Marketers might be continuing to plough more and more of their budgets into digital but most still admit that a lack cross-media measurement is making it virtually impossible to see which channels are the most effective.
That is one of the standout findings from Nielsen’s 2023 Annual Marketing Report, which quizzed nearly 2,000 global marketers on the implications of the recessionary economic environment, planned media spending, media mix, cross-media measurement challenges and measurement technology.
It reveals that four-fifths (80%) of marketers across EMEA are now including streaming channels in their media plans, yet just 54% view the spending on connected TV as “extremely effective” or “very effective”.
The study also found that two-thirds (67%) of marketers acknowledged, in a digital-first landscape, the importance of comparable measurement across channels to ensure that they know who is engaging with the devices and channels carrying their advertising.
Meanwhile, the report also shows that on average in key markets across the region, Internet and TV account for 69% of ad spending but that there were some major differences at a national level between some of the key markets.
For instance, in the UK, 38% of ad spending was on TV, and 37% on the Internet, while traditional TV was the medium with the most ad spend in Italy (73%), France (54%) and Germany (47%) with all three countries having much lower ad spend on the Internet than the UK (8%, 16% and 16% respectively).
However, economic headwinds aside, marketers expect their ad budgets to grow: nearly two-thirds (62%) expect their annual budgets to increase this year, despite 68% saying that economic conditions had a significant impact on planning for 2023. Of the 62%, 13% expect increases of 50% of more.
Even so, the use of multiple measurement tools hinders confidence in a single view of audience performance: on average, 68% of marketers across EMEA use multiple measurement solutions to arrive at cross-media measurement, with 16% leveraging four to five.
Confidence in measuring ROI is particularly low across digital channels: on average confidence in ROI measurement across digital channels is just 57%, which leaves them without the needed insights into the return on their spending.
Nielsen EMEA commercial lead Katya Edelshtein commented: “The audiences’ relationship with TV continues to evolve and this shapes what is an increasingly complex media ecosystem today. As the proliferation of channels continues, the industry becomes more fragmented and this continues to change consumer behaviour.
“That brings huge challenges to marketers as they must put the audience first. Our report clearly shows the issues that are being grappled with as marketers try to meet audiences where they are.
“It is clear that streaming channels are playing an ever increasing role in ad strategy, but this is hindered by a lack of cross-media measurement. To make progress on this will require transformative thinking alongside leveraging the highest quality inputs and data.”
Related stories
Marketers get in shape to do ‘more with less in 2023’
Where will we be in 2023…with data-driven marketing?
Digital spend soars but IAB chief warns ‘don’t get cocky’
DMA: Too many industry metrics just don’t add up
DMA opens databank to tackle campaign measurement
Decision Marketing at 10: Future of media effectiveness
Digital bobby-dazzlers put ROI and data quality in dark
