The Feed

Alphabet, Meta and Amazon to take half of $1 trillion ad market in 2025

The global ad market has largely weathered the impact of COVID-19, so far, and is on course to reach a value of US$1 trillion in 2025, with more than half of this money paid to just three companies – Alphabet, Meta and Amazon – according to the latest Global Advertising Trends report from WARC Data.

Global Advertising Trends: Where is the money going?

• Following on from a meteoric 23.8% rise to a total of US$771 billion this year – the strongest growth in WARC's four decades of market monitoring – advertising investment is forecast to rise by a further 12.5% and 8.3% in 2022 and 2023 respectively, with e-commerce platforms set to lead this growth.
• A survey of 1,350+ marketing practitioners, carried out recently by WARC (before the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19), shows that two in three marketers already committing budgets to Amazon are intending to increase that spend, while heightened advertiser demand is pushing up the average cost-per-click. 
  
• Two thirds of advertising professionals are planning to up spend on TikTok next year, while YouTube (61% of surveyed practitioners), Instagram (60%) and Google (57%) are also set to benefit from higher spend in 2022.
• All product sectors are projected to top pre-COVID investment next year, while most sectors were able to record a full recovery this year. Notable exceptions include transport & tourism, which led growth with an absolute increase of $12.5bn this year but this is still almost $2.9bn down on pre-pandemic spending levels.

WARC says 

“Despite potential headwinds, market data show that we are currently witnessing a boom in advertising trade like none seen before, led by increased demand for retail media and ancillary publishers such as Google and Instagram, which is now the world’s largest social platform. Our projections show that this trend is set to continue” – James McDonald, Director of Data, Intelligence & Forecasting, WARC.

Details of trends by media, format and product category can be viewed here.

Indian advertisers welcome imminent return of TRP for news channels

In a data-driven age, advertisers are looking forward to the return of Television Rating Points (TRP) for India’s news channels after a 15-month hiatus, but some remain wary of the credibility of any new figures that may be published.

The back story 

The ratings were suspended in October 2020 following allegations that several news channels were manipulating viewership figures by bribing panel homes where measurement meters had been placed. Since then, despite promises of improved statistical robustness, advertisers have been investing in news channels without any data to back their decisions. But last week the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asked the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to release the ratings for the news genre with immediate effect.

Why it matters

With five state elections coming up, this would be a good time for both news channels and advertisers to have access to viewing figures – the first to capitalise on an expected increase in viewership, the second to understand where best to allocate their spending.

Context

• The news genre accounts for around 7% of India’s total advertising expenditure.
• In chasing ratings, news channels have been accused of sensationalising stories; the absence of ratings arguably has led to less polarising content and a more brand-safe environment. 
• Smaller news channels have lost out as, with no data, those advertisers sticking with the genre – like auto and FMCG – have tended to spend with the large, well-established channels. 

Key quote

“We will have to wait and watch to see if the numbers are right, what new mechanisms will be in place and how the channels react” – Krishnarao Buddha, senior category head - marketing, Parle Products, speaking to Best Media Info.

Sourced from afaqs!, Best Media Info, Global Circulate [Image: Karolina Grabowska from Pexels]

Kiyan Prince Foundation wins DMA Grand Prix 2021

The UK anti-knife crime organisation, the Kiyan Prince Foundation, a charity named for the promising young QPR footballer has won the Grand Prix at the DMA award for a campaign, Long Live the Prince, that made a huge impact at a time when much of the public had grown immune to crime messaging.

The charity worked with Agency Engine and the EA Sports FIFA team.

Why it matters

Video games can tell profound stories. The campaign brings Kiyan, who was murdered when trying to break up a fight aged 15 in 2006, to the video game Fifa to create a virtual athlete based on projections of the young man had he fulfilled his potential as a footballer.  “The strategy was to reframe Kiyan's story from tragedy to inspiration,” the submission writes.

Details

• On the anniversary of his death, Kiyan was re-signed by QPR and was entered in FIFA 21 as a playable character with a boot deal from adidas.
• The campaign put out a hero piece of shareable audio-visual, featuring Raheem Sterling and Kiyan's father, Dr Mark Prince OBE.
• The initiative was covered by BBC, ITV and Sky News, gained extensive newspaper coverage and raised three times the normal annual revenue for KPF in a single day.

2021 DMA Awards on WARC

Publishers prioritising subscriptions over advertising revenue

Subscriptions are the number one priority for commercial news and magazine publishers this year, according to research across 52 countries by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Why it matters

As print advertising declines and digital advertising revenue grows steadily, many publishers are turning to subscriptions as a more sustainable revenue source. WARC Data's latest forecast shows that print advertising spend will drop 7.1% this year while online publishing advertising spend will rise 7.8% this year to top $25bn for the first time.

As a result, many publishers are emphasising subscriptions and other revenue sources – on average, publishers cite three or four different streams as being important to them this year.

Takeaways

• Four in five (79%) publishers said subscriptions will be important for their company in 2022, above the 73% who said display advertising will be important this year.
• Native advertising (59%) is the third most important digital revenue stream for publishers, followed by events (40%), e-commerce (30%) and funding from platforms (29%).

Sourced from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, WARC Data

Would a ban on targeted advertising work?

Three US lawmakers have tabled a new bill that would ban targeted advertising according to all but broad location data, and therefore tilting the market toward contextual methods – with similar sentiments brewing across the Atlantic, is it time to consider how this would change the industry?

Why it matters

A blunt ban on the use of data would not only hit the business models of the companies that have built their fortunes on targeting capabilities, it would have a knock-on effect on ad prices and would likely – as many industry groups point out – affect small and medium-sized businesses who rely on these services to keep costs down.

The law in brief

The Banning Surveillance Advertising Act would prohibit ad networks and facilitators from targeting through the sharing of personal data, including:

• A list of individuals and connected devices
• Contact information
• A unique identifier

Advertisers would be banned from using third-party data.

It would allow contextual advertising, otherwise known as advertising placed according to the content of the page a user is viewing rather than their own personal profile. There are both high-tech and low-tech ways of buying advertising contextually.

Its enforcement would come through both federal and state regulators, but the initial draft law also includes a relief clause in which civil actions brought and won could see the plaintiff awarded $1,000 for a negligent violation and $5,000 for a knowing violation.

The situation

• For the moment, discount the fact that the legislation is as yet supported only by its three sponsors – Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) – and would face a wildly difficult passage through congress, given how important targeting is to small businesses that make up the important long tail of platform businesses like Google and Meta.
• Yes, there is some political grandstanding, but something similar is happening in Europe as some factions attempt to bring in a blanket ban on data-driven advertising as part of the wide-ranging Digital Services Act. While this is unlikely, elements concerning a ban on targeting minors or allowing people to access full website or service functions even if they refuse consent to targeted advertising are much more likely to move forward. 
• Would it work? You could put an end to data-driven targeting but it’s unlikely that it would yield an unalloyed good given that it would upend the entire business model of the internet – and the many companies and individuals who make a living from it.

Key quote

“Surveillance advertising is at the heart of every exploitative online business model that exacerbates manipulation, discrimination, misinformation, extremism, and fundamentally violates people’s privacy in ways they would never choose if given a true choice”– Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), in a statement.

Sourced from Cory Booker, Euractiv. Image: Pexels

Global attitudes to inflation begin to shift

Around the world, the cost of living (inflation) is rising as larger costs of labour and natural resources drive prices up – this is now starting to affect consumer sentiment at all levels of the wealth spectrum.

Why it matters

Marketers must be concerned with profit, and rising costs mean the margins on higher prices are extremely difficult to maintain.

What’s happening

• Consumers across the world are cutting back. In China, that uncertainty has been affecting purchases since around July. While in Europe, confidence indicators had started to dip heading into 2022.
• In the US, talk of inflation is “no longer transitory” according to the Federal Reserve, which will likely trickle through to trade-downs to major brands' secondary lines. Elsewhere, expect private label to benefit.
• Luxury-focussed outlet Jing Daily observes that even luxury, which has typically been a good way to spend money burning a hole in the pocket of the wealthy, is far less desirable when hard assets like real estate property tend to depreciate less.
• Trickier is the situation for premium brands, whose middle-class audience and customer base will feel a harder pinch.

What it means

A cost of living squeeze could lead to a shock to households similar to a financial crisis. 

Sourced from Morning Consult, European Commission, Jing Daily, WARC

Consumer spending in TikTok grew 77% last year

Users spent approximately $2.3bn in TikTok last year, an increase of 77% from $1.3bn in 2020, according to data from mobile analytics company Sensor Tower. User engagement is also growing strongly – the average number of sessions and the time spent in the app by users rose 30% and 15% year on year in Q4 2021.

Why it matters

A strong Q4 2021 for consumer spending sets the path for continued strong growth in 2022, particularly as TikTok gives more focus to trends like community commerce. Brands are following this movement, with 66% of marketers planning to increase their investment in TikTok this year, a share higher than all of the app's competitors.

Takeaways

• In Q4 2021 alone, consumers worldwide spent $824m in TikTok, more than double the amount spent during the same period in 2020.
• While downloads have stabilised, user engagement has grown strongly.

Sourced from Sensor Tower, WARC Data

For insight on the creator economy, look to Japan's LINE

LINE, a hugely popular messaging app that originated in Japan before expanding to other parts of Asia, holds important lessons for the booming creator/collector economy at a time when NFTs dominate global headlines.

A story in Rest of World (RoW), the tech publication that focuses on stories from Asia, Africa, and South America – the vast swaths of the world often ignored by the Western press – delves into what happened when the messaging app opened up a Creators Market for people to sell stickers.

Why it matters

LINE is a messaging app that has expanded into payments, shopping, gaming, and even taxi services. It’s often mentioned in the same breath as other ‘super-apps’ that characterise smartphone tech in east Asia. What WeChat is to China, LINE is to Japan.

With one key difference: stickers. This feature is the unlikely ‘killer’ aspect of the experience. They are like personalised, cartoon emojis. Both a language and an emotional signal.

Creator economies

In 2014 the app introduced a platform through which people could buy artists’ stickers. RoW’s story looks at this economy.

It’s big business: For LINE, the sticker marketplace brings in around $200m annually. Some creators have made more than $10m from selling on the platform. For others, it has helped launch or supplement careers as Manga artists.

However, the moral of the story is about saturation amid the perception that creating and selling stickers is a quick ticket to fabulous wealth (remind you of any current trends?)

It’s a reminder that markets, especially those mediated by tech, operate under social ideas of value, whose cache helps to drive the price up. As a result, most creators make next to nothing, while a tiny minority take most of the money. As the world starts to hype about another form of digital art, precedents are a useful reminder that utopia is rarely just around the corner.

Sourced from Rest of World. Image: Line

Microsoft, Tencent take different gaming routes

News that Microsoft is paying more than $68bn to acquire video game maker Activision Blizzard comes at the same time as Tencent is limiting Chinese children to a total of 14 hours gaming time over their upcoming four week-long winter break.

Why it matters

Two different worlds of gaming are emerging, with money driving the industry in the west, where Microsoft’s purchase bolsters its Xbox hardware and plays into future metaverse developments. 

In China, however, policy is now in the driving seat, as the government, concerned about the effects of excessive gaming on young people, limits playing time. 

China context

• Last summer China's video game regulator ruled that online gamers under the age of 18 would only be allowed to play for an hour on Fridays, weekends and official holidays.
• Tencent’s reminder of a 14 hour limit for the holiday period comes with a warning that facial recognition software will be used to detect attempts to circumvent it.
• China’s National Press and Publication Administration has not published a list of approved new video game titles since July 2021.

Key quote

“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms” – Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft.

Sourced from Financial Times, Business Insider, BBC, South China Morning Post 

Meta signals future ad direction

Critics of Facebook are unlikely to be reassured by the patents recently granted to parent company Meta, which include the use of technology to harvest biometric data that could help determine how a user’s avatar interacts with what it sees in the metaverse and even what ads are shown.

Why it matters

Meta has already indicated that the business model in the metaverse will be commerce-led and that ads will play a part in that. While Meta says that “our patents don’t necessarily cover the technology used in our products and services”, they’re currently the best guide to the details of its thinking about a future immersive virtual world. Much of it appears to apply existing approaches in a new context.

What might be in the pipeline

The Financial Times has examined Meta’s many applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office, dozens of which have been granted, and flags the following: 

• Virtual stores where brands can sponsor digital versions of their real-world products.
• The use of eye and face tracking technology to understand a user’s response to the virtual experience and adapt it accordingly.
• The same information could also be used to understand how users are engaging with ads. 

Key quote

“My nightmare scenario is that targeted advertising based on our involuntary biological reactions to stimuli is going to start showing up in the metaverse . . . most people don’t realise how valuable that could be. Right now there are no legal constraints on that” – Brittan Heller, technology lawyer at Foley Hoag.

Sourced from Financial Times [Image: Arteum.ro on Unsplash]

BlackRock boss defends purpose

BlackRock boss Larry Fink believes that putting company purpose at the foundation of relationships with stakeholders is critical to long-term success. 

Why it matters

With $10 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock is the world’s largest money manager and its views carry some weight. In his annual letter to CEOs, Fink argues that what distinguishes truly great companies is that they have a clear sense of purpose and that they recognise the importance of engaging with and delivering for their key stakeholders.

What it means 

The reference to stakeholders rather than shareholders is instructive as he points to the “mutually beneficial relationships” a business needs if it is to prosper – between it and its employees, customers, suppliers, and communities. 

He suggests those stakeholders need to hear a clear purpose from CEOs and where they stand on societal issues relevant to the company in order to deliver profits for shareholders. 

Key quote 

“Employees need to understand and connect with your purpose; and when they do, they can be your staunchest advocates. Customers want to see and hear what you stand for as they increasingly look to do business with companies that share their values. And shareholders need to understand the guiding principle driving your vision and mission. They will be more likely to support you in difficult moments if they have a clear understanding of your strategy and what is behind it” – Larry Fink, CEO, BlackRock.

Sourced from BlackRock [Image:Pixabay at Pexels]

Thailand optimistic on tourism recovery

Hotel operator Banyan Tree believes occupancy rates at its Phuket properties – 70% at the end of December, with a 55-60% rate anticipated for January – are indicative of a wider global tourism recovery.

Why it matters

Attitudes are changing as both destinations and holidaymakers accept that COVID-19 is shifting from pandemic to endemic. Thailand’s extension of its Sandbox scheme last week – which allows fully vaccinated travellers to enter certain parts of the country without quarantine – signals a growing optimism in the tourism industry in that country at least.

Context 

• The recent UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2022 report shows that, from January to September 2021, international tourist arrivals were 20% below levels in 2020 and 76% below levels in 2019. 
• It further notes that international tourism experienced a modest improvement in the third quarter of 2021, thanks to progress in vaccination and a resulting relaxation of travel restrictions.
• The UN believes international tourism is unlikely to return to the pre-pandemic level in the near-term and tourism-dependent countries will need to find alternative revenue sources.

Key quote

“It’s going to take a long time for the full recovery. The main question is are we really on the path for a long-term sustainable recovery, and the indication is pretty much yes” – Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman, Banyan Tree.

Sourced from Bangkok Post, UN [Image: Vitaly Sacred on Unsplash]

China is getting old faster than expected

Population growth in China slowed to 0.34 per thousand in 2021, with the proportion of over-60s edging up from 18.7% to 18.9%, latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show.

“The demographic challenge is well known but the speed of population ageing is clearly faster than expected,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, in remarks reported by the Guardian.

What’s happening 

Factors cited to explain the falling birth rate include the high cost of living – across housing, education and childcare – delayed marriages and lack of social mobility. The Government is attempting to address these issues, introducing a three-child policy, building low-cost childcare facilities and promising longer maternity leave; it’s also cracking down on expensive private tutoring. 

What it means for brands 

Businesses are already responding to the government’s direction of travel. Barrons notes one offering 100,000 yuan in cash and a year’s paid leave for female staff if they have a baby. At the other end of the spectrum, tech companies have been encouraged to make their apps easier for older consumers to use, with larger fonts and simpler interfaces; some have simply launched separate age-appropriate versions although Sixth Tone reports that many users are unaware of these. 

Quote

“Without addressing the deeply rooted causes discouraging young Chinese from getting married and having children, from gender inequality to high living cost, what we are seeing now is likely just the beginning of a further decline in birth rate and a prolonged process of population decline in China” – Prof Wang Feng, University of California, Irvine. 

Sourced from Guardian, Barrons, Sixth Tone [Image: chen lei on Unsplash]

Shorter travel trips to become more common in 2022

The travel industry is moving towards shorter trips this year, according to data from online travel company Tripadvisor.

Why it matters

The coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to the travel industry and new consumer behaviours are still emerging. Shorter, but often more expensive, trips are set to become a key trend this year.

This comes as many travel brands rethink their strategy, including using new messaging, giving greater emphasis to sustainability and tapping into the opportunity for customer subscriptions.

Takeaways

• The average stay duration has dropped by 21% between the pre-pandemic period and now.
• While consumers in 2019 were, on average, searching for a holiday the length of 4.5 days, this has since fallen to 3.6.

Sourced from Tripadvisor, WARC Data

Gen Z and millennials are more willing to bypass traditional retail channels: Report

COVID-19 has transformed consumer behaviours and preferences, with Gen Z and millennial shoppers now more likely to order products directly from brands, while three-quarters of all shoppers expect to have significant interactions with physical stores once the pandemic subsides, according to “What Matters to Today’s Consumer” report by Capgemini Research Institute.

Why it matters

Most consumers who have bought directly from brands cite a better buying experience and access to brand loyalty programs, and are willing to share their data in return for these benefits, amid the growing importance of delivery and fulfilment services in the health and beauty, and grocery segments.

Key insights

• More than two-thirds (68%) of Gen Z and over half (58%) of millennials have ordered products directly from brands in the past six months, versus 41% on average across all age groups.
• Only 37% of Gen X and 21% of baby boomer shoppers have ordered directly from a brand in the last six months.
• Almost two-thirds (60%) cite a better buying experience as a reason for purchasing directly and 59% cite access to brand loyalty programs.
• In return, 45% of all shoppers say they are willing to share data on how they consume products and 39% say they are willing to share personal data and product preferences.
• But 54% of all shoppers say that offers, deals and/or discounts would make it more likely for them to share their data directly with brands.
• 72% of all shoppers expect significant interactions with physical stores post-pandemic from 60% pre-COVID, with Boomers most likely to interact in-store (76%) and Gen Z least likely (66%).
• With convenience remaining a key priority for consumers, delivery and fulfilment are increasingly being transformed from a cost centre to a growth driver for many organisations.
• In the health and beauty and grocery segments, shoppers place greater importance on delivery and fulfilment than in-store experiences.
• This is especially true for groceries shoppers across all age groups, where 42% of shoppers say delivery and fulfilment are the most important service attributes.
• Convenience of delivery is a major factor that can push shoppers to try new and emerging models of shopping, with 47% who bought via subscription services doing so for the convenience of home delivery.

Quote

“Younger consumers’ willingness to go straight to brands when purchasing goods presents a real opportunity for consumer product companies. This enables them to collect consumer data and helps create a more mature direct-to-consumer channel. Being data-powered enables the consumer product and retail organisations to translate supply and demand trends into intelligent decisions on where best to stock their products, customise products and services, and enhance customer experience.” – Tim Bridges, global sector lead, consumer products, retail and distribution, Capgemini.

Background

The Capgemini report surveyed over 10,000 consumers over the age of 18 in 10 countries – Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US.

Price of recycled plastic doubles as green pledges meet reality

The rush to abolish single-use plastics in response to public alarm over the effects of plastic pollution has sent the price of recycled plastic soaring as drinks companies including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle among others pursue green strategies; however, potential damage to the bottom line will show whether companies and their investors are willing to put their money where their mouths are.

Why it matters

Sustainability pledges aren’t worth the pixels they’re posted to if they evaporate on contact with unfavourable economics. A sector-wide rush toward cleaner, recycled plastics was always likely. It also points to a core problem that companies’ ability to produce plastics way outpaces any recycling firm’s ability to process and redeploy those plastics.

The increases

• The Financial Times reports that the price of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (better known as PET) has increased 103% versus January 2021. This is largely because companies across fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and apparel sectors brought in stringent plastic usage targets en masse, reports ICIS, whose data the story is based on.
• Ironically, the price of recycled PET is now more than fresh PET, as prices have surged even faster than the price of the fossil fuel used to make it.

Targets

• The targets are not solely self-imposed, with the EU mandating 25% or more recycled content in packaging by the middle of this decade. Some firms are being more aggressive still. However, ICIS is now observing that some firms are cooling those efforts amid the high prices.
• Of course, there are some radically different options, like the German-style deposit return schemes for used bottles, which prefers reuse to recycling.

Scope 3

In part, this is a story about getting ahead of likely rules around producer responsibility, an effort that many countries are taking up to tackle what are known as ‘Scope 3’ emissions. These are the hardest to measure but also the most important, as they include waste disposal, supplier emissions, and the effect of a company’s investments.

But, it’s also worth pointing out that this is good news: companies are making an effort, and, if capitalism is working properly, will grow the market for recycling and bring down prices. While it’s a tough ask now, it’s nothing compared to what’s waiting for us.

Sourced from the Financial Times, Carbon Trust

Google: allegations of ad price manipulation unsealed

Previously redacted details of a lawsuit allege that the advertising company Google, which controls significant interests on both the buy and sell side, operated a program of diminishing ad sales to publishers, while increasing the prices buyers paid then keeping the difference. Google says the arguments lack legal merit.

Why it matters

Despite online advertising’s inherent complexity, Google controls the biggest tools across the ecosystem, drawing comparisons to a bank that simultaneously owns the stock exchange. Should Google lose any of the several cases against it, the shape of the online ad industry could end up looking very different.

What’s happening

• The Wall Street Journal reports new details from a case originally filed in December 2020 by several attorneys general, but which contained a number of redacted statements that evidence the states’ case that Google abuses a monopoly position and has harmed competitors, publishers, and, as an extension of ad-buyers, the consumers to whom higher costs would be passed on.
• Unsealed in a New York court, the key revelations include documents based on internal correspondence that appear to show Google employees referring to the practice as “insider information”.

Pressure

It comes at a time of intense pressure on the company, as the state case joins a federal antitrust case brought by the Justice Department.

In the Senate, a bipartisan bill is moving through the legislative process which could have serious implications for the company, which would suddenly find it illegal to advantage its own businesses on its platforms.

Meanwhile, in Europe an ambitious new law, the Digital Markets Act, is gathering pace which specifically targets “gatekeepers” like Google, and is expected to contain explicit limits on self-preferencing.

Sourced from the Wall Street Journal

The IPA seeks evidence on brand purpose

A new report from the IPA seeks to elevate the debate about brand purpose by identifying particular steps practitioners can take to increase the quantity and quality of evidence about whether or not purpose has contributed effectively to the desired outcomes of individual, for-profit brands.

A definition 

The IPA defines purpose as the reason a commercial brand exists beyond maximising profit to produce other meaningful forms of positive impact for individuals, societies, or the environment. It communicates both an organising principle for action in the brand’s present and an aspiration for its future.

Five steps for practitioners 

1. Keep evidence centre-stage by investing in capturing and evaluating the full potential impact of the brand’s purpose activities on all relevant measures, especially on non-financial outcomes.
2. Always ask what part of outcomes were driven by purpose itself and what were due to how purpose was translated into initiatives and creative messaging. What might have happened anyway with effective, non-purpose-related activities and similar levels of investment?
3. Make efforts to prove which, if any, elements of purpose marketing are long-term, defensible positions for the brand and less vulnerable to being imitated.
4. Emphasise new learning and thinking about purpose, as practice in this area evolves fast.
5. Choose whether to talk about it at all. Brands such as Guinness and John Lewis are part of organisations committed to purpose at a corporate level, but this has not played a significant part in advertising effectiveness case studies.

 Key quote 

“It is our view that the biggest challenge for purpose-oriented marketers today lies in isolating and quantifying the specific impact purpose makes on outcomes from that attributable to other brand activities. Until purpose-oriented marketers account for the contribution of purpose more convincingly, they are unlikely to win over their critics.”” – Janet Hull OBE, Director of Marketing Strategy, IPA.

You can download the free report from the IPA website. The IPA will also be a hosting a free, virtual industry event to discuss ‘Purpose in Perspective’ tomorrow – 3-4pm, Tuesday 18 January. Find out more and register to attend at IPA | Purpose in Perspective.

China's Gen Z offer potential for imported brands

Gen Z consumers are the fastest-growing cohort on Tmall Global, Alibaba’s cross-border marketplace, and are helping reshape the consumer market – they’re willing to pay a premium for quality products, with sales of perfume, whiskey and fashion items all growing as a result.

Takeaways 

• The number of shoppers on Tmall Global born after 2000 grew more than 70% in the year to March 2021, according to an Alibaba executive; of the 100 million annual active users on the platform, around 30% were born after 1995.
• Young consumers use scents to express their mood, personality and even values; they’re a driving force behind the growing popularity of niche perfume brands on the platform.
• Young people with interest in wellness and self-care are turning health supplements into snacks; new brands are emerging to cater to this trend. 
• In 2021, more than 6,000 new brands entered China through Alibaba’s import ecosystem. 

Quote

“Consumers of imported goods are getting much younger, with the fastest growth from Gen Z consumers, [so] their huge consumption potential is important to brands” – Alvin Liu, president of Alibaba B2C Retail.

Sourced from Alizila [Image: Tmall]