Advertisers are reportedly cutting their marketing budgets by more than £700 million in the festive-themed virtual running event, the run-up to Christmas. The COVID-19 pandemic has put paid to the big-budget extravaganzas that have historically bombard the general public in the festive season.
The annual advertising battle for Christmas will be fiercely fought, with a £6.2 billion estimated spent in total in the Q4. Despite this, consumers are unlikely to observe the glitzy tie-ups that happened in 2019, such as Mariah Carey’s £9 million advertising deal to promote the Walkers festive-themed crisps.
For the record, the UK advertisers are likely to spend £724 million less as compared to 2019, which is a 10.5% decline. This is expected to be the largest percentage drop for the ‘golden’ quarter. The Advertising Association (AA) & Warc marked several factors as the cause of the declining marketing budgets, including the sustained localized lockdowns, rising unemployment, and disorderly Brexit.
Advertising budgets for television, which is considered the traditional launchpad of the Christmas advertising campaign, are estimated to reduce by 2.7% to £1.35 billion in the Q4 of 2020, underlining the importance of seeking large audiences by advertisers.
Regional and national newspapers are forecasted to be highly impacted, with spending to be declined by 20% and 15% respectively. Moreover, the magazine sector may record a 16.6% fall and radio advertising is likely to be cut by 13%. The deepest ad cut by 66% will impact cinemas, which are currently facing a low number of audiences with no new Hollywood blockbusters.
In addition, the out-of-home sector such as billboard, posters, train stations, and airports is expected to be down by around 20%. The AA/Warc reports stated that the traditional media as well as brands’ digital budgets will be reduced.
Spend on online and search display is forecast to be declined by over £300 million in the Q4, while the digital ads segment is likely to be the most dominant media. It accounts for 57% of the total spend on marketing, i.e. £6.2 billion.
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