As the economy recovered and consumer demand surged last year, marketers with pent-up budgets spend them in record numbers.
The portion of advertising spend dedicated to digital channels increased in 2021, owing to the pandemic-induced spike in digital media consumption. The increase in digital ad spend proved beneficial for publishers who were looking forward to their audiences transitioning from traditional channels to digital ones.
Similarly, ecommerce developed as a core business initiative, and publishers with strong commerce operations benefited from the surge in digital ad spend. With the focus on digital subscriptions, publishers moved to understand their audiences better and subsequently enhance their advertising efforts.
Publishers also leveraged opportunities to rely on first-party data to augment their digital advertising transactions. Over the past year, publishers have also sought to create more channels like newsletters, video and audio, through which advertisers could engage audiences. Consequently, publishers witnessed an increase in the average size of their advertising deals.
[7 minute read]
