Brands spent $930bn on social media advertising since 2017

Social media apps on a smartphone.

As the second-largest market in the digital advertising space, the social media ad industry has grown tremendously over the years.

With an estimated 4.9 billion social media users across the world and over 90% of marketers using social media to promote brands and reach customers, it`s no wonder this type of advertising has become one of the biggest revenue streams in the digital advertising industry. Last year alone, brands and companies spent $207bn on social media ads. However,...

23 January 2024 | Advertising

Dior dominates the Emmys red carpet conversation

Dior was the most globally talked about luxury brand by influential sources on social media from the Emmys red carpet in the three days following the event.

According to influencer analytics platform WeArisma, 99 celebrities, influencers and press shared 138 pieces of content with a total media value of $5,573,007.

With a star-studded lineup wearing pieces from the fashion house – including Quinta Brunson who made history as the first black person to collect a Best...

22 January 2024 | Branding

Brands are wasting $600m+ in ad spend during the holiday season

A dog wearing an elf hat.

Brands are wasting hundreds of millions in digital ad spend during the holiday season, according to a new analysis by CreativeX, a technology company powering creative decision-making for the world’s largest brands.

The analysis, which assessed over 3.9 million ads from 2021-2022, from 400+ brands across 10 different industries including retail, food and beverage, and consumer packaged goods, found that brands spent over $600m worldwide on ads that are not digitally suitable...

27 November 2023 | Advertising

Almost half of consumers are not currently loyal to brands

New research from Ello Group, a loyalty and engagement specialist, has revealed that almost one in five consumers would trust retailers more if when making a purchase, they were offered discounts that could help to offset the cost-of-living struggles.

Consumer trust is at a concerning level, as only 8% trust the retailers they shop with currently; while more than two in five (41%) say they are not currently loyal to brands. Close to one in six (14%) have also reduced their spend...

7 June 2023 | Branding

Demand for UX support remains top of the list for brands in May 

A customer being served.

Major brands are struggling to find people with user experience (UX) skills and are searching globally to plug the gap, new research suggests. 

The latest Marketers Most Wanted report found that chief marketing officers and brand owners from some of the world’s largest companies are on the hunt for people and agencies with good UX skills.

The report, which monitors the actual briefs posted by chief marketing officers (CMOs) and brand owners on the Studiospace...

31 May 2023 | Branding

The metaverse will change the way we interact with brands

A cartoon of a women enjoying the metaverse.

Dave Flanagan, chief product officer at Sitecore, explains how the metaverse will change the way we are going to interact with the brands we know and love.

Fashion and retail brands are already taking impressive steps into the metaverse and creating genuinely exciting experiences for their fans. Gucci has developed virtual clothes and accessories for digital avatars, while ‘Nikeland’, a store in the metaverse, has welcomed over 7 million people to date.

Though the...

16 December 2022 | Branding

1 in 4 consumers switching to more sustainable companies

A box of water.

British food and grocery brands are on notice - ignore the push to be more sustainable at your own peril.

According to the 2022 UK Brand Sustainability Benchmark Report one in four consumers have already changed brands based on sustainability perceptions and consumers are switching to brands with the strongest sustainability credentials at twice the rate of the average brand.

The report is the first in-depth look into the UK Food and Grocery Industry’s sustainability...

8 December 2022 | Best Practice

Influencers have become heart of the brand-consumer relationship

A love heart painted on a wall.

impact.com, a partnership management platform, in partnership with WARC, an international marketing intelligence company, have published a report on the rapidly evolving brand-influencer dynamic, which shows the disparity and alignment of perceptions of marketers and influencers, and offers guidance on how better alignment can lead to more effective and valuable partnerships.

The report, Aligning Marketers and Influencers: Shifting Perspectives on Influencer Marketing Across the...

23 August 2022 | Best Practice

Student Beans launches tech to connect brands with 5 million potential customers

Student loyalty network Student Beans has unveiled a new brand in its audience verification technology - Beans iD.

The newly-launched tech will enable brands to provide securely gated discounts and incentives to verified members of six key in-demand consumer groups:

• Students (through Student Beans)• Graduates (through Grad Beans)• Healthcare professionals• Military and Armed Forces• First Responders• Teachers

In the UK, there are over five million...

4 August 2022 | Branding

Social commerce soars as 61% of 25- to 34-year-olds buy on social media

Social media apps on a smartphone.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated consumer adoption of online shopping, including shopping on social media as more than a third (39%) of all US consumers say they have made a purchase on social media and would do so again.

With 90% of consumers aware of brand pages/accounts on social media - and only 10% who say they avoid brands’ social media pages - the opportunity for engagement is huge.

Katie Hansen, retail and e-commerce Analyst at Mintel, said: “Social commerce...

7 June 2022 | S-Commerce