Marketing in a recovery:
H1 2021 by the numbers
Data is the name of the game
88%
of marketers say collecting first-party data is a top priority in 2021, but many are experiencing "data paralysis" (source: Merkle)
28%
of advertisers think syndicated data provides actionable insights, and 18% believe this data is easy to customize
(source: Kantar)
63%
find it hard to generate insights on competitors' media activity, a concern given the priority placed on benchmarking against it
(source: Kantar)
50%
of agencies outsource their consumer and B2B data (source: Stirista and Thrive Analytics)
CTV and streaming soar
73%
of CTV buyers said they're shifting their spending from broadcast and cable TV
(source: IAB)
35%
of advertisers expect to increase CTV video ad spending this year
(source: IAB)
6.3B
Hours watched on Twitch in Q1 2021, up 97% year-over-year
(source: StreamLabs and Stream Hatchet)
1.4B
Hours watched on YouTube Gaming in Q1 2021, up from 1.1B year-over-year
(source: StreamLabs and Stream Hatchet)
1.1B
Hours watched on Facebook Gaming in Q1 2021, up from 0.6B year-over-year
(source: StreamLabs and Stream Hatchet)
Brand purpose and diversity
Marketers' priorities are misaligned with consumers' willingness to receive social and political messages
(source: Iterable)
87%
of consumers said they're more receptive to a brand's messages if they know the company's beliefs and values, but 83%of marketers said their company should remain politically neutral (source: Iterable)
89%
of marketers say the importance of working with diverse marketing and advertising suppliers has increased over the past year (source: Iterable)
58%
of that cohort says the increase is significant
(source: ANA)
54%
of consumers say last summer's racial reckoning made an impact on which brands they support, as of May 2021, up 11% from June 2020
(source: Engine Insights)
There is waning support from consumers for specific steps taken by brands to address racial inequality. Compared to a year ago:
(source: Engine Insights)
50%
of people feel positive about a brand that engages in diversity hiring —↓10%
49%
feel positive about a brand that requires racial sensitivity training —↓12%
46%
feel positive about a brand that donates to causes for racial justice —↓11%
CMO challenges
78%
of CEOs bank on CMOs and marketing leaders to drive growth
(source: McKinsey & Co.)
35%
of digital marketing leaders predict 2021's biggest challenges will come from within their organizations
(source: Gartner)
Zooming in on loyalty
75%
of consumers abandoned brands they were once loyal to and/or adopted new habits during the pandemic
(source: McKinsey & Co.)
89%
of brands prioritize digital experiences in 2021, but 58%of customers think most brands' digital experiences have little to no impact on what they buy (source: Gartner)
Some of the biggest "brand fails" consumers say impact loyalty in 2021: (source: Alchemy Worx and YouGov)
39%
— Receiving communications from a brand after opting out or unsubscribing
37%
— Being lied to about sales or stock levels to convince them to buy
35%
— Receiving too many emails from a brand
Changing ad creative
COVID-19 changed everything, including the type of visuals, copy and emoji advertisers use in their campaigns
(source: Pattern89)
↓84%
The appearance of the word "mask" in ad headlines dropped as vaccines rolled out from January to June 2021 (source: Pattern89)
↑37%
"Safety" in ad headlines appeared more often (source: Pattern89)
↑22%
Growth in images of smiles in ads (source: Pattern89)
Extra Gum splashed onto the #PostPandemic scene with the ad "For When It's Time." (source: Brandwatch)
↑3,000%
The spot boosted the brand's daily online conversation
2,000+
Brand mentions in the week after the video hit YouTube
6.4M
Views as of press time
Shifting budgets
↑25.5%
U.S. digital ad spending is forecast to rise this year — the fastest growth rate since 2018
(source: eMarketer)
$455.3B
Global digital ad spending forecast, up 20.4%
(source: eMarketer)
$545M
The Super Bowl's total in-game ad spend was up $110M from 2020 (source: Kantar)
Mobile habits stick
Worldwide smartphone sales grew 26%in 2021 Q1
(source: Gartner)
Top device brands by market share:
(source: Gartner)
- 20.3% Samsung
- 15.5% Apple
- 12.9% Xiaomi
- 51.3% Others
Snapchat advertiser overlap with Facebook
$34B
Quarterly app spending hits new record
(source: App Annie)
↑$7B
Jump in spending year-over-year signals the start of a global economic rebound
(source: App Annie)
24.5 hours a month
TikTok surpassed YouTube for monthly per user engagement in the U.S.
(source: App Annie)
18M
HBO Max's U.S. monthly active users in May 2021
(source: App Annie)
$673M
Global user spending on at-home fitness apps in Q2. Connected devices like Peloton and Fitbit were the top breakout apps by consumer spend for the quarter
(source: App Annie)
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