How do you decide on your media mix when there hasn’t been a quiet moment for media in recent years, with the continued evolution of digital, and global socio-political events determining what channels are available or acceptable? As ever, it continues to be a dynamic time for media investment.
Read on for information about the importance of advertising context, and the lessons marketers can learn from the media insights in this year’s 2023 Kantar Media Reactions report.
Why does ad placement matter?
An ad environment – which encompasses everything from the platform to the channel on which the ad is placed – is a key factor for any marketer to consider when planning media investment and potential ROI. But why is the ad environment so important?
In advertising, context is critical. Campaigns are seven times more impactful among a receptive audience – so it is essential to know what consumers think of media channels and brands to identify the most effective ones for your brand.
The media environment continues to evolve rapidly and, “in an environment with so many options, marketers need to make careful choices” says Jane Ostler, EVP, Thought Leadership at Kantar.
So, how do you identify what will work best for your brand? And how can you follow, and adapt, to the latest advertising trends?
When it comes to choosing a platform or channel for your advertising campaign, there is no one-size-fits-all. Some media environments will be naturally more suited to your brand, comms strategy or campaign objectives, and some won’t. It’s important to get this right – as we have seen, advertising context can affect the success of your campaign.
How can Kantar Media Reactions help?
Kantar Media Reactions takes some of the guesswork out of choosing the right ad platform for your brand. It is an annual study exploring the evolving media landscape, this year with insights from around 16,000 consumers and 900 senior marketers around the world. Providing key media insights, it is the only global ad equity evaluation of media channels and media brands among consumers and marketers.
The report uses Kantar’s Ad Equity metric, which uniquely identifies the places where consumers most appreciate advertising and are least likely to view ads negatively. It provides a comprehensive view of the current media landscape, how it has evolved and how to navigate it.
Let’s look at some of the key findings from this year’s 2023 report.
Top-ranking media channels
Consumers are settled into a life where digital blends into our surroundings. We don’t need to stay home, or glued to our phones, to witness the full range of experiences and entertainment that media channels have to offer. And the impact of in-person ad experiences is more pronounced this year as a result. All top 5 channels for consumers require people to ‘go out;’ sponsored events are leading for a second year, cinema and POS ads are strong, and out of home – both traditional and digital – is making a big splash.
Marketers, on the other hand, are more positive towards online channels as usual, and their preferences remain dynamic, with a lot of changes compared to last year. There is one thing that hasn’t changed: online video ads are once again their leader in ad preference.
Top-ranking media channels - global
Top ranking media brands: global
This year’s report shows that Amazon is the most popular ad environment among consumers for a second year in a row. The reasons for its success include the fact that ads on Amazon are seen to be relevant and useful, and with few negative qualities apart from some excessive targeting concerns.
One area where Amazon has made a noticeable improvement in its ads since 2021 is trust – both for consumers and marketers.
Google, this year’s #2 for Ad Equity, has jumped up two spots, and has done that by increasing its ads’ relevance and usefulness, a similar profile to Amazon. While #3 TikTok and #4 Instagram are strong through their fun and entertaining advertising.
Read the free global bookletto find out the leading brand in your market.
Top-ranking media brands - global
Pay attention to attention
Attention has been a hot topic among marketers recently. But as the number of platforms for advertisers and agencies to choose from increase, the more consumers might be hit by ads that are screaming for attention. Research studies have proven that attention helps build brands and drives sales. It is related to ad preference too: there is a 90% correlation between media channels that consumers claim capture their attention, and those in which they prefer seeing advertising. So, we can conclude that ads that are positively engaging are in a much better position to capture and retain attention, and will, therefore, not be avoided.
Consumers and marketers do not agree on what captures attention
However, what marketers think deliver consumer attention, versus what consumers think capture their attention, is fairly different. Influencer content is a surprising number one for marketers, while it doesn’t make the top 5 for consumers. There are some channels which both groups see as attention-grabbing such as cinema, events and DOOH. However, most of the marketers’ darlings feature low down on the consumer rankings.
Navigating a dynamic media battleground
As we have seen, the media battleground is exciting and never stops evolving. This past year, media channels and brands’ perceptions shifted globally and locally, among consumers of different socioeconomic backgrounds and among advertisers, agencies, and publishers.
The key to setting up a successful communications strategy or new campaign is to start with fundamental knowledge of the media landscape in your market. Combining media insights from Kantar Media Reactions with other effectiveness data sources, such as in-context creative testing, will help you make the right media investment decisions.
Get in touch to find out more about the winning brands in each market and how Kantar’s media experts can help your brand’s marketing strategy and implementation. Learn more about the Media Reactions 2023; download the free booklet and watch the on-demand webinar.
