Economic pressures threaten drive for sustainable ads

Marketers across Europe have finally woken up to the impact their digital marketing campaigns are having on the environment, but there has been a worrying decline in the number who think sustainable advertising is important to their business.

With new US President Donald Trump renewing his call to “drill, baby, drill” – as well as leave the Paris climate agreement – the drop in prioritisation of sustainability is being driven by the challenging economic climate in Europe, which is forcing marketers to deliver more with less.

That is according to a study by FreeWheel, a Comcast company and global technology platform for the premium video advertising industry, in the fifth edition of its European Marketers Survey.

Carried out in collaboration with CoLab Media Consulting, it aims to uncover agencies’ and advertisers’ spending priorities and marketing objectives for 2025, as well as their perspectives on sustainability in advertising.

It reveals a significant decline in the number of marketers in Italy, the UK, France, Germany and Spain (EU5) who think sustainable advertising is important to their business, from 77% when the study started in 2020 to 59% now.

This is reflected when looking at industry sectors, as there is a correlation between the sectors with optimism for increased marketing spend and those placing greater importance on environment sustainability.

Across the different sectors surveyed, those that see sustainable advertising as most important are media and entertainment (73%), travel and tourism (73%), and consumer goods (FMCG) (70%); marketers in these sectors were also the most optimistic towards an increase in net marketing spend in 2025.

Even so, the survey reveals that the majority (60%) of marketers are least tracking the carbon cost of their digital marketing campaign, with the UK (62%) and Germany (61%) leading the group.

Noticeably, the study shows how marketers are keen to investigate the operational and technological aspects of ad delivery to drive efficiency. Indeed, a drive to efficiency does not just reduces environmental impact, it can enable marketers to get more out of their marketing budgets.

Two-thirds (66%) said that it is important or very important to optimise and reduce the intermediaries involved in the transactions and see supply path optimisation (SPO) – finding the shortest path from buyers to inventory acquisition – as a meaningful way to reduce the carbon impact of ad campaigns.

Approximately half of the marketers (47%) have set a target date to reach carbon neutrality or net zero.

Of those that have set a target, 59% believe they will hit their target within the next five years. In fact, 85% expect to reach their target by the end of this decade, similar to previous years, indicating that while sustainability might not appear to be at the top of the priorities, marketers are still very much aligned with their goals.

Additionally, a quarter of the marketers surveyed confirmed that they have committed to set science-based targets in line with the SBTi initiative to achieve Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions targets and therefore are looking at the whole value chain – a likely impetus for identifying and engaging intermediaries in supply path optimisation.

FreeWheel senior director of brand, agency, and industry relations Emmanuel Josserand said: “The survey highlights an increasingly thoughtful and realistic approach to sustainability; taking into account both the challenges of sustainability and the opportunities to optimise.

“Collaboration with industry partners and continuous innovation in advertising technologies are essential to the future of sustainability in advertising. Ultimately, the path forward demands strategic integration of sustainability into every aspect of marketing operations.”

Related stories
Vodafone rings changes to cut marketing CO2 footprint
Lack of brand action fuels warning over green squashing
Adland’s fossils accused of fuelling fossil fuel ad row
‘Greenwashing’ hits print industry and vulnerable, too
Industry professionals fear sector’s impact on planet
Govt is launch client for new ESG platform from OMG
Brands urged to do more as Brits dismiss green claims

Be the first to comment on "Economic pressures threaten drive for sustainable ads"

Leave a comment