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News just in - the most talked about B2B media and advertising stories in the press right now

Written by Simpatico PR

Posted on 2022-05-20

UK ad spend hits a record high, Netflix in hot water, and Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover - some of the biggest stories of the last week or so featured Simpatico's B2B PR clients.

According to the latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure report, the e-commerce and TV sectors helped drive the UK ad market to 34.3% year-on-year growth for 2021 – almost double that previously forecasted.

https://expenditurereport.warc.com/media/1423/aawarc-april-2022-release-final.pdf

Simpatico’s B2B PR clients shared their thoughts on this, along with the news that Netflix will be introducing ads and Elon Musk’s Twitter buyout.

Read their take on it in our coverage highlights.

UK 2021 ad spend growth doubles

Mindshare’s Chief Revenue Officer, Richard Kelly, spoke to Campaign Magazine following the news that UK ad spend had hit an all-time high in 2021. He noted that his agency was seeing “investment in online formats continue to flourish and further establish its influence in reaching once untapped audiences.”

He added: “We’re also seeing TV stand the test of time and outperform expectations, proving the naysayers wrong. Excitement surrounding the future of TV has been re-ignited as opportunities continue to develop and diversify, as exemplified by Netflix announcing the integration of ads onto the platform.”

While Ali MacCallum, Kinetic UK’s Chief Executive commented on out-of-home’s resurgence over the past year. “Brands recognise that out-of-home audiences are back in full force, and it’s no surprise they’re turning to a combination of classic and digital OOH inventory to target existing and future customers”.

He continued: “OOH consistently provides tangible value to brands and, with the continued regulation and decline of previously effective online advertising strategies, we are feeling ever-more optimistic about the future of OOH.”

Read the full article in Campaign here: UK adspend hits all-time high, smashing predictions, but does pride come before a fall?

The future of Ads on Netflix

Netflix has also hit the headlines recently with some customers threatening to cancel their subscriptions if the streaming service starts showing adverts to those on cheaper deals. However, Jem Lloyd-Williams CEO of Mindshare UK told the Daily Mail that for some, the trade-off between saving money each month and watching adverts might actually prove attractive to some viewers.

He said, “As long as Netflix continues to invest in high quality content, we think this could be the right move at the right time for the streaming giant.”

Read the full article in the Daily Mail here: “This is not negotiable': Netflix customers threaten to CANCEL their subscriptions if it starts showing adverts to those on cheaper plans – as experts warn move could drive users to rivals Apple, Amazon and Disney+”

While on the other side of the coin, Jacob Weithorn, Associate Director at Kepler, spoke with Candid News about what this new model could mean for advertisers.

While advertisers and agencies are still waiting to find out more about how ad-funded content will work in practice, Jacob commented “Netflix is massive and this is of immediate interest to those with an interest in connected TV activation."

"But we don't know as yet how Netflix will adopt the advertising model." He explains, it's not known what the company's back-office infrastructure will look like, whether ads will be sold programmatically, how much customer information will be shared with brands and what the measurement capabilities will be.

Read Candid News’ article here: Netflix: what will a new model mean for advertisers?

Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover

Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has also been in an inescapable part of the news agenda over the past few weeks, causing anxiety in adland over major disruption to the social platform’s ad business.

In a piece for Creative Pool, Jonathan D’Souza-Rauto, Biddable Product Lead at Kepler EMEA, discussed his thoughts on the purchase and what it could mean for the future of social media.

He said: “Twitter has always been seen as the conversational channel within the social media realm, with brands leveraging this capability to grow brand awareness both paid and organically. Looking at the initial views of where Elon Musk wants to take Twitter, some advertisers may be put off completely based on the fact that Twitter is arguably the least brand safe platform out of all the tier one social platforms.

“Its advertising platform for paid ads has historically struggled to keep up with the competition based on its infrastructure. However, it has made huge strides over the past 12 months and the roadmap may completely disappear if a subscription-based approach appears, or this may actually be a catalyst for more innovation” Jonathan added.

You can read the full article in Creative Pool here: Elon Musk - It’s the end of Twitter as we know it but most creative experts feel fine

For more information on how earned media can enhance your growth potential through intelligent B2B PR, get in touch now.


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