蘑菇AV

US digital media consumption and consumer spending growth are at a standstill. 鈥淚t's just getting really competitive to reach today's consumers,鈥� our analyst Jeremy Goldman said on an episode of the 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Daily鈥� podcast. Here鈥檚 what advertisers need to know about the latest trends in digital, including fierce competition for ad dollars to ecommerce having room to grow.

Why it matters: Media companies are especially exposed to shifts in consumer behavior and ad spend鈥攁nd both are now under pressure. Ad budgets face new headwinds. As costs rise, consumer brands in retail, tech, and CPG may scale back marketing鈥攂ad news for platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and Roku, which increasingly depend on advertising. Content spending will tighten.

Companies that collect robust user data, like airlines, ridesharing services, food retailers, gaming companies, and more, have opened up new ad space or are exploring ways to harness user data to increase revenues.

Once-dominant gaming continues to lose share of IAPs. In 2020, gaming generated nearly two-thirds of IAP sales, primarily behind virtual goods sales. By 2027, gaming and nongaming will approach parity in IAPs. Even before then, in 2025, virtual goods sales in gaming will stop being the majority of IAPs. Growth in IAPs is mostly thanks to subscriptions.

And active radio listeners will still spend nearly as much time with their radios as gamers do with their games. Podcast time will trail the larger categories somewhat, but to put it in a different context, podcast listeners will spend roughly the same amount of time per day with podcasts as TikTok users spend with TikTok.

Traditional search鈥攚hich excludes retail media search鈥攚ill claim the biggest share of US ad dollars this year, amounting to $90.73 billion, according to our March 2024 forecast.

Make the case to reallocate ad dollars to other social media platforms to meet shifts in consumer behavior. More like this:. TikTok leads time spent on social for most US adults. Why advertisers need to keep up with consumer changes in streaming, social search, and gaming. Most teens and parents are comfortable with how much time teens spend on smartphones, social media.

This month alone, Amazon is running its (misnamed) Summer Beauty Event, Pet Day sale, and Gaming Week promotions. It also plans to double the length of Prime Day, which will give consumers more opportunities to find deals as well as generate more ad revenues. It鈥檚 squeezing as much revenue as it can from its ad business.

鈥淏uying upfront became popular with linear TV, but that old-school sales tactic has become common in digital video, podcasts, video games, and is even emerging in retail media,鈥� said Benes. 鈥淎s long as advertising campaigns are built around product launches and particular timeframes, buying inventory ahead of time will prevail.鈥�. 4. No one鈥檚 talking politics.

Every major industry will increase total ad spend in the next two years, with media and entertainment leading the pack. Programmatic and B2B ready for a digital shift, while mobile remains dominant with in-game advertising. Here are four takeaways from 蘑菇AV鈥檚 Industry Ad Spending Benchmarks: Q4 2024 and what they mean for the upcoming years.

Do you think game developers are going to have to have that kind of scale before they're able to attract those ad dollars, those brand dollars in particular? Yory Wurmser (15:04):. Well, gaming has huge scale. Scale has never really been the problem. It's been more the formats, the fact that gamers while they're playing don't like interruptions.

鈥淔rom unboxing videos to watching YouTubers play video games, Alphas seek and enjoy self-directed control over their content. They love the excitement that these types of videos provide and imagine themselves in these situations.鈥�. 5. Retail media鈥檚 success depends on both networks and advertisers. Retail media ad spend shows no signs of slowing down, growing 22.5% next year to reach $55.31 billion.

Entertainment includes amusement and recreation, box office, film, music, OTT video platforms, sporting events and ticketing, and video games (excluding video game hardware).

The ad format is an evolved version of TikTok Pulse, which guarantees ad placement along the app鈥檚 top 4% of trending content in 11 brand-friendly categories like pets, gaming, and sports.

Entertainment includes amusement and recreation, box office, film, music, OTT video platforms, sporting events and ticketing, and video games (excluding video game hardware).

鈥淚t鈥檚 about proving that you can drive real business outcomes, whether that鈥檚 for a large CPG company, gaming company, or anything in between.鈥�. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in the outcomes business,鈥� said Alvin Bowles, vice president for Global Business Solutions鈥揂mericas at Meta.

鈥淯nderstanding how consumers are spending their time and money is paramount to your business being successful,鈥� our analyst Jeremy Goldman said on 鈥淭he Future of Digital 2024鈥� webinar. Here are three shifts in media consumption, purchasing behavior, and mobile usage, and how each is prompting new advertising strategies in streaming, social search, and gaming.

Microsoft met expectations, but the bigger questions鈥擜I competition, ad growth, and cloud momentum鈥攚ill determine whether it stays ahead or starts playing defense.

Influencer marketing has grown more than social ad spending has during the current downturn, underscoring high demand for creators.

Summer is on the way, and the advertising landscape has already changed significantly since the start of the year. We checked in on data surrounding the biggest trends, including AI search (which is happening whether consumers want it or not), a TikTok ban (no one knows but be prepared), retail media (it鈥檚 exploding), and more.

颁罢痴鈥檚 ad spending growth will be greater than TV鈥檚 decline. That鈥檚 why, despite the shrinking pool of linear TV ad dollars, the combined amount spent on CTV and TV will grow from $86.4 billion in 2023 to almost $100 billion by the end of our forecast period in 2027. CTV will continue to eat into linear ad dollars.

Chick-fil-A announced its upcoming Play app, which will feature a slew of video, audio, and gaming content geared toward families with young children. An animated series on the app will feature Chick-fil-A鈥檚 cow mascot. Some brands and retailers have even launched their own production companies.

The retailer held at least 10 sales events this year鈥攆rom sitewide events like its Big Spring Sale and Prime Day to vertical-specific sales like Amazon Gaming Week and the Amazon Book Sale. Those events have helped establish Amazon as a destination for year-round deals and recruit new Prime members.

Its share price is still far below its IPO high, and it will take significant legwork to establish itself as a major channel for ad spending.

After an unexpectedly solid 2023, the good times will continue for ad spending in most US industry verticals in 2024. Telecom will lead in growth, and numerous categories will outpace their 2023 increases. A few unusual results are on tap as well.