In a report by Kenshoo and ClickZ, holiday spending plans were analyzed to see where marketers’ priorities actually exist and how they are changing this year.
Google, Facebook and Instagram, remain at the top of the list in terms of spending, said the marketers surveyed. Both Google and Instagram were up from 2017, while Facebook had a slight dip of -3.4%.
The biggest jump comes from YouTube, up 7% from last year. Which falls in line with trends, according to eMarketer, “YouTube will generate $3.36 billion in net US video ad revenues, up 17.1% over last year.”
Other formats like Amazon Ads and Instagram and Snapchat ‘Stories’ are on the rise.
“Advertisers are starting to notice and aren’t letting the Stories opportunity slip by. 38% of brands state that they have included Facebook Stories in their holiday marketing plans and 37% have included Instagram Stories, making these two of the most popular new advertising opportunities for the 2018 holidays,” the report says.
Amazon ads, the third biggest digital ad platform after Facebook and Google, are very much considered insurgent in the digital advertising world. It’s no surprise then, that this holiday season marketers will be increasing their Amazon ad spend.
“Advertising on Amazon will increase significantly over the 2018 holidays compared to 2017… According to ClickZ data, for those who do plan to advertise on Amazon this holiday season, advertising during special occasions seems to be a top priority. Brands see Amazon ads served to shoppers in closer proximity to their final purchase click as the perfect place to boost revenue when those shoppers are in a buying mood for the holidays.”
According to analysts, Amazon’s ad platform will surpass both Google and Facebook in revenue by 2021.
ClickZ and Kenshoo’s report is based on a survey of more than 300 marketers. Participants were asked to identify where their brands will be spending money this season, how it compares to 2017 and what new media formats are being applied.
