5 platforms marketers across the globe are guilty of overusing

Marketers globally have identified Instagram as their preferred platform to target consumers, according to Kantar's latest Media Reactions 2022. Google rose one spot to come in second followed by YouTube and TikTok. Tiktok, in particular, rose three spots this year to reach fourth position and according to Kantar, 84% of marketers plan to spend more on TikTok next year, more than any other global ad platform.

Media Reactions is Kantar's global ad equity ranking of media channels and media brands which identifies the places where consumers most appreciate advertising and are least likely to view ads negatively. It surveyed 18,000 consumers and 1,000 senior marketers in 29 markets this year, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the US.

On the other hand, Amazon was the most popular ad platform among consumers this year as they found the ads to be relevant, useful and of better quality. Amazon advertising was also the most preferred brand locally in Germany, Italy, Egypt, and Colombia, and in the top five in four other markets including Korea.

TikTok came in second for ad equity among consumers followed by Spotify and Google. Spotify, in particular, jumped four places and Kantar said this represents the constantly growing music streaming channels and podcast. Its strength mainly comes from the perception of quality ads and consumer's willingness to accept advertising on the platform. Spotify placed first in Vietnam and was in the top three in Japan and Korea.

Changing perception of TikTok ads

While marketers might have been a little wary about advertising on TikTok last year, Pablo Gomez, head of creative and media at Kantar in Singapore and APAC media lead, explained that TikTok hit the sweet spot this year of maintaining its innovation status whilst having earned marketers’ trust.

Trust and innovation are the two biggest factors affecting marketers’ perception of media brands. Gomez said the rising trust in TikTok over the last few years from a novel platform to a social media mainstay has given marketers the confidence to invest. As a result, TikTok has become one of the two brands that appeal the most to both consumers and marketers in 2022, along with Google.

At the same time, marketers also expect to increase their marketing investment in the metaverse by 61% next year, according to Kantar. Overall, digital media spend is predicted to continue increasing in 2023. Online video, video streaming and social media stories are the top three channels with a net increase in budget allocation in 2022 and 2023, followed by marketing in the metaverse.

Within the digital environment, influencer content leads the way as the preferred ad format, with a six-point jump in ad equity, followed by eCommerce and podcast ads. According to Kantar, influencer content is seen as more trustworthy, more fun and entertaining, and more relevant and useful than in 2021.

This also extends to online channels in general, as consumers now find online display ads significantly more trustworthy, more fun and entertaining, better quality and more innovative than last year. Meanwhile, social media story ads and music streaming ads both improved one position in comparison to last year’s results.

On the other hand, offline advertising continues to witness a downward trend. In fact, marketers plan to further cut ad spend on print next year and consumers no longer view physical newspapers and magazines as separate from the online versions.

That said, there are still positive ad equity trends among offline channels and this mainly covers sponsored events and OOH platforms as markets have reopened. Sponsored events take the top spot ths year and are seen as offering more fun and better quality advertising compared to last year. They also now have the highest ad equity among consumers, Kantar said.

According to Kantar, sponsored events account for one of the highest increases in ad spend in offline channels alongside digital OOH. Although traditional TV advertising might be a major investment for many brands, some still intend to increase their investment in TV in 2023 as its channel receptivity jumps this year by 7%. Kantar said that this movement, along with a high rise in streaming TV spend, shows TV is still here to stay.

Related articles:
APAC ad spend to hit US$250bn in 2022, sporting events a key driver
Don't slash ad spend just because ROI is low. Here's why
51% of APAC ad spend goes to digital: Is there a mismatch between biz goals and marketing strategies?
Over SG$1bn in digital ad spend wasted in SEA during Q1 2022