Ad spending has begun its recovery, although it is still some way from reaching pre-pandemic levels. In addition, thanks to the new ways of consuming content, the sector finds it more difficult to simplify advertising planning based on age and sociodemographic factors.
These are some of the conclusions expressed in "Keys to connect audience and consumer in the new reality", a session held by the consultant Kantar. The experts have explained the evolution of the audiences and the media after the pandemic and the consequent adaptation of the brands.
The Spanish continue to spend many hours in front of the screens, which means that both television and digital have gained audiences, even exceeding 2019 levels. The channel that grew the most during the pandemic was the internet, both in time slots age as in daily use. «There is a greater age transversality. It grows both in use and in the means of online shopping at all ages”, says Mayte González, shopper & media sector director at Kantar, Worldpanel division.
The use of social networks has also grown in all age groups, including those over 65, although the group from 15 to 34 stands out for being the group that spends the most time with these platforms. As a result of the health crisis, all social networks have increased in daily use, especially Instagram, which went from 25% to 51% compared to 2019. In addition, the confinement brought with it new social networks: TikTok, with daily use of 13.2%, and Twitch, with 4%.
Importance of content
Due to the new forms of content consumption, the advertising sector believes that it is more difficult to simplify planning based on factors such as age or origin. According to the consultant, through advertising and the messages they convey, brands have the power to dynamize and change the way certain categories and products are consumed, in addition to promoting a greater willingness to purchase or improving the perceived image of the brand. .
"Campaigns have always been aimed at a certain demographic target, so 100% of the impacts emitted are not used," explains Fernando Moreno, media solution director at Kantar. «We propose planning based on shopper targets, that is, people who buy a category and do not buy my brand, and not based on age. In this way, the totality of the issued GRPs is used”.
Complementary media
The audience is increasingly fragmented, so traditional media opt for innovative ways. Television is betting on addressable TV or segmented advertising and thus achieve more personalized planning. Digital media are looking for greater coverage and are increasingly present on free-to-air television. In fact, in the session they highlighted how the penetration of all streaming platforms has doubled on average. These platforms are increasing their advertising campaigns on television —doubling the investment in this medium—, as well as digital native brands such as Amazon or Wallapop.
To delve into the extent to which the different media are complementary and thus achieve more efficient campaigns, the consultancy has carried out a benchmark of twenty-five campaigns. In it, the relationship between the investment and the reach obtained has been analyzed, resulting in four groups of comparable campaigns: less synergy, campaigns with more investment and less reach than the average; targeting, less investment and less reach; big investment, more investment and reach; and best in class, less investment and more reach than average.
In the less synergy, the great weight of investment in TV compared to digital stands out, without taking advantage of the synergy between both media. The best in class present a greater differentiation between media in demographic targets. These, due to the good performance in sales, achieve a return on investment 38% higher than the less synergy.
In this way, the idea is reinforced that an optimal campaign depends on factors beyond investment, such as success in complementarity between media or an incremental reach obtained from digital. «The synergy of TV and digital is a key element for the next campaigns. They can increase the probability of purchase due to media exposure by 42%”, conclude the experts.
