3 Hot Trends to Watch in B2B Email Advertising
In the first half of 2023, B2B email advertising attracted nearly $287 million in spending from over 6,300 companies across 400+ media outlets, with technology, professional services, industrial, medical & pharma, and finance sectors accounting for 67% of investment, highlighting trends such as significant allocations by software and IT advertisers, notable decreases in industrial ad spending, and substantial pharma investments including influencer marketing and video ads.
Programmatically sold advertising is expected to reach $725 billion by 2026, representing an increase of more than 75% from 2021. Despite digital’s dominance across social media, OTT, and other ecosystems, B2B email advertising remains a key component in many marketers’ strategies.
According to MediaRadar’s data, nearly 6,300 companies spent over $287 million on B2B email advertising in the first half of 2023 across more than 400 B2B media outlets, including FiercePharma, Healio, and Travel Weekly.
Here are three hot B2B email advertising trends to watch for the rest of the year:
1. B2B Email Advertising Has Widespread Appeal
In the first half of 2023, advertisers in five categories—technology, professional services, B2B industrial, medical & pharma, and finance—collectively spent nearly $194 million on B2B email advertising, accounting for 67% of the investment.
- Technology advertisers allocated $56.8 million to B2B email ads, with software and IT advertisers contributing 70% of that investment.
- B2B industrial advertisers spent more than $37 million, with top advertisers promoting industrial machinery (18%), manufacturing (9%), and food (9%).
- Advertisers for industrial companies decreased spending by 33% year-over-year to $169 million through April 2023, while those promoting industrial machinery reduced it by 48% month-over-month (March to April).
- In 2022, nearly 25,000 companies across agriculture, energy, and industrial machinery spent $1.9 billion on digital and traditional ads, up by 4% year-over-year.
- Medical & pharmaceutical companies spent almost $33 million on B2B email advertising in H1 2023, with pharma advertisers responsible for 64% of the spending ($20.8 million). Pharma advertisers also invested $2 billion (from 190 companies) on broadcast and cable TV in Q1 2023.
- In 2022, advertisers for 572 pharma brands spent about $1.5 billion on video ads and increasingly leveraged influencers (key opinion leaders) to reach younger generations seeking health-related advice on social media.
2. Email Is a Key Piece of a Holistic Advertising Strategy
While B2B email advertising is gaining traction, most advertisers do not rely solely on email. Only 18% (1,100) of advertisers used an email-only strategy. The majority spread their budgets across multiple formats, including display, events, native, and magazines.
- 1,100 advertisers paired B2B email advertising with one additional format. Of these, 35% chose B2B print publications (magazines/newspapers), 29% combined email with digital display ads, 22% used email and events, and 15% mixed email with native ads, webinars, or white papers.
- This diversification highlights the importance of reaching B2B buyers across a complex journey. According to Gartner, 77% of B2B buyers stated their most recent purchase was very complex or difficult.
3. B2B Email Advertising Is Set to Soar
Email has been mainstream for over three decades, and while it has ceded ground to other communication channels, email advertising—both B2B and B2C—is on the rise. This trend is expected to continue as third-party cookies are phased out, iOS 14 complicates advertising on iPhones, and digital advertising costs increase.
- Annual spending on non-digital advertising is expected to reach $306.8 billion by the end of 2023, with a projected 2.5% increase over the next few years.
- Consumer-facing companies are leading the shift back to traditional ads, with B2C service and product companies expected to increase traditional advertising more than others.
- The 28th Edition of The CMO Survey found that companies earning 100% of their sales online predict an 11.7% increase in traditional ad spending over the next 12 months (April 2022–April 2023).
- B2B advertisers may follow suit, incorporating more traditional formats into their overall strategies.
Christine Moorman, Megan Ryan, and Nader Tavassoli summarized the shift: “Pundits have long predicted the demise of traditional advertising. However, it is alive and well and headed for growth for the first time in a decade. When used together, traditional and digital marketing can reach more audiences, build and keep trust, and motivate buying from consumers who otherwise might tune out marketing messages.”
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