting B2B print and the advertising trends shaping the shifts publishers face. 

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.

COVID-19 forced B2B magazines to pivot quickly

In the midst of uncertainty, B2B publishers rapidly made decisions surrounding the distribution and financial viability of their print publications. 

“It certainly took a huge toll on our industry and our revenue streams,” explained director of publishing at MPI and editor-in-chief of, The Meeting Professional, Rich Luna. “We decided to stop printing the magazine. Whether it’s temporary or not, we don’t know yet, but at least for the near future.”

The decision to quickly stop printing was largely made due to logistical reasons. Offices, where magazines are delivered, are closed and not receiving magazines. 

The Meeting Professional already delivered a digital edition to its community. With COVID-19, community growth gained momentum rapidly. After the release of its May issue, page views, sessions, and unique visitors tripled compared to previous months. But increased traffic doesn’t necessarily equal more revenue. Publishers are faced with questions of how to make money when advertisers are spending less.

Brewbound—a leading B2B publisher for beer and other drink companies—said it needed to turn to a subscription model because beer lectures, conferences, and advertising made up a “significant portion” of its annual revenue. With events gone and advertisers pulling back, the publisher had to pivot their financial model. 

BNP Media to the “difficult economic environment” for print publishers by accelerating pre-established plans. BNP Media planned on shifting about forty magazines to digital by the end of 2022, but that timeframe was condensed to three months. By August, nearly all of their magazine subscriptions are expected to be exclusively digital. 

MediaRadar Insights

Due to pre-existing market trends, B2B print media was seeing a 13% decline in the number of advertisers in January and February (pre-COVID). However, amid the pandemic, conditions have become worse. By July, the number of advertisers buying B2B print media decreased by 42%.

It’s not simply because advertisers don’t want to buy print inventory. Part of this decrease is due to publishers cutting print frequency. From January to the beginning of August, these publishers have released roughly 10% fewer publications.

When it comes to particular product categories buying B2B print ads, industries have remained fairly consistent with their spending compared to last year. The few outliers that saw increased spending include Industrials and Furnishings. The Furnishings category includes at-home office equipment companies, which performed well with people transitioning to working-from-home. 

Travel was another outlier—but instead saw a large drop in spending. Business travel was one of the first industries to be negatively impacted by the pandemic and is also experiencing a slower recovery.

As B2B magazines change their delivery and financial models, we will keep you informed on how advertisers respond.

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

For many years, we would hear “This is the year of mobile.”

From the first half (1H) of 2017 to the first half of 2018, mobile advertising did increase 42%, noted an IAB Internet Ad Revenue report conducted by PWC. By 2021, mobile video is expected to reach approximately $16.2 billion. Snapchat, the messaging and social media app, recognized the potential of this medium and capitalized on the expanding market.

But, that doesn’t seem to be what advertisers are focused on today. According to them, this is “the year of audio.” 

Out of the roughly 3.6 hours U.S. users devote to their mobile devices each day, 52 minutes (the biggest portion of mobile usage) are spent listening to audio, notes a Goodway Group article. The topic of podcasts also came up in two-thirds of the 2019 discussions at Digital Content Next, a conference that brings together high-quality digital content companies that manage trusted, direct relationships with consumers and marketers. Both ESPN and the Harvard Business Review brought up the theme unprompted. The trade association even showcased rapper and businessman, Sean Combs, also referred to as “Puff Daddy” and “P. Diddy,” because of his involvement in the audio and music industry.

Ad Spending on Podcasts

Digital Spend on Ads for Podcasts

The number of digital ad dollars spent on podcasts tripled year over year (YoY) in 2018 and more than 144 different podcasts advertised.

Print Ad Spend from Podcasts

The amount of print advertising spent on podcasts also tripled YoY in 2018. The biggest spender was “Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood.” See the ad below.

Podcast Listeners

Between 2013 and 2018, the number of people listening to multiple podcasts in one month grew from an audience of 3.3 million to an audience of 48 million, as stated by Edison Research.

Technology Adoption Life Cycle

According to the Spring 2018 study by Edison Research and NPR, an estimated 18% of Americans now own a Smart Home device. This number is significant because it represents the fact that technology has finally progressed passed the dreaded “Chasm” in the technology adoption cycle (see image below). Evidence shows that new technology, such as Smart Glasses and 3D TVs, did not pass this gap in previous years. 

As these Smart Home devices entered the “Early Majority” phase, two major players in the market recognized a golden opportunity. Amazon and Google invested a lot of money in advertising their Amazon Alexa, Amazon Echo, and Google Home products in 2018. Together, the companies spent a total of over $250 million.

Both advertised their devices across multiple mediums, such as TV, online, mobile, Snapchat, and other platforms. More specifically, Amazon advertised its Echo and Amazon Alexa on TV and online during every single month of 2018, so that more than 20% of the company’s total ad spend for the year was spent solely promoting these two products. Google also dedicated over 20% of its advertising budget to its Smart Home device. The popular technology company advertised its product online every month, but only ran TV ads during their first quarter (Q1) and fourth quarter (Q4).

Spotify versus Pandora verus Castbox

These two digital music services and the podcast platform, Castbox, are all vying to be the best podcast discovery engine, wrote Ad Age. Even though it’s difficult to associate itself less with music, Spotify‘s goal is for users to discover and loyally listen to the 170,000 podcasts on the platform through its recommendation tool. Just last month, Pandora also launched its Podcast Genome Project, which recommends shows based on about 1,500 different signals. Finally, Castbox recently transcribed every word from its podcasts to format a searchable database that would let users look for a certain topic and find shows that talked about that topic.

Conclusion

Between 2016 and 2017, podcast ad revenue increased 86%, reports Ad Age. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) predicts that revenues will grow to $659 million by 2020.

The same article says that ad inventory is scaled since 67% of listeners prefer host-read ads at the beginning and ending of a show. Even though this proves challenging, advertisers still see a lot of potential.

There are celebrity-curated playlists, daily news briefs from digital assistants, in addition to branded podcasts, notes the Goodway Group. The variety of audio formats and niche audiences give advertisers multiple paths and opportunities to tap into in 2019.

]]> https://mediaradar.com/blog/cover-wraps-a-better-way-for-print-publications-to-advertise/feed/ 0 https://mediaradar.com/blog/top-4-takeaways-from-the-ammc-2018/?content=agency https://mediaradar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/top-4-takeaways-from-the-ammc-2018-1.jpg Thu, 08 Feb 2018 23:32:13 +0000 https://mediaradar.com/blog/top-4-takeaways-from-the-ammc-2018/ MediaRadar was at the 2018 American Magazine Media Conference, February 6th, 2018, in downtown Manhattan. There were many great panelists, discussions, ideas, and awards given out, to and by the leaders of the industry.

Every year, many magazine media and business professionals get together at the event to discuss, celebrate, and reminisce about the state of the industry.

Speakers included members of Meredith Corp., Amazon Fashion, GTB, The Association of Magazine Media, Hearst Magazines, Essence, Active Interest Media, Allure, New York Magazine, ESPN Magazine, FOX Networks Group, WPP, as well as other well-known names like Gayle King and Ronan Farrow.

Needless to say, there were industry-leaders aplenty.

State of the Industry

While there have been some slight lingering concerns amongst those in the industry as of late, the aura of the event proved to be one of hope and excitement.

Despite the fact that there are new advertising mediums popping up on what seems like a daily basis, print publishers still have the opportunity to be leaders and innovators, as was evident by the many talking points of the event.

Among those points were plenty of enlightening, positive takeaways.

Here are our top 4 takeaways from the 2018 AMMC:

The Industry is Still Growing

Among the many interesting points made, were a bevy of statistics worth noting.

According to Steve Lacy, Chairman at Meredith, there were over 700 new magazines launched in 2017.

On top of that, Lacy also stated that, in 2017, total magazine audiences increased every single month, compared to the year prior.

These two notes from Lacy show that there is still clear growth within print, and that many still see high value in the medium.

Ronan’s Review

Ronan Farrow, Contributor to The New Yorker, was adamant about the fact that “Magazines are not dead.” Which, in broad view, could be looked at as a theme of the entire day’s event.

Farrow sat with Gayle King to discuss “How magazine media fights for the truth” – a very important sentiment in today’s advertising landscape.

Farrow talked about the importance print is playing in seeking the truth in media, and gave his advice to media companies, saying, “Don’t skimp on fact-checking, and don’t skimp on the legal review.”

It’s important that we fight for the truth in all forms of media. Here, magazine media professionals appeared to be leading the charge.

“Cracking the Code”

What makes legacy brands live on? According to Kim Brink of GTB, it’s “Understanding what their brand promises.”

Brink stated three ways for legacy brands to “Crack the code”:

1.  Be empathetic to the customer

2.  Stay true to your brand promise

3.  Celebrate your base

Once again, the sentiment of trust shines bright. These three actions are all ways for print media companies to build lasting relationships with their readers and their advertisers. It also points to a way for legacy brands to remain strong in a fluctuating media mix.

For print publishers to remain prevalent, the key could simply be acting more human towards their customers and business partners.

The Future of Magazine Media

The general feeling towards the future of magazine media? Excitement.

Eli Lippman, Director, Audience Development at American Media, Inc., said that the future of magazine media should call for complete and total measurement. “Measure everything. Which headlines work best. Which covers and celebrities sell the most.”

After all, data is what drives improvement for publishers, and just because magazine content is printed, that doesn’t mean the same means of measurement cannot be used to analyze its effectiveness.

Pam Wasserstein, CEO of New York Media spoke to this idea as well, saying that publishers should “leverage data to speak to advertisers and your audience.”

Another strong sentiment of the night, was that it’s essential for print publishers to build trust with advertisers and readers.

Julie Alvin, Senior Digital Director, Meredith, said that “You can sell trust and brand affinity with print. Print ads have more impact than digital ads. About 30% of readers purchase a product after seeing an ad in an issue.”

All in all, there is a general feeling of excitement due to the fact that magazine media has the opportunity to be at the forefront of two of the most glaring issues in media today – truth and trust.

]]> https://mediaradar.com/blog/top-4-takeaways-from-the-ammc-2018/feed/ 0 https://mediaradar.com/blog/3-reasons-why-niche-print-is-on-the-rise/?content=uncategorized https://mediaradar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/3-reasons-why-niche-print-is-on-the-rise.png Mon, 31 Jul 2017 15:48:56 +0000 https://mediaradar.com/blog/3-reasons-why-niche-print-is-on-the-rise/

In an era of digital and online advertising, it is no secret that print has certainly struggled with declining page counts. But the idea that all areas of print have declined is mistaken. In fact, large companies like L’Oreal, Pfizer, and P&G continue to allocate big money towards print.

]]> In an era of digital and online advertising, it is no secret that print has certainly struggled with declining page counts. But the idea that all areas of print have declined is mistaken. In fact, large companies like L’Oreal, Pfizer, and P&G continue to allocate big money towards print.

The real question is why?

With nearly $4 billion spent in 2017 (Q1), it is clear that print continues to play an important role in today’s advertising landscape.

In a recent analysis of consumer advertising trends, MediaRadar discovered that ad dollars spent in 2017(Q1) declined by only 6% YoY. While much has been made about the fall of print, said fall is cushioned by increased placement rates in certain markets.

Print publishers in Niche and Enthusiast categories, have displayed substantial growth in print estimated spend YoY.

Enthusiast groups, like Art, show strong improvement with a 42% increase in estimated spend:

Although the way people consume content is evolving, those interested in specific categories are still engaging in traditional ads.

From 2015 to 2016, Birdwatching (+45%) and Cheerleading (+19%) were among categories with significant page increases among the niche markets.

Here are 3 critical reasons why print is effectively speaking to niche audiences:

1. Advertisers reach their specified target through niche publication subscriptions
2. Print ads are less disruptive, engaging consumers longer than digital screens
3. The ad’s placement is more transparent which protects its brand and message

Of course, even Niche and Enthusiast categories shouldn’t simply rely on print but rather leverage a mix of formats and ad types. Advertisers are finding more and more value in cross-platform campaigns. An estimated 29% of print advertisers placing ads with the Association of Magazine Media (MPA) also run digital campaigns.  

Offering integrated print inclusive packages will ensure publishers maximize their ad sales potential.

]]> https://mediaradar.com/blog/3-reasons-why-niche-print-is-on-the-rise/feed/ 0 https://mediaradar.com/blog/summer-starts-now-with-alcohol-advertisers/?content= https://mediaradar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/summer-starts-now-with-alcohol-advertisers.png Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:09:43 +0000 https://mediaradar.com/blog/summer-starts-now-with-alcohol-advertisers/ Summer weather is heating up. It’s shaping up to be a hot season for alcohol advertising. Seasonal advertising has always been a strategic factor in targeting specific audiences. And it’s a great way to promote seasonal cocktails like Pimm’s Cup, matais, daiquiris, or mojitos. From favorites hit songs like Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville or Rupert Holmes’ If you Like Pina Coladas to recent top trending hashtag #ThirstyThursday, everyone loves to celebrate summer with cocktails on their patio or a cooler on the beach. 

]]> Summer weather is heating up. It’s shaping up to be a hot season for alcohol advertising. Seasonal advertising has always been a strategic factor in targeting specific audiences. And it’s a great way to promote seasonal cocktails like Pimm’s Cup, matais, daiquiris, or mojitos. From favorites hit songs like Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville or Rupert Holmes’ If you Like Pina Coladas to recent top trending hashtag #ThirstyThursday, everyone loves to celebrate summer with cocktails on their patio or a cooler on the beach. 

From January to May 2016, there were 1,190 alcohol advertisers buying across print and online. 1,058 of them bought in print. Seventeen percent of print advertisers increased purchases of ad pages. Fifty-two percent are new in 2016. Print is still a powerful medium for alcohol given the strict regulations for digital.

Out of the 1,190 brands this year, Wine is the category leader with 699 advertisers—over twice as high as their nearest competitor, Spirits (313 advertisers). This is not surprising given the boom in the US wine industry, luxury restaurants with wine pairing menus, wine tasting trips, and even wine-inspired spa treatments. Within Spirits, whiskey and vodka brands are the top two sub-categories, respectively with 78 and 65 brands advertising. Overall, it’s not surprising to see that Anheuser-Busch InBev. is the largest advertiser in print, online and TV, however, the beer & cider category is the 3rd largest category with 154 brands.

Although online requires strict regulations for alcohol brands, digital remains a huge, largely untapped opportunity for publishers. The most important guideline says no more than 28.4% of the website audience for an ad may consist of people under 21. For publishers that skew to an older audience, alcohol ads are a great fit. Especially for news sites, home improvement content, parenting sites or finance content. Currently only 21% of alcohol advertisers buy print and online ads.

The real frontrunner are Beer & Cider brands with significant growth in online advertising, up 96% in online placement scores year-over-year. They also invested the most on TV advertising, with an estimated spend of $276 million from January to May 2016. Anheuser-Busch InBev (11 product lines), SABMiller (12 product lines) and Heineken (5 product lines) contributed the most to the growth in both media channels.

 

]]> https://mediaradar.com/blog/summer-starts-now-with-alcohol-advertisers/feed/ 0 https://mediaradar.com/blog/the-return-of-scented-magazine-ads/?content= https://mediaradar.com/blog/the-return-of-scented-magazine-ads/#respond Fri, 15 Aug 2014 15:23:20 +0000 https://mediaradar.com/blog/the-return-of-scented-magazine-ads/ Perfume ads with scented pages or fragrance samples used to be ubiquitous in magazines, but in recent years the practice of offering scented samples in ads declined substantially.

]]> Perfume ads with scented pages or fragrance samples used to be ubiquitous in magazines, but in recent years the practice of offering scented samples in ads declined substantially.

This year, however, scented ads have made a comeback. MediaRadar’s fragrance advertising research for Ad Age revealed a 10% increase in scented ads during the first six months of 2014. This report, which looked across 177 consumer magazines, found 296 total scented ads that amounted to 629 total ad pages for fragrance brands between January and June 2014.

“The best way to have women buy fragrance is to have them smell it,” said Donna Kalajian Lagani, senior VP-publisher of Cosmopolitan, the magazine that ran the most scented ad pages. This quote from Lagani illustrates the enduring value of print advertising. With publishing shifting online and digital advertising following, print advertising continues to offer a unique way for consumers to engage with ads.

Check out the full Ad Age report here and on AdAge.com.

]]> https://mediaradar.com/blog/the-return-of-scented-magazine-ads/feed/ 0