How Media Buying Has Changed and What to Focus on in 2021

In 2020, we saw significant changes and shifts in placement of media. According to Borrell Associates, At least two-thirds of agencies said they believe targeted forms of advertising, such as OTT, social media, and addressable advertising, had the most impact. Seventy-one percent of agencies now buy OTT, and roughly half cannibalize funds from cable or broadcast TV budgets.

According to Borrell’s 2020 Local Ad Agency Survey, Local agencies typically manage or buy on average 12 media types for clients. The top 10 include paid social-media advertising, ranking at the top with 79%, followed by banner ads on general websites at 74%, radio at 70%, search engine marketing at 70%, events and sponsorships at 65%, email at 64%, magazines at 62%, out of home at 60%, newspapers at 58%, and geofencing at 57%. A third of agencies believe their brands and the companies they work with underuse digital media.

In 2020, according to the survey, the biggest growth in effectiveness lies with online video, addressable ads and social media. The effectiveness of broadcast and cable TV suffered a small hit in 2020 and 64% of agency OTT buyers have found OTT to be more effective than last year. Three-fourths of local ad agencies shifted money to pay for OTT.

Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube platforms remain unchallenged when it comes to growth, with Facebook remaining the favorite social platform among local ad agencies with roughly 91% using it to reach consumers. Instagram was second with 77% followed by YouTube with 65% using the social platform. The agencies using Facebook 59% found its effectiveness either very or extremely effective.

As the information in the Borrell 2020 Local Ad Agency Survey suggests the media mix we grew accustomed to over the past few years is not going to continue to work to communicate effectively with your consumer. While cable and broadcast TV is still an effective channel, others such as print, out-of-home, and events and sponsorships are becoming the least effective channels. as marketing dollars are still limited due to the Pandemic and need to prove results and be as effective as possible, digital media’s abilities to hyper-target and shift messaging will continue to strengthen the use of digital advertising channels. We suspect advertisers will continue shifting marketing dollars to digital video through social, digital display, and of course OTT. These channels will not only focus on saturating your target audience and market but will also be easier to attribute success against.

Digital video affords the opportunity to target your prospects on a 1:1 basis. As the rate of cord cutters and cord nevers continues to increase, utilizing OTT to reach those audience groups becomes more important. We saw connected TV surge in 2020 and it will remain a powerful medium for connecting the dots between awareness and attribution in 2021. Time spent using mobile apps rose to new heights in 2020, and apps will likely be even more popular in 2021. According to eMarketer, since 2019 Americans spend more time looking at their mobile device screens than they’ve spent watching TV.

We suggest that you think about your media strategy as it relates to your consumer and how they consume media – when, where, and how. In 2021, we believe there will be a strong push for flexibility in both placements and budgets. Long gone are the days of placing budgets consistently across the channels and months. Marketers are looking for flexibility to pivot and change when necessary. Performance marketing is on the rise and if it is not performing cut it and move on to find the mix that will work and drive your business forward.

Connect with us today to learn how we can create an effective, efficient, and flexible media mix for you.