More B2B Advertisers Use Programmatic: How Much Are They Spending? (2021 Update)
In 2020 and beyond, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a significant and unexpected surge in programmatic advertising adoption among B2B companies, driven by its measurability, cost-effectiveness, and advanced targeting capabilities, with major growth reported across Connected TV, mobile video, and audio, and innovations like IBM’s AI and partnerships enhancing programmatic tools for B2B marketers.
Programmatic became central to the media planning process last year—and not just for B2C brands.
An influx of B2B companies began buying programmatic ads, greatly exceeding analysts' expectations for 2020.
We’re nearly a year and a half into the pandemic. Are B2B brands still embracing programmatic?
COVID‐19 Accelerated Programmatic Buying in the B2B Space
Early in 2020, experts were already predicting a sizable shift to programmatic advertising options. Some sources expected 69% of all digital media advertisements—over $100 billion in value—to be programmatic.
However, growth exceeded expectations. The Trade Desk reported 100% year-over-year growth in programmatic buying across Connected TV, 70% year-over-year growth across mobile video, and audio programmatic spend grew about 70% year-over-year.
“So far in 2020 we’ve seen several years of advertising disruption and innovation compressed into a few months,” said Jeff Green, CEO of The Trade Desk. “As a result, advertisers have become more deliberate and data-driven with every advertising dollar.”
Measurability Plays a Key Role In Programmatic’s Popularity
The measurability of programmatic advertising offers marketers a major advantage.
“Almost every marketer and every large brand is being asked to do more with less,” said Green to AdWeek. “And that means that advertisers have to focus on ad opportunities that are measurable and comparable, where the business ROI can be understood and proven.”
Programmatic is just the thing for those advertisers. Rather than building awareness blindly, advertisers can target audiences that already have an interest in their services.
Programmatic tools for B2B companies are advancing quickly. IBM’s AI bot, Watson, helped reduce cost per click (CPC) by 71% in the U.S. and U.K. And earlier this year, Hivestack and Bombora joined together to offer stronger programmatic digital out-of-home offerings for B2B companies.
With its cost benefits, flexibility and automated nature, it’s hard for traditional marketing techniques to keep up.
MediaRadar Data
Between January and July 2021 there were 35.2 thousand advertisers spending $382 million in programmatic advertising. The same period in 2020 saw 24.3k advertisers spending $175 million in programmatic advertising.
This is an increase of 118% in ad spend and a 44% increase in the number of advertisers.
This explosive growth suggests that many B2B companies began investing last year, and have only continued to invest more this year.
The top spending category is finance, just as it was in 2020. Within this category, the top spending programmatic advertisers are:
- TD Ameritrade
- Lending Tree
- E*Trade
- NerdWallet
- Freddie Mac
Their programmatic spend in the B2B space totals $6.52 million, accounting for 4% of all programmatic ad spend.
Programmatic buying from B2B brands was relatively small in 2019. This time last year, we were wondering if this new buying behavior would last. Not only did it last, but it strengthened through 2021.
Related
12 Ads ‘til New Year: 10 Biggest Programmatic Advertisers
In 2020, amid the pandemic-driven shift to flexible and targeted marketing, the top ten programmatic advertisers collectively spent $153 million, with Lending Tree leading at $23 million by addressing financial struggles, followed by Wix's Editor X platform at $18 million, and GEICO Insurance at $16 million capitalizing on increased insurance plan switching.
4 Surprising Brands That Aren’t Buying Programmatic Ads in 2021
In 2021, despite increasing programmatic ad spending overall driven by privacy-driven changes like Apple's ATT and Google's cookie alternatives, many top advertisers are shifting their strategies, with only 8 of the top 100 programmatic buyers from 2020 returning in 2021, reflecting a 38% year-over-year increase in spend but notable brand departures from programmatic advertising.
Programmatic's Role in Back to School
The 2020 back-to-school season saw a shift from traditional clothing and supply purchases to increased spending on technology and home office furniture due to virtual and hybrid schooling, leading advertisers to adapt their programmatic campaigns amid declining sales in conventional categories and an overall rise in parental budgets for homeschooling needs.
Emerging Trends in Advertising: Programmatic Audio Advertising
Pandora has launched its first private marketplace for programmatic audio advertising, joining platforms like Spotify and iHeartRadio, enabling advertisers to efficiently target over 2,000 audience segments using Pandora’s rich first-party user data through programmatic platforms such as The Trade Desk, MediaMath, and AdsWizz, marking a significant advancement in the audio advertising industry.
Biggest Trends in AdTech 2020
In 2020, ad tech faced significant challenges from evolving privacy laws like CCPA and the impending removal of third-party cookies, prompting industry collaboration through the Partnership for Responsible Addressable Media and innovations in identity-based targeting, while programmatic advertising demonstrated resilience during the pandemic by offering cost-effective, hyper-targeted solutions that attracted new brands amid budget cuts and fluctuating CPM prices.
The Top Advertisers Growing Their Programmatic Spend 2018-2019
Between the first halves of 2018 and 2019, total programmatic ad spend grew over 40%, with top advertisers like Walmart (150% increase), SmileDirectClub (2000% increase), AT&T, Verizon, and Amazon significantly boosting their programmatic investments while employing numerous buy-side and sell-side technologies to optimize their campaigns.