Latest figures from Thinkbox indicate Amazon, in particular, boosted its TV spending by 21% to £60m last year as it promoted its Alexa voice assistant, putting it in the top three advertisers, behind Procter & Gamble (£169m ) and Reckitt Benckiser (£79m).
The top 5 biggest spending categories on TV in 2018 according to Nielsen’s data were:
- Online businesses: £760m (7% up year on year)
- Food: £534m (3% down)
- Cosmetics & Personal Care: £437m (1% up)
- Entertainment & Leisure: £380m (no change)
- Finance: £378m (18% up)
Thinkbox also observed 867 new or returning (after a gap of at least five years) advertisers on TV, possibly encouraged by the fact that the average cost per thousand (CPT) for broadcast TV ad views, at £5.13, was 21% cheaper in real terms than 10 years ago.
This figure, Thinkbox clarified, only includes TV advertising that is watched from start to finish at normal speed; TV ads that are seen during any fast-forwarding are free to advertisers.
“TV advertising put in a strong performance in 2018 given the challenging economic environment,”
said Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox CEO.
“We are seeing signs of money moving back to TV from lower quality online environments which can’t guarantee a safe environment for brands,” she added. “It is a testament to TV’s continuing power to deliver that a company like Amazon, which understands its customers so well, is using TV to power its success.”
Total TV advertising in 2018 amounted to £5.11bn, representing all money invested by advertisers in commercial TV in the UK across all formats and screens: broadcast TV spot and sponsorship, Broadcaster VOD, addressable TV, interactive TV advertising, and product placement.
Source: warc.com
