Report Archives | Nielsen https://www.nielsen.com/insights/type/report/ Audience Is Everything™ Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:11:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/cropped-nielsen_favicon_512x512-1.png?w=32 Report Archives | Nielsen https://www.nielsen.com/insights/type/report/ 32 32 197901765 Metadata matters: Powering future FAST channel success https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2024/metadata-matters-powering-future-fast-channel-success/ Wed, 03 Apr 2024 12:45:00 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1549634 This guide will help FAST channels prepare for the future, when search and discovery features within individual services...

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FAST represents the next chapter of the streaming industry’s evolution, and this guide will help new entrants and established players understand the importance of metadata, especially as competition increases and the need to engage and maintain viewers intensifies. Metadata will also play a critical role for advertisers looking to capitalize on contextual use cases that help them run ads within relevant programming.

This guide provides:

  • The keys to success in the FAST ecosystem
  • The importance of metadata in FAST
  • Ways to future-proof your FAST channel
  • A metadata checklist for launching your FAST channel

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The global Black audience: Shaping the future of media https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2024/the-global-black-audience-2024-diverse-intelligence-series-report/ Thu, 08 Feb 2024 13:30:00 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1529158 Black America continues to diversify, and media will need to evolve to stay relevant for this media-hungry audience with...

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Black men looking at the media

The global
Black
audience

Shaping the future of media

The global Black audience

The global
Black
audience

Shaping the future of media

The globalization of Black America

Black America is complex, but immigration trends will add to that complexity. As the diversity of this population grows, the media industry will need to focus on authenticity and accurate representations to maintain this audience’s high engagement with content.

The U.S. Black population is projected to grow from 15% today to 18% by 2060

The U.S. Black population is projected to grow from 15% today to 18% by 2060

The African-born U.S. population has grown 3x in the past 20 years

The African-born U.S. population has grown 3x in the past 20 years

Two out of three Black Americans want to see more representation of their identity group on screen

Two out of three Black Americans want to see more representation of their identity group on screen

Data sources: U.S. Census; Pew Research Center; Nielsen Black Diaspora Study, powered by Toluna

This report highlights the significant amount of engagement Black America has with media, as well as this diversifying audience’s perspective on representation in content and advertising. Key sections include:

A family relaxing on sofa and enjoying TV shows with snacks

Black audiences are power TV users

Black adults spend 31.8% more time with TV each week than the general U.S. population.

A cropped face image for three black women

The state of representation on TV

Representation is a key driver of media engagement. Black talent on TV has never been more visible, but the numbers—and audience demand—suggest there’s room for even more. Our most recent study found that 70% of Black LGBTQ+ respondents and 66% of Black men often feel misrepresented in media.

Teaser image for Far from home and blood sisters

TV content is a global affair

While representation and diversity dimensions vary across providers, audiences stay engaged when they find what they’re looking for. Engagement with Blood Sisters and Far From Home, for example, reflect Netflix’s investment in Nollywood.

Women showing advertising to her friend on phone

Brand strategies for relevance and inclusion

Meaningful engagement requires more than simply understanding where content is being consumed. Dimensions of diversity matter. Our most recent study found that almost 36% of Black audiences believe brands portray all Black people the same in advertising.

men relaxing on sofa and watching TV

At its core, media is a means of connecting. The stronger the connection, the greater the engagement.
Download The global Black audience: Shaping the future of media report to understand how you can evolve to better engage this audience and how to capitalize on it.

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The Upfronts/NewFronts Guide 2024 https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2024/upfronts-newfronts/ Thu, 25 Jan 2024 12:45:00 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1491610 Discover the data and insights you need to navigate a shifting media landscape with Nielsen's 2024-25 Upfronts/NewFronts...

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The Next Frontier

Your Guide to the 2024-25
Upfronts / NewFronts
Planning Season

Discover the data and insights you need to navigate a shifting media landscape: new media habits, surprising audience insights and engagement opportunities across the next year of programming.

Overview

Contending with change

Three paradigm shifts are upending this year’s Upfronts/Newfronts planning season.

1

Programming trends

Convergent TV is redefining planning

In a world where linear broadcast and cable represent just half of overall TV viewing, the traditional TV season’s rule over the calendar may be shifting. 

Discover platform and programming trends that illustrate the rising convergence of linear and streaming TV. 

2

Audience trends

Your audience today isn’t the same as yesterday’s

Succeeding in tomorrow’s TV environment means striking the right balance of contextual, advanced targeting, and one-to-one advertising. It’s a new game.

Examine key audience trends that demonstrate the uniqueness of today’s TV viewing audiences.

3

Ad trends

Linear TV is big but it’s only half of the equation

Want access to more insights?

Download the full guide for additional data and analysis 

Section 1

The convergence of linear and streaming is transforming TV

The advent of Convergent TV1  impacts both the way that people consume content and in the way that media companies produce and release new programming to meet that demand.

Here are four lessons we can draw from current trends in programming and platform adoption:

8.5%

BBO homes are rising

Broadband-only homes have been climbing at this quarterly rate for the past three years. Still, most TV homes watch some form of linear programming. 

90%

TV reaches most of U.S population

TV reaches the overwhelming majority of U.S. population in one form or another over the course of any given week, and the growing adoption of streaming and CTV devices may start to smooth seasonality out of TV usage for programming beyond sports.

40%

Streaming accounts for majority of TV usage

Close to half of total TV usage is now spent with streaming (whether from digital-first or legacy TV companies), making it the dominant form of TV viewing in the U.S.

30%

Streaming’s growth in weekly program volume

Growth in weekly program volume across streaming platforms, which raises the public’s expectations for new, bingeable TV programming outside of the traditional TV season.

1  Convergent TV is the combination of linear and streaming into a seamless viewing experience.

TV usage continues to grow thanks to CTV

Both reach and time spent are still on the rise

For CTV devices, weekly reach was 75% of all U.S. households in mid-2023, five percentage points higher than a year earlier. And the growing importance of streaming in our daily lives is even more evident when we examine time spent. Streaming rolled past cable in November 2022, and as of September 2023, accounted for 37.5% of total TV time, all ages combined.

Source: Nielsen U.S. National TV Panel, weighted households data April 2021- October 2023

Broadcast typically goes up in the fall thanks to football, new series and the return of old favorites. Cable sees a similar bump in the spring with March Madness and the NBA Playoffs. The WNBA tournament was particularly successful in 2023, both on ESPN and on ABC and ESPN+ for the final. In Fall 2023, sports programming again drew viewers in and appears to be shielding broadcasters from the full impact of the recent WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, at least for the moment.

The ongoing shift of more sports programming to streaming platforms is likely to have major repercussions in 2024, although new local sports rights deals and the rise of FAST TV might moderate that effect, especially in an Olympic and election year.

The bottom line

Broadcast and cable are entertainment pillars, but we’re firmly in the streaming age.

The platform and programming trends highlighted above confirm that the streaming headlines are not overhyped, and the changes we’re observing in our own media behavior are part of a structural shift towards Convergent TV in the industry.

These are the implications for advertisers, agencies, publishers and measurement.

TV remains a central piece of the marketing mix.

TV is just as relevant today as it ever was. In fact, it’s a more complete advertising channel now because it’s increasingly powerful for mid- and bottom-funnel campaigns because of CTV targeting capabilities, as well as top-funnel branding campaigns. This year, look for non-scripted content like sports, reality, game shows and news programming to continue to support linear TV, and for new waves of international content to light up streaming platforms.

Seasonality isn’t gone, but there are exciting ways to fill gaps in the traditional TV schedule.

There’s also room for FAST services to continue blurring the line between streaming and classic TV. This changes the TV programming (and counter-programming) game and puts pressure on the Upfronts to adapt to the new environment, but it also creates a major incentive for superior program scheduling.

An adtech ecosystem combining the best of linear and digital is now the top objective.

Developing this will give stakeholders the tools they need to buy and sell with confidence.At the heart of that system, the industry needs common, cross-media metrics: a way to measure ad delivery and performance consistently across platforms.

Want access to more insights?

Download the full guide for additional data and analysis 

Section 2

TV viewers aren’t adopting new platforms with same enthusiasm

As of June 2023, Gracenote had cataloged nearly 100 streaming services in the U.S. alone and over 30,000 different channels. In such a highly fragmented landscape, it would be wrong to expect that a show like Suits would appeal to exactly the same types of viewers on Netflix and Peacock TV as it did on USA Network, or that Yellowstone would attract the same audience on CBS as it does on Paramount+.

At a high level, streaming audiences are very different from linear audiences. 

Weekly reach

While CTV is growing across all segments, there are persistent, sizable differences in weekly reach across age and race/ethnic groups.

Time spent

While time spent on linear TV grows dramatically with age, it’s more uniform on connected devices. Still, there are substantial variations in time spent by segment, with different age groups leading the way for different race/ethnic groups.

Channel preference

Streaming represents a much greater proportion of TV time for young viewers than it does for older viewers: 60% (18-34) vs. 32% (50-64) and 18% (65+) as of Aug 2023.

There are persistent gaps in CTV weekly reach

Interest remains uneven across age and race/ethnic groups

The weekly reach of CTV devices had climbed five percentage points from early 2022 to mid-2023, with CTV now accounting for a third of total TV usage. Now let’s see how it changed for various demographic groups.

Source: Nielsen National TV Panel Q1 2022-Q2 2023

While the weekly reach of CTV devices is improving across virtually every segment of the population, there are wide and persistent gaps: Middle-age adults (35-49) and their young kids (2-11) are leading the way with a weekly reach of 83% and 85%, respectively, while older viewers (65+) are lagging 20 percentage points behind—but still growing at the same rate as the rest of the population” +8% YoY. 

CTV’s reach among Hispanic and Black viewers has been slightly above average since Q4 2022, but it’s remained consistently below average for Asian American viewers, and the gap appears to be widening.

The bottom line

More is needed to address the incredible diversity of modern TV audiences.

Broad demographics like age and gender have long been used for audience segmentation because it was reasonable for advertisers to expect that certain combinations of programs, networks and dayparts skewed more or less heavily along those dimensions. That’s no longer the case. 

Here’s what it means for advertisers, agencies, publishers and the adtech ecosystem.

For advertisers and media agencies

Start thinking about TV audiences and digital audiences in the same way.

Which is to say: rich, varied, granular and quick-changing. TV has long been one of the best advertising vehicles for top-funnel, branding campaigns. But it’s also a contextual platform at heart. And now that it’s addressable, TV can be used to reach a brand’s target consumers much closer to the point of purchase and as an integral part of a well-orchestrated cross-media campaign.

For publishers

Seize the opportunity to analyze your own audience data. 

Find out what their strengths are and develop a distinct audience catalog that’s relevant to their advertising clients. There are many ways to define audience segments: TV viewership patterns are a key part of course, but also any other ethically-sourced data that could help boost advertising performance, like psychographics, life stage or purchase data.

For measurement

Evolve past compatibility to be symbiotic with other media.

It’s not as simple as retrofitting the existing digital ecosystem. Identity, data onboarding, audience creation, activation, measurement and optimization are all different in the TV space, and a big part of the challenge ahead is to develop these functions in a way that’s not just compatible but symbiotic with other media.

Want access to more insights?

Download the full guide for additional data and analysis 

Section 3

How to answer the ultimate question: What’s the ROI?

Many channels are better at meeting either short-term or long-term objectives, but rarely both. And with so many streaming services offering ad-supported tiers now, the options keep expanding and the bar seems to be getting higher every day. 

Here are three lessons we can learn from current trends in ad spend.

9%

On the macro level, ad spend dropped

Q3 ad spend dropped 9% YOY, but a look at the top 15 advertising sectors shows substantial differences by industry.

54%

Digital grabbed lion’s share of investment

Looking specifically at TV,  radio and digital ad spend, 54% of total ad spend went to digital, 39% to TV and 7% to radio. But it’s not a one-size-fits all. Some industries (like auto or pharma) over-indexed on TV, while others (like retail or apparel) over-indexed on digital.

50%

Half of media plans are risking their ROI

We analyzed thousands of marketing mixes and found that 50% of media plans are underinvested in critical media channels and shortchanging their ROI by 50%.

ROI drives media decisions, but it isn’t always optimized

Budget allocation can have an outsized effect on outcomes

A 2022 Nielsen study of 150,000 observations of marketing ROI and client-supplied media plans found that 50% of planned media investments on channels as diverse as linear TV, digital display, digital video and social media were too low to achieve top ROI.

Source: Nielsen Predictive ROI database, May 2022

Underinvestment is a chronic problem. Advertisers today are spreading their media budgets much thinner than ever before, failing to hit minimum investment thresholds, and leaving a lot of money on the table. Common cross-media metrics and more compatible measurement solutions will go a long way to address that challenge and unlock higher returns for all stakeholders.

The bottom line

Marketers face a difficult choice when navigating complex cross-media marketplace dynamics.

With increased competition, media fragmentation and budgets under pressure, marketers have to make difficult decisions: invest in promising new channels and strategies (for instance, performance-based campaigns on CTV), even if they can’t measure their ROI with absolute confidence; or stay with what worked in the past until standards or reliable common metrics emerge.

Here’s what advertisers, publishers and measurement solutions can do to move the needle.

Maintain constant vigilance.

The pace of change is too fast for old budget allocations to work for very long. Advertisers and their agencies should continue frequently refreshing their marketing mix models to keep up with consumer and viewer behavior. There’s a lot of room for improvement, even on well-established channels with a long research track record, like TV and display.

Be transparent with data.

It’s in every publisher’s interest to measure the value of its audiences and monetize its ad inventory for what it’s truly worth. By prioritizing transparency with buyers, you help them assess whether you’re a good match for their campaign objectives, and to help them measure performance quickly and with metrics that are highly relevant to their business outcomes.

Provide a deduplicated, cross-media view of performance.

That doesn’t mean that the industry should ignore the unique values associated with individual channels. Multiple channel-specific metrics can and should coexist. But there needs to be a basis for comparison that cuts across all platforms and works for everyone.

Want access to more insights?

Download the full guide for additional data and analysis 

Takeaways

Implications for media stakeholders

Data-backed recommendations for reaching audiences and proving impact in the age of converging TV. 

TV remains a central piece of the marketing mix, and is a more complete full-funnel channel now because it’s both scalable and addressable.

Think about TV and digital audiences in the same way: rich, varied, granular and quick-changing.

Maintain constant vigilance. Change happens too fast for old budget allocations to work, and there’s opportunity to improve even well-established channels

Seasonality isn’t gone, but there are exciting ways, like personalized user experiences, to fill gaps in the traditional TV schedule.

Seize the opportunity to analyze your own audience data to develop a distinct audience catalog that’s relevant to advertising clients.

Be transparent with data to help buyers better match inventory with outcomes.

The industry needs common metrics to live at the heart of an adtech ecosystem combining the best of linear and digital.

Prioritize media symbiosis, which requires more than just retrofitting the existing digital ecosystem

Provide a deduplicated, cross-media view of performance as a basis for comparison that cuts across all platforms.

Want access to more insights?

Download the full guide for additional data and analysis 

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Hispanic audiences in focus: Trust in media – the key factor driving the shift to streaming https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/hispanic-audiences-in-focus-trust-in-media-the-key-factor-driving-the-shift-to-streaming/ Tue, 12 Sep 2023 12:30:00 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1376420 Discover how Hispanic audiences are engaging in media and ways to customize user experiences in our 2023 Hispanic...

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2023 Diverse Intelligence Series

Hispanic audiences in focus: trust in media – the key factor driving the shift to streaming

Hispanics represent one-fifth of the U.S. population, but their media engagement can be complex due to the inherent nuances within the community.

Hispanics are streaming trendsetters

Hispanics spend the most media time with television, but their engagement with TV is rooted in what they watch on streaming services.

61% of Hispanics say that streaming is their primary destination for TV viewing.

Hispanics spend 22% less time with live and time-shifted TV content than the general population.

Hispanics spend 48.9% of their TV time with streaming content.

Building better content experiences

This report breaks down how to enhance channel programming, tailor recommendations and customize user experiences across FAST channels and beyond.

The trust factor

The Latino community’s unique connection with content is driven by trust.

The keys to connections

Understand the factors that lend authenticity and affirm credibility.

Close the diversity gap

There are perceptions that Latinos feel underrepresented in many of television’s most-watched genres.

The Hispanic audience insights you need

Download the Hispanic audiences in focus report and understand what drives media consumption and trust.

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2023 State of Play Report https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/data-driven-personalization-2023-state-of-play-report/ Mon, 28 Aug 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1374442 Discover how to enhance channel programming, tailor recommendations and customize user experiences across FAST channels...

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2023 State of Play

Data-driven personalization: The future of streaming content discovery

To counteract the rise of overwhelming media choice, personalized viewing experiences present an enduring solution.

Behind the rise of streaming

Audiences are so overwhelmed by content options that many give up on watching altogether.
This highlights an increasing need for personalization and fulfilling content discovery journeys.

Since 2020, the amount of content available to TV viewers has grown by more than 1.1 million individual programs1.

Overwhelmed by choice: 20% say they don’t know what to watch beforehand and couldn’t find something to watch—so they did something else instead2.

Gracenote Video Data has 1,434 FAST channels in its database, 1,050+ of them available in the U.S.3

1 Gracenote Global Video Data; 1.6 million unique titles available February 2020; 2.7 million available in June 2023.
2 Source: Nielsen Streaming Content Consumer Survey, June 2023.
3 Source: Gracenote video data, June 2023.

Building better content experiences

This report breaks down how to enhance channel programming, tailor recommendations and customize user experiences across FAST channels and beyond.

Power personalization

Discover how metadata can unlock personalized FAST viewing experiences.

Unsilo content discovery

Evolve your distribution strategy to work beyond individual channel levels.

Sharpen ad delivery

Learn how content-level metadata can enhance overall ad targeting for streaming.

The insights you need to act FAST

Download the 2023 State of Play report and discover how to get ahead of the streaming curve.

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Examining LGBTQ+ representation in media and advertising https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/examining-lgbtq-representation-in-media-and-advertising/ Thu, 08 Jun 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1282705 Nielsen examines LGBTQ representation in media and advertising to identify how brands are targeting audiences based on...

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The push for change:

Examining LGBTQ+ representation in media and advertising

The trend toward increasing LGBTQ+ representation in media reflects forward progress for the community, but the road ahead is far from smooth. As recent cancellations and shortened series disproportionately affect queer representation on screen, finding LGBTQ+ inclusive content to help carry inclusive brand messaging may prove even more challenging.

The future of marketing is personal, and audience data is critical in an era where people are looking for content—and brands—they can connect with. In this report, Nielsen examines how gender nonconforming audiences  are more comfortable with brands targeting them based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity than cisgender audiences. 

When it comes to media content, streaming is leading the way. While LGBTQ+ related video content is limited, streaming platforms account for 87% of what’s available. LGBTQ+ audiences view movies and programs on traditional TV as notably more non-inclusive than movies and programs on streaming services—and so do heterosexual audiences.

Other key highlights include:

  • More than 25% of global audiences believe that celebrating inclusivity and sharing positive stories would improve LGBTQ+ inclusivity in ads and content.
  • When audiences did receive targeted advertising based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, 64% say the products and messaging were relevant. 
  • Streaming platforms account for 87% of what’s available for representative content, with Black LGBTQ+ content leading representation for the community.

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2023 Nielsen Annual Marketing Report https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/need-for-consistent-measurement-2023-nielsen-annual-marketing-report/ Wed, 26 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1240758 Discover how consistent measurement can help you navigate today's digital-first media landscape in Nielsen's 2023 Annual...

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The need for consistent measurement in a digital-first landscape

Few changes in the media industry are as defining as audiences’ relationship with television. And the latest evolution capturing audiences’ attention is streaming services, smart TVs, and the content they support. In the U.S. alone, Americans watched 19 million years worth of streaming content in 2022.

So, naturally, brands have adjusted their media strategies: 84% of global marketers say they include streaming channels in their media plans.

The catch? Less than half believe this spending is effective.

In December of 2022, we surveyed 1,524 global marketing professionals to understand how they feel about changing viewing behaviors, the rise of streaming and CTV, and solutions for tracking and proving campaign impact.

Here are four key survey insights:

1

Recession or not, marketers expect ad budgets to grow

Despite 69% of global marketers saying economic conditions had a big impact on planning, 64% expect their budgets to grow.

64% of marketers expect budgets to grow

2

Streaming is the future, but value remains unclear

84% of global marketers include streaming in their media planning. Less than half, however, view this spending as effective.

84% of marketers include streaming in their mobile planning

3

ROI confidence is lowest across digital channels

Only 54% of marketers are confident in ROI measurement across digital channels.

54% of marketers are confident in ROI measurement of digital

4

Multiple measurement tools could be hurting confidence

62% of marketers use multiple measurement solutions to achieve a comprehensive look at marketing performance, which may be contributing to the lack of confidence.

62% of marketers are using multiple measurement tools

Success!

Keep scrolling to access Nielsen’s 2023 Annual Marketing Report.

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Insight #1

Digital spend edges out other channel investments

For marketers, 2023 was assumed to be an uncertain year, with 69% surveyed for this report saying that the economic conditions had an impact on their planning.

Still, 64% expect their ad budgets to increase this year, with 13% even expecting increases of 50% or more. Much of that growth can be attributed to CTV and streaming.

Anticipated budget changes of 50% or more throughout the year

Anticipated CTV/OTT spending aligns with global trends we’ve been tracking.


In the U.S., 2022 digital video ad spend was up 171% from 2020. 


Across Puerto Rico, Mexico and Brazil, digital ad spend increased 228%* between 2021 and 2022 for a total of US$24.5 billion, with 58%  (US$14.2 billion) allocated to digital video.


In France, Denmark and the U.K., internet-based video spend increased from US$2.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2020 to US$4.2 billion USD in 2022.

*The data reported is derived from the increased coverage of our Ad Intel measurement, which shows greater visibility of actual spending on digital vehicles. (1) Digital activity reporting in Brazil starts in January 2022. (2) PPP and social activity reporting in Puerto Rico starts in May 2022.

Insight #2

Global ad budgets lean into CTV

The increased spend across online video reflects audiences’ shift to streaming in particular.


In the U.S., Americans watched more than 19 million years’ worth of streaming content in 2022.


In Mexico, streaming grew to account for 15.2% of total TV usage as of December 2022.


In Thailand, streaming content reaches more than 50% of the TV audience.


In Australia, 70% of people 14 and older say they use the internet to stream video.

1 Nielsen Streaming Content Ratings and Nielsen National TV panel
2 The Gauge Mexico
3 Thailand Cross-Platform Ratings
4 Australia Consumer and Media View, Q4 2022

Naturally, global marketers are refining their media spend: On average, 32% report allocating 40%-59% of their budgets to CTV, and nearly one-fifth (19%) report shifting 60%-79%.

Global ad budgets are shifting to CTV

Zenith Media forecasts that global online video ad spending will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8% through 2025 to account for 30% of the overall ad market. The company expects advertising on subscription video on demand (SVOD) services to grow at a CAGR of 27.9% to reach US$13.1 billion by 2025.

This is massive momentum. And yet, according to global marketers, the perceived effectiveness of their  CTV/streaming investments is just 49%.

Perceived effectiveness of digital spending by channel

Insight #3

Confidence is low for holistic ROI measurement

Measurable returns will always help marketers make tactical investment decisions, but cross-media ROI measurement challenges have more than half of global marketers (52% on average) focused only on reach and frequency metrics.

Marketers’ approach to cross-media measurement

We are solely focused on reach/frequency
We are focused on both reach/frequency and ROI

One potential cause for the simplified focus is under-utilized marketing technology (martech). Gartner’s 2022 Marketing Technology Survey Insights found that marketers aren’t using their tools as well as they could be: Only 42% of survey respondents said they use the full breadth of their martech capabilities, down from 58% in 2020.

Untapped martech could also explain the gap between marketers’ stated belief in their martech’s ability to measure aggregate ROI (69%) and their reported ROI confidence at the individual channel level, which is much lower.

Confidence in ROI measurement by channel

Insight #4

Channel-specific tools don’t paint the full performance picture

Shaky ROI confidence isn’t all untapped martech’s fault. Several other factors are at play in a crowded media landscape, including:

Many don’t equate campaign success with on-target reach

On average, 40% of global marketers don’t believe understanding cross-platform reach is important when assessing whether campaigns reach their intended audience. In Asia-Pacific, that rises to 47%. Given how fragmented the modern media landscape is, this number is surprising and notable.

Importance of understanding cross-platform reach when measuring success of reaching target audience

Effective reach depends on quality audience data

Quality audience data is at a premium–especially as third-party cookies and mobile advertising IDs (MAIDs) become obsolete. It makes sense then that only 23% of marketers strongly agree that they have the quality audience data they need to get the most out of their media budgets. In Latin America, the percentage is higher, at 26%.

Channel-specific tools deliver isolated insights

Historically, linear and digital measurement have relied on different methodologies. So, understandably, marketers have turned to multiple, channel-specific tools. On average, 62% of marketers globally use multiple measurement solutions to arrive at cross-media measurement, with 14% leveraging four to five. Just 34% report using one platform for cross-measurement needs: 19% have their own proprietary solution, and 15% use a third-party tool.

Approaches used to achieve cross-media measurement

Martech investment is declining

In addition to using less of their martech, marketers now plan to pull back on additional investment in 2023. On average, 24% of global marketers cite reducing martech investments to some degree, with 12% planning cuts of 150% or more.

Planned investment in marketing technology over the next 12 months

As audiences increase their time with digital devices, emerging channels and streaming content, advertisers and agencies will need measurement that provides comparable data across devices and platforms. What’s more, they need accurate data that doesn’t duplicate viewership while audiences constantly toggle between screens. This comprehensive view across linear and digital platforms will deliver a precise look at audience and impact, which should improve their confidence in marketing investments.

The importance of comparable, person-level measurement isn’t lost on global marketers—71% say comparability is extremely or very important in their cross-media measurement. Arriving at comparable, deduplicated measurement, however, remains a challenge.

Confidence in current solutions delivering comparable, deduplicated cross-media measurement

Plenty is vying for marketers’ attention and budgets. The key is knowing what to prioritize, and how.

Our recommendations

1

Beware of underinvesting on brand equity

Marketers are always asked to do more with less, even without threats of a recession. The economic uncertainty, however, adds pressure to protecting brand equity and sharpens the need for efficient, targeted and measured ad spending. Marketers may just have less budget to do it all.

If that wasn’t hard enough, there’s another big consideration: Most brands were already under-spending—by a median of 50%— and losing opportunities to achieve their maximum ROI in 2022. Reducing spending more could hurt ROI even further. It may also have a negative impact on marketers’ top objectives for 2023: customer acquisition and brand awareness.

Top marketing objectives for the 2023

In digital channels where engagement is rising, under-spending is even higher. For example, May 2022 data from Nielsen’s Predictive ROI Database showed that 66% of global media plans were under-invested for digital video. But marketers that close the spending gap and optimize their digital video investments can improve ROI by a median of 51%.

Rampant underspending is preventing maximum ROI

2

Embrace a comparable measurement mindset

Audiences have spoken: Digital video—in all of its forms—is the future of how audiences will engage with content. This shift calls for transformative change in measurement. Marketers know how important comparable metrics are to understand the effectiveness of their ad spending, but they’re still too reliant on tools that give only a limited view of performance. To keep pace with the industry’s future, marketers need tools, solutions and metrics that are media-agnostic.

Impressions, for example, are universally applicable across ads, content and platforms. And subminute measurement, which produces individual commercial metrics, brings linear TV and digital video measurement closer to how digital campaign performance is measured.

On average, 62% of marketers find it hard to know where to use their ad budgets to reach specific audiences. Even more (69%) agree that digital media and audience fragmentation poses significant challenges to reach their target audiences.

Difficulty with OTT/CTV advertising measurement

To be the transformation that marketers want and finally achieve comparable cross-media measurement at the individual level, marketers should prioritize solutions that are focused on delivering measurement that is media agnostic.

3

Increase ROI by reaching more of your target audience

Understanding how campaigns are performing in near real time should be the way forward on the quest for maximum ROI. We hear this a lot: Reach more of the right audience and your ROI will increase. There’s more truth to this statement than many people might realize.

In 2022, Nielsen conducted a study involving 15 brands and 82 digital campaigns in the U.S. to verify the correlation between target reach and campaign ROI. When we combined in-flight target measurements from Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings and outcome metrics from Nielsen Attribution, we found one clear truth: Ads that best reached their intended audience generated significantly higher ROI than those that didn’t.

Tracking the relationship between targeted ads and ROI

The graph above shows three distinct performance clusters with each bubble representing data for one vendor, for one month, on one campaign.

This study revealed key learnings about targeted reach:

Increased campaign reach raises costs and does not guarantee higher campaign ROI

Increased targeted reach will improve campaign ROI

Advertisers can use reach analysis to better understand which audiences to target

Focusing on the most valuable audiences improves efficiency and drives higher ROI

Honing campaign reach is a critical ROI lever. To stave off the complications of fragmented channels and viewerships, marketers need to prioritize measurement solutions that cover all platforms and devices, with near real time insights, so they can capitalize on opportunity and drive impact from the beginning.

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About this report

This is the fifth annual marketing report Nielsen has produced. It’s also the second to be global. The report leverages survey responses of marketers across a variety of industries whose focus pertains to media, technology and measurement strategies. For this report, we engaged 1,524 global marketing professionals who completed an online survey between Dec. 7, 2022, and Dec. 21, 2022.

In terms of seniority level, we engaged global brand marketers at or above the manager level. These managers work with annual marketing budgets of US$1 million or more across the auto, financial services, FMCG, technology, health care, pharmaceuticals, travel, tourism and retail industries.

Here are the corresponding sample distributions by region. Please keep these sample sizes in mind when reading and interpreting the charts in this report.

Respondents by Region

  • APAC: 386 respondents
  • EMEA: 374 respondents
  • North America: 402 respondents
  • Latin America: 362 respondents

Total: 1,524

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Seen, heard, valued – engaging Asian Americans through media https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/seen-heard-valued-engaging-asian-americans-through-media/ Tue, 25 Apr 2023 13:30:00 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1256682 In this report, Nielsen explores the media platforms and content that draw Asian Americans to help marketers, content...

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Seen, heard, valued

Engaging Asian Americans through media

After the triumph of Everything Everywhere All At Once at the Oscars this year, many people from the Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community were left feeling incredibly proud of that historic night. For one night, the community saw a moment of triumph, for a story and characters that reflected so much of their real-life experiences.

The AANHPI audience has made it clear – through their voices and dollar spend – that they desire for their stories to be seen and heard. Studios and advertisers can tap into the growing value of authentic stories and inclusive representation to engage an audience that is eager to see itself represented on screen. 

In this report, Nielsen explores the media platforms and content that’s drawing Asian Americans. For marketers, content creators and media publishers, we hope you’ll see there is value – and audiences – to be gained when you embrace our community.

Highlights from the report include:

  • AANHPI audiences watch about 27% more streaming content – the platform with the highest AANHPI representation at more than 10% share of screen. 

  • Despite a slight dip in representation from 2021 to 2022, streaming programs are still significantly more inclusive of AANHPI people than other platforms. Streaming had more than twice the representation on broadcast and three times the representation on cable. In addition, Asian-inclusive content is highly bingeable and attracts all audiences beyond AANHPI viewers.

  • Good content appeals to all audiences
    • 91% of AANHPI audiences and 87% of general audiences are open to content featuring people outside of their identity group. 
    • In addition, the report shows high bingeability scores of Asian-led content across top streaming platforms and opportunities for advertisers to better engage AANHPI audiences. 

  • Advertising in Asian-led content delivers value
    • AANHPI audiences are 46% more likely than the total population to buy from brands that advertise in inclusive content.
    • In 2022 brands in the fashion, pet care, electronics and travel categories allocated a significant portion of their advertising budget toward content that features and appeals to the AANHPI community. These are also the categories where Asian Americans are spending more than the general population. 

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5 brand building factors for emerging media https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/brand-building-factors-for-emerging-media/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1243674 Discover the 5 factors that move the needle for brand building across branded content, influencer and podcast marketing...

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Secrets
of success:

Building brands with emerging media

What do podcast ads, influencer marketing and branded content have in common? 

They share the same key factors for driving brand lift. 

Marketers understand how these emerging media execute on reach. However, there has been very limited research on how they deliver on brand building—until now. 

Our report pinpoints exactly what moves the needle for brand building across branded content, influencer and podcast marketing. 

In this report you’ll discover: 

  • The 5 key factors that drive brand lift 
  • Advertising impact on brand KPI growth 
  • Emerging media’s ROI potential 

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Seen on screen: The impact of diverse talent in media https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/seen-on-screen-the-impact-of-diverse-talent-in-media/ Fri, 20 Jan 2023 17:59:51 +0000 https://www.nielsen.com/?post_type=insight&p=1183061 Nielsen’s 2022 Being Seen on Screen report provides a benchmark for measuring diverse representation on TV.

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As the media industry works towards becoming more inclusive, Nielsen’s 2022 Being Seen on Screen report provides a benchmark for measuring representation on TV. We have expanded our dataset from the Top 300 to over 3,000 shows in broadcast, cable and streaming. We have included more diverse communities, most recently, people with disabilities. We have also looked at some case studies exploring how investing in more inclusive programs is good for business — for advertisers or media publishers.

With this report, we seek to provide a deeper understanding of how to be more inclusive in TV programming and connect with the valuable audiences who want to watch meaningful content. 

“Being seen for who we really are is an important step in inclusion. The next step is learning about others through the stories we see and hear.”


Sandra Sims-Williams, Chief Diversity Officer

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