šļø Links & Thinks from 2023.02.28
The Sound of Splintering
Hereās a headline: U.S. Ad Market Falls For 7th Consecutive Month In January.
But!
Varos (a benchmarking tool with data from 3,500 advertisers) reports spend being up 10%, with not a single tracked channel showing a decline.
The CEO even mentioned getting calls from news sources working on stories about declining spends and not being able to back them up.
Of course, being down 6% compared to a month that was up 24% over its year-over-year comparison isnāt terrible. Which is what that headline is really saying. But I think thereās a more interesting reason:
according to the latest update from the U.S. Ad Market Tracker, a collaboration of Standard Media Index and MediaPost based on a pool of actual ad spending data from the 12 biggest agency groups, including both holding companies and major independents.
When the biggest ad spenders make changes, it has an outsized impact on trend lines. And big CPG brands are feeling the inflationary heat. Brand loyalty disappears in hard times, which can negatively impact budgets.
But hereās what I really think: massive brands with massive budgets can cut a chunk of most budgets without noticing significant performance hits. Iām sure incrementality is far in the rear view of many a blue chip brandās spend.
I wouldnāt be surprised to see a divergence in ad spend trends between the King Kongs and the rest. Splintering!
A TikTok Trio
Letās start at the top, The Clock has launched Sounds for Business. Whatās that mean?
With a mix of music, voice over, and other directional sound cues, the sounds are made to help businesses of all sizes create quick, engaging, and creative content for the TikTok community.
Now things get a bit rocky. The new ad format, stickers, is causing a less than great user experience. It takes up a bunch of screen real estate and a close click doesnāt always work. Combined with the Trivia promo pop-ups, comparisons to early internet banner ads and pop-ups are being made. Which fits right in with the 90s nostalgia trend.
Now, letās end on a low note for The Trend Machine:
'Unacceptable level of risk': Canada bans TikTok from federal government devices
More Ads In More Places?
Apple takes another step toward ads on TV Plus / Apple has hired an advertising executive to help build a TV Plus ads business, according to The Information. (Could be a great way to target the iPhone user market, especially since ad-supported streaming is in)