‘Bullish’ marketing industry plans to boost spending power in 2024

UK marketing leaders are gearing up for a ‘bullish’ 2024, with more than 70% planning to boost digital budgets this year, new data shows.  

Following four years of economic flatlining and commercial pressures for many of the UK’s top marketers, 2024 is expected to see a resurgence in industry optimism, with increased investment being directed in key growth areas including AI, websites, SEO, broadcast and podcasts, as well as email and content...

12 February 2024 | Automation

Bot clicks and fake traffic set to cost advertisers over $71bn in 2024

With ad spend growth slowing to 5.3%, new research reveals an emerging threat to dwindling budgets - invalid traffic (IVT).

In 2024, advertisers are set to waste over $71bn (£59bn)* on traffic generated by invalid activity, including bots and automated scripts -  an increase of 33% from 2022.

Conducted by leading marketing efficiency platform Lunio, the research analysed 2.6bn paid ad clicks and 104bn impressions from 60,000 ad accounts across the platform’s...

29 January 2024 | Advertising

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

Brands spent a £71bn on influencer ads in five years

Over the past years, influencers have become one of the top choices for social media marketers, providing brands an opportunity to reach millions of potential users practically overnight. The rising popularity of influencers has boosted the total spending in this market to record highs.

According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, brands have spent a whopping $90bn (£71bn) on influencer ads in the past five years.

Ad Spending in the Influencer Market Skyrocketed by...

15 August 2023 | Advertising

Investment in social media is ‘critical for long-term success’

Social media apps on a smartphone.

80% of business leaders anticipate their company’s social media budget to increase over the next three years as 93% agree social media data and insights will be a primary source of business intelligence moving forward.

This is according to new research from Sprout Social, a provider of social media management software, conducted by The Harris Poll.

The report, The 2023 State of Social Media: AI & Data Take Center Stage, shows nearly every executive understands the...

16 May 2023 | Social Media Marketing

69% of marketers increase spend on content despite challenging economy

A notepad full of text.

Research from Bynder’s inaugural State of Content report has revealed that despite the current economic climate, 69% of global marketing teams have increased or maintained their spend on content creation, management, and distribution this year.

The survey of 1,297 global CMOs found that the increased investment in content creation, management, and distribution was a tactical decision to be more agile and adaptable during uncertain times.

Bynder’s survey also revealed...

4 May 2023 | Content Marketing

74% of marketers embrace simplification amid economic downturn

Clevertouch Marketing, a martech consulting and service provider, has revealed the results of its latest annual State of Martech research.

In partnership with the University of Southampton Business School, a world top 100 university (QS World University Rankings 2022), Clevertouch surveyed more than 650 senior marketers across the UK, EMEA and USA to create a picture of the current state of the martech landscape.

Key findings:

Marketers are increasingly turning...

14 March 2023 | Advertising Technology

Creating a recession-proof marketing strategy 

Someone taking a dollar out of a wallet.

Rob Freedman, head of growth marketing at Zuper, shares three surefire marketing strategies that can help withstand today’s recessionary environment.

Well-known advertising executive Bruce Barton famously said: “In good times people want to advertise; in bad times, they have to.” 

If marketers have learned anything over the past two plus years, it is that competition is growing, inflation is climbing, and consumers are spending more time online than ever...

3 January 2023 | Automation

Marketers face huge budget cuts and drops in customer loyalty

74% of CMOs have either seen, or are facing, cuts to their marketing budgets. 

This is according to new data from customer engagement Platform SALESmanago, which surveyed 250 CMOs in the UK to discover whether marketing needs to take a leaner approach as we head into recession. 

The findings revealed that despite what we have learned in previous recessions, 40% of respondents said they still struggle to prove the ROI of marketing to the CEO and moreover, 63% think...

14 November 2022 | CMO

Two thirds of marketers increase in-store investment to lure consumers to high street

Busy square during the pandemic with people wearing PPE

67% of marketers are investing in more engaging in-store experiences to attract people back to the high street.

This is according to new data from In-Store Digital Engagement company M-Cube, which surveyed 250 retail and marketing leaders in the UK to discover whether the high street is playing catch up following the pandemic.

The findings revealed that the majority (27%) of retail leaders say consumers will return to the high street fully. Interestingly, 26% of...

18 August 2022 | CMO