Early in the pandemic, digital audio took a huge hit in user engagement and in the amount of time listeners were spending with the medium. Many observers, including us, predicted dire results in the short term. However, the rest of the year played out very differently than those early weeks, and we ultimately revised our 2020 estimate from a 1.0% decline in the time US adults spent with digital audio to 8.3% growth, for a total of 1 hour, 29 minutes (1:29) per day.
Travel ad dollars fly higher
Early in 2020, as the pandemic was getting underway, Americans flocked to their TV sets at a rate unseen in years. Initially, US households were glued to the news, as uncertainty over the coronavirus drove viewership. In the following weeks, the TVs mostly stayed on, as the initial wave of lockdowns kept Americans stuck on the couch with lots of new time to kill.
The not-so super Super Bowl ratings: The game reported about a 5.5% drop in total viewership, but it still draws one of the largest audiences on traditional TV.
eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom and principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Andrew Lipsman discuss Amazon's retail and ad businesses as well as Jeff Bezos stepping down as CEO. They then talk about Walmart's new partnership with The Trade Desk, whether vaccinated shoppers will want to return to stores, and what click and collect's future looks like.
China’s Gen Z is extremely online
eMarketer associate analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch discusses Facebook's latest earnings, new advertiser exclusion controls, and privacy battle with Apple. He then talks about a study analyzing last summer's Facebook ad boycott, what to make of the Oversight Board's first few rulings, and the key to success on Instagram.
eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin discusses whether major marketers will pull spending on social platforms because of brand safety and ethical concerns, what to make of Facebook's new advertiser “topic exclusion controls” test, and the types of content consumers prefer brands avoid the most. She then talks about tech companies introducing rules that favor their own business models, Facebook's relationship with political content, and whether Google is waving goodbye to Australia.
eMarketer junior forecasting analyst Zach Goldner and senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Oscar Orozco discuss how US media use will change in 2021: Are fewer Americans watching TV, which digital devices are being used more, and how much time is spent with TikTok and Disney+? They then talk about how much people are willing to pay for TV streaming, virtually co-viewing digital content, and whether video games have replaced music as the most important aspect of youth culture.
UK programmatic digital display ad spending increased in 2020, despite the incredibly challenging conditions. The shift to programmatic trading will further accelerate this year, but certain methods are performing better than others.
More retailers are selling profitable ad space to other brands and CPGs—and deciding to expand their retail media networks to generate even more sales. In a recent survey, more than one-third of professionals said they anticipate ad revenue growth between 26% and 75%.
The coronavirus pandemic dampened growth in US mobile ad spending. This year, we expect US mobile ad spending will rise by 22.2% to $117.35 billion, which falls below our pre-pandemic estimate ($123.59 billion).
Out-of-home ad spending was the hardest-hit ad sector during 2020, according to our estimates. Lingering concerns about crowded public spaces will potentially drag on the sector for years.
Amid the pandemic, US adults spent 1 hour more per day on digital activities (across all devices) than they did in 2019, according to eMarketer’s latest time spent forecast from Insider Intelligence. Total digital time is now on track to surpass 8 hours by the end of 2022.
eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Sara M. Watson, along with junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch, discuss the true power of the social media giants, how Gen Z viewers like to consume sports, Twitter leaning into audio, news use on social platforms, how the pandemic has reshaped children's screen time, why people get "red eye" in photos, and more.
*Social networks will boost US mobile video ad spending this year.* In-app video advertising on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat was the main driver of growth, with new YouTube and Roku ad inventory helping, too.
Automotive digital ad spending will grow by 21.4% in 2021 to $13.29 billion, slightly below its pre-pandemic peak.
Advertiser demand for video impressions has always outstripped supply, but supply has gotten a big boost as consumers started adopting streaming video viewing in larger numbers—especially on CTV devices—and more of those impressions have been made available programmatically.
eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin discusses some big questions heading into 2021: What kind of traditional media rebound do we expect, will there be a tidal wave of pent-up demand, and how has the customer journey changed forever? She then talks about the implications of IAC spinning off Vimeo, whether we have already given up on privacy, and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) opening a public beta.
Experimenting with advertising channels can yield up to 3% better advertising performance, research shows.