Marketers braving the battleground

Amazon has once again taken the title of consumers’ most preferred ad platform, according to the Kantar Media Reactions 2023 report. 

Among marketers, YouTube has leapfrogged to the top of the charts, improving trust by 6% compared with last year. The rise of YouTube demonstrates marketers’ preference for established brands, even if it does not register in consumers’ top five platforms.

And X, the latest incarnation of the Twitter platform, does not feature in the list on marketers’ top 5 preferred ad platforms at all.

Both marketers and consumers are in agreement that TikTok is the most attention-grabbing media brand.

This year’s analysis also reveals that ‘in-person’ touchpoints dominate consumers’ preferred channels – with sponsored events taking the lead for the second year in a row. The rest of the top five also comprises channels that are experienced in-person, including cinema ads, point of sale, and out-of-home/digital out-of-home.

Media mismatch

“Successful advertising today seamlessly integrates into consumers’ lives: in their scrolling, viewing or simply while they go about their days. This year, consumers have spoken up and said they strongly prefer advertising that they see out-of-home, like at sponsored events or the cinema,” says Gonca Bubani, global thought leadership director of media, Kantar.

“So why is there such a huge mismatch between the advertising consumers enjoy and what marketers are spending their precious budgets on? We know advertising campaigns are seven times as impactful among receptive audiences, so for marketers, it’s crucial to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different ad platforms and invest their money where it will make an impact.”

The Amazon effect

According to Kantar Media Reactions 2023, most consumers consider ads on Amazon to be relevant and useful, with few negative qualities.

Despite not being one of the top five favourite platforms for marketers globally, Amazon is building trust among this group – with a 10% year-on-year rise in trust scores. The e-commerce giant also tops the charts in Brazil, Germany and Mexico, three of the 23 markets included in the study.

Kantar Media Reactions 2023 report uncovers the attitudes of consumers and marketers to ad platforms and channels. The annual study, now in its fourth year, is based on interviews with around 16 000 consumers in 23 markets and 900 senior marketers globally.

Top-ranking media brands

Top-ranking media channels

The study shows there’s significant contrast between marketers’ and consumers’ most preferred channels, with marketers inclined towards newer channels while consumers prefer channels that cause the least interruption to their lives.

TV or not TV?

Notably, TV, the traditional lynchpin of ad campaigns, is absent from the ranking of marketers’ preferred ad channels this year. While TV has never been rated highly among consumers, it has historically performed strongly among marketers.

However, it has fallen from third place in marketers’ preferred channels last year to 12th place in 2023, and TV sponsorship has fallen from 12th place to 20^th. Just 6% of marketers say they will increase TV spend in 2024.

“While TV as a preferred channel is waning amongst global marketers, it remains the glue that holds ad campaigns together in South Africa. However, load shedding is disrupting the status quo and shifting attention to online channels. We also see South African’s appetite for ecommerce growing, driven by trust in those channels. Nuala Harris-Morele, managing director of media, Sub-Saharan Africa, Kantar

The marketers’ mindset

The Kantar Media Reactions 2023 survey of around 900 marketers around the world also quantifies how trends and changes in the media landscape shape their attitudes. Key highlights include:

• The Metaverse continues to be an unfulfilled promise – In 2022, a net 61% of marketers claimed they would increase spend in the metaverse, but only a net of 12% actually did. In the 2023 study, only one in five (22%) state they will raise their budget for Metaverse advertising next year.
• Twitter, the end of an era – X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has suffered reputational damage among marketers, the research shows. X, the latest incarnation of the platform, does not feature in the list on marketers’ top 5 preferred ad platforms. A decline in perceptions of innovation (now 16%, down from 28% in 2021) and trustworthiness (now 7%, down from 11% in 2021), is accompanied by a net 14% of marketers saying they will reduce their ad investment on the platform in 2024.
• The race for attention – Marketers continue to invest in channels that consumers don’t think are attention-grabbing. For marketers, influencer content is king in terms of delivering attention, but it doesn’t make the top 5 for consumers. Furthermore, a staggering 50% of marketers do not see attention as important as brand or sales outcomes, despite the evidence that it helps build brands and drives sales. According to the study, cinema ads, sponsored events and digital out-of-home are among the few channels that both consumers and marketers believe are attention-grabbing. Both groups are in agreement that TikTok is the most attention-grabbing media brand.

Download a copy of the Media Reactions 2023 study and register to watch the webinar ‘Kantar Media Reactions 2023: Braving the battleground’ on demand at www.kantar.com.