Advertisers Chase Younger Viewers on Instagram, YouTube, and Amazon
A new study from business consultancy Mannatt-Vorhaus has found that younger adults (ages 18 – 34) tend to consume more video on their smartphone than on TV. According to the study, approximately 67 percent of people in this age group watch online videos every day, and 72 percent of them say they do it on their smartphones at least once per week. At the same time, only 43 percent of all adults surveyed said TV was their primary source of entertainment. When looking only at younger adults, however, only 29 percent said TV was their main go to for entertainment.
The one silver lining, however, is that TVs themselves are not obsolete for this group (at least not yet), with more than half of the respondents saying they watch subscription video on demand services (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) on internet-connected televisions.
Of course, this is probably no surprise to anyone, but if you’re looking for proof in numbers, then look no further than ad spends on some key digital channels. Specifically, Instagram, YouTube, and Amazon all saw year-over-year ad spend growth in Q2 2019. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, saw an 85 percent Y-o-Y increase in ad spend this year; YouTube saw a 43 percent increase in Y-o-Y ad spend; and Amazon saw a 12 percent growth in ad spend for Sponsored Products listings (ads that appear in both search results, as well as category and product listings). And while Amazon’s growth rate isn’t as impressive, it can measure the direct impact of ad spend on sales, showing a 102 percent increase in sales for Sponsored Products. Its Sponsored Brands ad units also showed a 53 percent sales increase.
Important to note: Ad spend on the main Facebook site grew a relatively modest eight percent last year, signifying that marketers are perhaps cooling to the social network as some of their users have started dipping into other platforms.
From a media buying perspective, of course, you have to always ask yourself where your customers are and if you’ll get the type of reach you want. It might be cool to have some nice looking video ads on Instagram, for example, but it does you no good if your core audience isn’t using that platform.
That said, as audiences age and new platforms arise (and fall), it’s essential to stay on top of trends like these so when you do want to reach them you’ll understand where and how.
Or you can call us to get help! We’re always focused on finding the right channels to reach our clients’ customers, and that includes staying up to date with what’s happening in digital media and elsewhere.