Economic uncertainty means marketers will re-evaluate ad buys more frequently in 2023

Marketers are going to be measuring and re-measuring their investments in 2023. Nearly two-thirds say they will be re-evaluating their media spend more frequently, with most doing so monthly, according to a new IAB survey. 

Ad spend will continue to grow. The overall ad spend is projected to be up 5.9%, according to the IAB’s “2023 Outlook Survey.” Every digital channel is expected to see increased ad spend, with CTV leading the way in a 14.4% increase. Among category channels, B2B (20.8% increase), travel (20.6%), restaurants/beer/liquor/wine (17.1%), and financial services (11.1%) are projected to do the best. 

Top goals. Customer acquisition is by far the top goal for media investments in the coming year (61%). The next two goals are increasing brand equity (43%) and improving media efficiency (35%).

These goals all explain why the three things marketers plan to focus most on in 2023 are:

• Cross-platform measurement — 55%.
• Ad placement with publishers with first-party data — 53%.
• First party data acquisition/partnerships — 52%.

Good news for retail media networks. All of which means next year will be a really good one for retail media network (RMN) owners. Some 61% of buyers are investing or considering investing in RMN advertising next year, resulting in a projected ad spend increase of 28.4%. Onsite (owned & operated) ad investment is by far the top RMN ad tactic, being leveraged by 91% of buyers, according to the IAB.

Dig deeper: In this economy CMOs need to spend more on training, not tech

Why we care. Uncertain times call for data and spending certainty. Marketers aren’t waiting to find out when third-party cookies will finally go away. They are looking at first-party data acquisition now. Similarly, the chancy economic picture means re-evaluating media buying as frequently as possible. Also, all this means marketers are feeling far less adventurous: Only 26% said they will be significantly focusing on Web3 (including metaverse, NFTs, etc.) in 2023.