World Cup, Black Friday, TV spend: 5 interesting stats to start your week

Half of adults respect brands speaking out ahead of the World Cup

Half of UK adults (49%), which rise to 63% of consumers aged 18 to 34, say they respect brands more for speaking out about issues around the World Cup in Qatar.

A survey of 2,000 consumers by the IPA finds men of all ages (52%) are slightly more likely to agree brands should take a stand than women (47%).

According to the data, staging the tournament at the height of the cost of living crisis has consumers split. While 34% say the World Cup will provide a much-needed distraction from the challenges of 2022, a further 34% do not agree. Men are more likely (40%) to see the tournament as a break from the stresses of the year than women (29%).

Some 38% of people aged 18 to 34 say it is exciting to have the World Cup run alongside the Christmas build-up, compared to 20% of all adults and just 8% of over 55s.

Almost half (47%) of 18- to 34-year-olds say they will prioritise watching the Qatar World Cup over other seasonal TV shows such as the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and ITV’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.

Over a third of the same group (39%) say they are more excited about the World Cup following the Lionesses’ Euros triumph this summer. Interestingly, this figure is significantly higher among men (42%) than women (18%).

Source: IPA

Two-thirds of UK brands to cut linear TV spend

Linear TV budgets are expected to be the worst hit as the macroeconomic environment puts pressure on media spend, with 67% of 59 major UK brands planning to decrease their investment in the channel in 2023.

However, according to the study by ISBA and Ebiquity, over half (53%) of respondents are planning to instead increase their spend on advanced and connected TV, going some way to offset any hit to TV revenues.

The 59 brand advertisers surveyed include three of the UK’s top 10 advertisers by spend and 11 of the UK’s top 50 advertisers. All respondents collectively invest more than £1.5bn in advertising.

Overall, nearly 40% of respondents plan to cut offline media investments next year, including radio, print and outdoor. Meanwhile, 33% plan to increase spend either slightly or significantly in digital media.

The survey suggests a trend towards short-termism as budgets come under scrutiny. Three-quarters of respondents in the sample (69%) agree strongly or agree that 2023 budgets are under heavy scrutiny, with marketers required to justify investment.

However, some 31% of respondents say they will aim to boost branding next year, compared to 22% who plan to increase performance spend.

Source: ISBA/Ebiquity

More than half of Britons to pull back on Black Friday spending

With the cost of living continuing to rise, 58% of Britons are planning to cut their Black Friday spending this year compared to 2021.

While most consumers (74%) do plan to buy something in the annual sales, a survey of 1,000 working-age consumers by Attest reveals 20% are only anticipating spend of between £51 and £100, while 24% are unsure how much they will spend. In comparison, last year Brits on average spent between £100 and £200.

Reasons given by respondents for reducing spend this year include saving money in case they need it due to economic uncertainty (32%), prioritising their money to cover day-to-day expenses (29%), and paying for home energy bills (24%). Other reasons include making mortgage payments and concerns about job security, both at 4%.

What consumers buy this year may also differ to previous years. Past research from Attest has found technology products to have always been the most sought-after purchases on Black Friday, but this year clothing has taken the lead as the main type of product people plan to buy (32%), with technology following in second (28%).

Source: Attest

Linear TV and BVOD combined delivers up to 10% higher ROI than linear alone

Advertising campaigns which use linear TV and broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD) in combination are typically up to 10% more effective at delivering ROI than those which rely on linear alone, according to new research commissioned by Thinkbox.

On average, BVOD adds a 4% increase in incremental reach to a linear TV campaign across adults aged 16 and over, a 6% increase for adults categorised as ABC1s, and an 8% increase for those aged 16 to 34.

Among the top performing 10% of campaigns, the percentage increase rises to 9% for adults, 8% for adult ABC1s, and 11% for 16 to 34s.

Undertaken by agencies Gain Theory and MediaCom, Wavemaker, Mindshare, Acacia Avenue and professional services firm PwC UK, the ‘BVOD Almighty: Reach and Return’ study also finds BVOD is the least risky of all video channels in the variability of returns. BVOD delivers 20% of variance compared with the median return, closely followed by linear TV with a variability of 24%.

Source: Thinkbox

Four in 10 marketing job ads hide salaries

Job ads for marketing roles are the most likely to not disclose the salary on offer in the UK, hiding salaries at a higher rate than sales, operations, HR and IT positions.

In an analysis of more than 6,000 job listings, four in 10 marketing jobs (41%) hid their salaries, rising to 71% of ads for CMO roles. The listings instead use phrases like “competitive salary” or “depending on experience”.

In comparison, 35% of ads for sales and operations roles did not disclose salaries, 29% of HR roles and 27% of IT roles. Overall, more than a third (35%) of job ads in the UK have hidden salaries.

The highest rates of salary non-disclosure were in job ads for senior and C-suite positions. CMO roles saw the second highest rate, behind chief technology officers (81%) but ahead of sales directors (59%) and operations directors (58%).

Source: People Managing People