“To know your brand or client’s media ad spend is to know their business goals,” said Liz Nelligan, vice president of media strategy at Ansira.

With total media US ad spend set to reach $389.49 billion this year, according to our March 2024 forecast, the market is in healthy shape. Boosted by digital, media ad spend will grow 6.8% to cross $400 billion by 2025.

With new tools, such as those powered by AI, innovations in attribution, and more apprehensive consumer purchasing, advertisers have much to navigate. To help them make strategic decisions that increase brand visibility, Nelligan discusses the trends shaping ad spend for the back half of 2024.

Q: How can advertisers across industries respond to consumers who are more hesitant about spending in an uncertain economy?

A: Often during economic downturns, or even at uncertain economic times, we’ll see brands reduce media ad spend. However, to avoid losing traction and visibility and stay top of mind, it’s key to continue driving awareness through paid and organic efforts. There’s still a fine line between profitability and ad spend, and if you’re not seeing ROI, try honing in on strategic decisions: scale back on budgets, tailor investments to specific channels, negotiate better rates, and seek added-value opportunities.

Q: What’s impacting media ad spend in categories such as quick-service restaurants (QSRs), insurance, and automotive?

A: There’s a race for QSRs to win every daypart—breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night—but it’s challenging to see the impact of media spend when you’re trying to gain visibility within all of those segments. My recommendation is to leverage data to understand where you can grow your customer base the most based on what time of day they’re most likely to visit.

The insurance industry has had a tough time this year due to the rising costs of premiums and a shift away from less profitable service lines. Although we haven’t seen an impact on media spend for our insurance clients, we have been smarter about how we spend budgets more efficiently.

On the other hand, we’ve seen automotive rebound from the start of the pandemic. This year, US automotive industry digital ad spend will grow 10.2%, reaching $21.26 billion, according to EMARKETER’s December 2023 forecast.

Q: What factors will shape ad spend for the rest of the year?

A: Measurement and attribution are going to be a major focus because advertisers need to know the results of their campaigns in order to inform future strategy—and ultimately, their impact on the overall business. To enhance measurement efforts, we suggest advertisers go beyond the “vanity metrics,” such as impressions, reach, and clicks, and instead look holistically at the brand lift and how it’s boosting the bottom line. Data will be crucial in gauging consumer sentiment, calculating the customer lifetime value, and the cost per acquisition, which is why aligning with your analytics team is necessary.

3 most notable trends in media ad spend for the second half of 2024:

1. Short-form video: “This type of snackable content is a really great way to interact with your consumers and with your communities. Although a TikTok ban isn’t in effect, it’s wise for advertisers to understand its potential impact and plan ahead, whether that means adjusting to other vertical video players such as YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels, or experimenting with ads on streaming TV or audio channels,” Nelligan said.
2. Connected TV: “Viewers are platform agnostic—they are going to the streaming platform based on the content that's provided, not the platform itself—and it's really important for advertisers to ensure they have the viewability across that content, based on what their audience is watching.”
3. AI: “It’s definitely the buzzword of the year, and for good reason. We're seeing a shift in media providers that are leveraging AI, which includes uses for anything from generated content and creative to targeting.”

To learn more about how Ansira can help your brand create and implement media strategies that connect and earn the best ROI, contact our team of media experts today.