IPA Making Sense: Commercial Media Report
The 2024 IPA Making Sense: The Commercial Media Landscape report has highlighted that the daily pattern of media consumption has not altered greatly over the last 20 years since the Touchpoints tracking report launched. People still watch video in the evening, whereas audio listening peaks in the morning. OOH exposure builds as the day progresses and tails off towards evening, and reading text is at a comparatively lower but consistent level throughout the day. The pandemic disrupted this somewhat, but the latest data shows a shift back to the norm.
Despite the rise of subscription media such as Netflix and Spotify, their impact on commercial media is less than expected. Commercial media’s share of consumption has dropped by just 2 percentage points from 66% in 2015 to 64% in 2024.
However, for the sixth year running, with the exception of OOH, no single commercial media channel can reach 90%+ of All Adults per week. As media consumption habits fragment, key platforms remain crucial, with the top five commercial media by weekly reach for All Adults in 2024 being: ITV/STV (51%); Facebook (48%); YouTube (45%); Channel 4 (44%) and Instagram (34%).
SVOD ad-funded tiers continue to grow
The Media Shop continues to expand campaigns on SVOD platforms, now regular additions to linear TV campaigns. Amazon Prime has the largest consumer base of any streaming ad tier in the UK now, with its default ad tier now reaching 11.5m UK homes, according to the latest Q3 estimate from BARB. In comparison, Netflix and Disney+ ad tiers are estimated to reach 3.8m and 1.2m households respectively.
Paramount+ has recently announced it will also offer up a cheaper ad-funded tier in the UK later this month, giving advertisers the chance to be seen alongside premium shows such as Landman, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore and Jon Hamm; The Agency, produced by George Clooney and starring Michael Fassbender and Richard Gere; and a new series of Yellowstone.
The (current) lack of need for a Clearcast certificate for these platforms makes them attractive for clients without an ad fully cleared for TV. However, we have encountered challenges with these platforms’ own less transparent policies around which ads they will accept, having experienced a couple of 11th hour rejections for ads deemed ‘inappropriate’ by Amazon Prime. Therefore, we recommend seeking early ad approval, particularly for advertisers in social marketing / health / charity / financial planning sectors.
New tools to enhance TV campaign measurement and effectiveness
ISBA, the industry body representing advertisers and brands in the UK, has beta-launched their Origin cross-media audience measurement platform, which will allow marketers to measure de-duplicated reach and frequency of campaigns across different media channels, e.g. linear TV, Meta, and YouTube.
Origin will use a Kantar 2,500 household panel to capture digital device viewing data, to source linear TV campaign viewing, giving advertisers “true like-for-like granular comparison of ad viewing duration across TV and online”.
However, traditional broadcast TV providers, Sky, ITV, Channel 4, and TV audience measurement board BARB, have have so far not fed their own on-demand and linear data into Origin. They have voiced concerns that the platform is biased towards digital platforms, matching a completed view on linear TV with a 2 second view on YouTube.
Meanwhile, ITV, Sky, and Channel 4 have announced their own project, Lantern, a new audience measurement panel designed to track the short-term impact of TV advertising on a range of outcomes, e.g. sales, search behaviour, web traffic. This innovative tool will allow advertisers to determine the effectiveness of campaigns by analysing consumer behaviour (identified from Measure Protocol panel) following ad exposure (measured via Sky and YouView 6m households).
We’re keenly watching the progress of both projects as these detailed insights will not only help us evaluate the effectiveness of TV campaigns, but optimise future strategies for better results.
The rise of alternatives to X
The latest UKOM data shows that X continues to face challenges, losing 6% of its users in the UK between June and September. Average minutes are down by a similar margin. Meanwhile, new platforms such as Threads and Bluesky are emerging as alternatives with fast growing user bases. Threads has seen a 37% increase in users, and Blue Sky 445% (from a low base).
Although neither platform currently offers formal ad formats, they present opportunities for organic engagement. Threads, backed by Meta, benefits from its integration with Instagram, helping drive user growth. Bluesky’s decentralised, independent model appeals to users seeking a simpler, more customisable and transparent platform.
Both platforms are well positioned to capture audiences leaving X, offering new opportunities for brands to engage with users. For advertisers, this is an ideal moment to test and learn on these platforms, understanding their potential for building conversations with target audiences as the platforms evolve.
Client Spotlight
The Media Shop team takes great pride in working with several charities. Worldwide Cancer Research tasked our team with raising awareness of the charity and encouraging people to join their community of Curestarters – a challenging ask within a space dominated by similar larger charities.Identifying Guardian readers as a receptive audience for the WCR message, we created an innovative standout solution – a content hub containing a series of articles showcasing the innovative cancer research projects that they fund, dispelling misbeliefs about the disease and informing supporters about how their donations are spent.
The campaign has also been running across TV and broadcaster VOD, The Times Online and in print, and has led to an 19% y-o-y increase in awareness and a staggering 41% year-on-year increase in Donation Consideration in October, according to YouGov BrandIndex.
The charity recently won the Best Legacy Campaign at the Scottish Fundraising Awards for their ‘Be the Spark’ campaign of innovative digital, print and radio formats featuring celebrity ambassador, Russell Watson. Well done to the Worldwide Cancer Research team for continually pushing the boundaries of what is achievable for a small but mighty charity.
