Digital has long been heralded as the “next big thing” in terms of brands being able to engage with consumers meaningfully – but according to the CEO of WPP, Sir Martin Sorrell, as quoted in Marketing Week, some big brands are of the opinion that they may have overinvested in digital.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) has admitted that it spent too much on targeting consumers on Facebook, which resulted in an approach that was too narrow and consequently affected sales. The brand is now trying to grow its reach while still ensuring that the right targeting is at play. Reach and frequency with the right message are critical, says P&G CEO David Taylor in the magazine, and P&G has adjusted its approach to encompass TV, radio and digital.
Sorrell fully expects further admissions of overinvestment in digital, as well as a slowdown in adspend, as ad fraud, measurement and viewability to continue to challenge digital platforms. “Chief financial officers, procurement officers and media auditors are all increasingly asking for better metrics on the effectiveness of digital,” he notes. “Digital now makes up on average 30% of brands’ budgets, but for spend to increase further the likes of Google and Facebook will need to provide better measurement tools.”
What does the digital landscape look like in SA, though – will it succumb to the same vagaries in terms of decreasing ad spend? Chris Botha, group managing director of The MediaShop, says that although it should slow down slightly, adspend will not necessarily decrease.
“It will find a spot in the sun and settle,” he points out. “Some marketers are blinded by the digital revolution and lose sight of the fact that platforms like TV and radio are still immensely powerful. Digital is just another medium that needs to be used in a communication context, the same as any other medium.”
On the other hand, Botha asserts, use of digital platforms in brand communications strategies in SA isn’t yet on the same level as in more developed markets such as the USA or UK – particularly in terms of spend. Which means that there is still plenty of room for growth in digital adspend, because as e-commerce continues to grow, so too will digital media and advertising.
The growth of e-commerce will also minimise concerns about ad fraud, viewability and measurement issues, predicts Botha. “More and more clients will focus only on sales results, negating the worries about ad fraud – as long as the platform delivers a satisfactory sales result,” he concludes.
Big take-out: Global brands such as Procter & Gamble are beginning to face an overinvestment in digital, and CEO of WPP, Sir Martin Sorrell, predicts a decline in adspend. But the MediaShop’s Chris Botha says there is still room for growth in SA as e-commerce develops.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Have brands overinvested in digital?
Procter & Gamble (P&G) has admitted that it spent too much on targeting consumers on Facebook, which resulted in an approach that was too narrow and consequently affected sales. The brand is now trying to grow its reach while still ensuring that the right targeting is at play. Reach and frequency with the right message are critical, says P&G CEO David Taylor in the magazine, and P&G has adjusted its approach to encompass TV, radio and digital.
Sorrell fully expects further admissions of overinvestment in digital, as well as a slowdown in adspend, as ad fraud, measurement and viewability to continue to challenge digital platforms. “Chief financial officers, procurement officers and media auditors are all increasingly asking for better metrics on the effectiveness of digital,” he notes. “Digital now makes up on average 30% of brands’ budgets, but for spend to increase further the likes of Google and Facebook will need to provide better measurement tools.”
What does the digital landscape look like in SA, though – will it succumb to the same vagaries in terms of decreasing ad spend? Chris Botha, group managing director of The MediaShop, says that although it should slow down slightly, adspend will not necessarily decrease.
“It will find a spot in the sun and settle,” he points out. “Some marketers are blinded by the digital revolution and lose sight of the fact that platforms like TV and radio are still immensely powerful. Digital is just another medium that needs to be used in a communication context, the same as any other medium.”
On the other hand, Botha asserts, use of digital platforms in brand communications strategies in SA isn’t yet on the same level as in more developed markets such as the USA or UK – particularly in terms of spend. Which means that there is still plenty of room for growth in digital adspend, because as e-commerce continues to grow, so too will digital media and advertising.
The growth of e-commerce will also minimise concerns about ad fraud, viewability and measurement issues, predicts Botha. “More and more clients will focus only on sales results, negating the worries about ad fraud – as long as the platform delivers a satisfactory sales result,” he concludes.
Big take-out: Global brands such as Procter & Gamble are beginning to face an overinvestment in digital, and CEO of WPP, Sir Martin Sorrell, predicts a decline in adspend. But the MediaShop’s Chris Botha says there is still room for growth in SA as e-commerce develops.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.