We looked at the global media and marketing survey carried out by Nielsen that was released for 2022. Below we explore 3 highlights in a little more detail.
Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. They measure audience behaviour across all marketing channels and platforms to discover what audiences love. They then translate these data into actionable insights for brands.
Having worked with London-based global media agencies and multi-million pound advertising accounts, Nielsen reports were always part of the insights that shaped our media strategies for clients.
Responses below are gathered from global brand marketers at or above the manager level, working at various verticals such as FMCG, Retail, Financial Services, Tourism, etc. managing an annual budget of $1 million or more.
1.Expected Advertising Budget Change in 2022:
Brands planned to increase their media budget across social media, display, video and search channels in 2022, with social media leading the way at 53% aggregate increase. Radio, cinema, print and linear TV are at the bottom of the list despite seeing an increase in their budget investment.
TV is the channel to reach the mass audience. However, this channel has changed in recent times with linear TV giving its top place to connected TV. CTV is currently among the top five media channels predicted to see a high % increase in spend (37% aggregate increase) emphasising that this medium remains very powerful in helping brands connect to a mass audience.
2.Top Marketing Objectives in 2022:
At the top of the list of the most important marketing objectives sit brand awareness and customer acquisition (these two goals remained unchanged when compared to the previous year’s data). What we see here from experienced brands is their understanding of the vital role of brand awareness in ensuring the acquisition of new customers.
The importance of this topic is one that we see many smaller businesses struggle to recognise. Many of them know that advertising is powerful, but they anticipate immediate sales results off the back of their media investment – which is understandable in view of their budget limitation. However, in most cases this expectation doesn’t match the reality of how paid media advertising works. We know this through experience and it’s also worth mentioning Nielsen’s insight shows that on average, a 1-point gain in brand metrics, such as awareness and consideration, drives a 1% increase in sales.
3.Important Marketing Metrics to Measure in 2022:
The most important metric on the list below is a brand’s capability to measure its brand awareness (66%), followed by engagement metric. Knowing marketers are always under pressure to deliver ROI, the understanding here is that the marketers’ knowledge of their brand awareness shows a direct correlation with the sales they generate for their organisation.
The unduplicated reach and frequency across all audiences remains at the bottom of this list, although still has a very high percentage (57%). The challenge exists because advertising campaigns run across various media channels and platforms. Despite many of these ad platforms having the option to limit/define frequency caps, the different advertising technologies involved in clients’ media plans, and the constant movement of audiences between various platforms, means executing accurate frequency caps remains a big challenge for brands. There is also the ongoing discussion around what the ultimate frequency cap number is in order for brands to be remembered by their audience.
