Some advertisers say they’re ready to spend again — and media platforms stand to gain
Some advertisers say they’re ready to spend again — and media platforms stand to gain
This week brings some reporting of financial results from media companies — Fox and BuzzFeed on Tuesday, Disney on Wednesday, News Corp. on Thursday. It’s been a rough year for the media industry generally, with many platforms seeing a decline in advertising revenue and some cutting costs, including laying off staff. But with supply chains easing and people traveling again, some companies are signaling they’re ready to ramp up ad spending once more.
The talk around ads in some recent earnings calls has been pretty upbeat. Leaders at companies like Hershey, Colgate-Palmolive and Clorox have spoken positively about their advertising plans. And consultant Brian Wieser of Madison and Wall said plenty of other packaged goods companies are spending too.
“Surely there’s more optimism about the second half of this year, and I think that’s well founded,” he said.
Companies in other areas are feeling it, too. Automakers, moviemakers and even … bed makers. In other words, hospitality. Steven Jumper, who runs the creative agency Ghost Note, said his firm just started working with a global hotel brand.
“This has been one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, stretch of years for that industry, maybe ever,” he said. “And now that the world feels like it’s back open again, folks are ready to spend.”
That’s good news for any media platform whose advertising revenue has been anemic, according to Bank of America media and entertainment analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich.
“Whether it’s television, cable, streaming, as well as audio, any company that accepts advertising will benefit,” she said.
It’s also a crucial source of revenue. But there’s still uncertainty at media companies that don’t necessarily know exactly what they’ll be able to offer to advertisers.
“There’s a writers strike going on, and other guilds also may be striking,” Reif Ehrlich said. “So it’s not clear if there will be new content in the fall or will it be pushed back.”
She said the government’s wrangling about the debt ceiling doesn’t help either because it makes advertisers nervous about spending.
But lawmakers taketh away, and lawmakers giveth. Reif Ehrlich said there’s already beginning to be more spending on political ads.
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