Which Industries Are Increasing Ad Spend on B2B Websites?
Amid rising COVID-19 cases, B2B industries such as medical and pharmaceutical sectors—especially biotech, prescription drugs, and lab equipment—have significantly increased their advertising spend on websites, with pharmaceutical ad spend up 71% year-over-year by April, driven largely by cancer drug promotions and companies working on treatments and vaccines.
COVID cases are increasing, outpacing April’s daily number of new reported infections.
According to White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, it’s possible that the new daily number of reported infections could surpass 100,000 per day.
This surge in cases will impact B2B companies in different ways. While industries like air travel and events will continue to bear the brunt, other industries will have increased opportunity to highlight their value.
Which B2B industries are investing more in their advertisements and positioning themselves in new ways?
Medical and Pharmaceutical
Health is top of mind right now. In the past, pharmaceutical companies were criticized for greed, corruption and high prices. While these criticisms may still be founded, pharmaceutical companies are the public’s hope for a treatment and a vaccine.
As states began to reopen and elective procedures began happening again, medical and big pharma brands drastically increased their advertising spend.
In early March spend was up roughly 15% YoY. With the initial shock of COVID, the YoY spend dropped, but by the beginning of April, it was up 71% YoY.
Twenty-three different companies are currently working on a coronavirus treatment and/or vaccine, but these companies are not the largest spenders in advertising.
The largest driver here is prescription drugs. In particular, cancer drugs are seeing an increase in ad spending.
Cancer doctors have been put in a difficult spot during the pandemic, and it’s possible more are turning to prescription drugs instead of in-person treatments.
Websites that benefited most from the large spikes included:
- BioPharm International
- Primary Care Optometry News
- ContractPharma.com
- Pharmaceutical Technology
Certain sub-categories saw larger rises:
- BioTech: +171%
- Prescription Drug: +123%
- Imaging Devices: +115%
Lab equipment brands have also responded accordingly. Year-to-date ad spend from this group is up by 48%.
Industrial
Industrial companies quickly adjusted to the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting quickly into digital advertising.
Industrial brands are the third largest B2B product category in B2B advertising. This category is made up of sub-categories like:
- Industrial Machinery
- Construction Equipment & Products
- Ag/Farming
- Chemicals
- Aerospace/Aviation
- Energy
Since March 15th, digital ad spend among websites like Equipment World, Aerospace Manufacturing and Design, Industrial Equipment News, and Engineering360, has increased 44% YoY.
Of the websites that receive ad dollars from industrial brands, 65% has seen their average weekly ad revenues increase during the pandemic.
While construction experienced its set-backs and challenges, activity picked up quickly compared to other lines of work. Non-essential construction has resumed in all 50 states. This has led to an increase in spend in related sub-categories.
Segments of the Industrial category that played a large part in this spike include:
- Heavy Machinery: +240%
- Construction: +106%
- Agriculture: +88%
Automotive
There have been several changes in the automotive industry during COVID. On the consumer end, automotive advertisers have increased spending, especially among luxury cars and RVs.
Likewise, commercial vehicle companies are increasing their advertising spend as the nation begins driving again.
Since April began, B2B automotive advertising is up 87% YoY.
Professional Services
Professional services was an industry we previously highlighted as being down amid COVID-19. Spend in April was down by almost 1/3 YoY.
However, spend during the week of 5/31 was up 13% YoY. This is the very first week with positive YoY improvement in over 8 weeks. We will continue to track the data to see if this upward trend continues.
The economy has reopened in different ways, but policies and trends may change with the increasing number of infections. Without a vaccine or treatment, the economy is still marked by uncertainty, which impacts advertising spend. Stay up-to-date with the latest B2B advertising data here.
Related
10 Brands Upping Digital Advertising Spend - Winmo
During the third month of the COVID-19 crisis, several brands notably increased their digital advertising spend, with P&G’s Bounty and Charmin boosting their budgets by $8.1 million and $3.3 million respectively in April, while food brands like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Hershey’s surged their digital spend to over $15 million and nearly $8 million, and grocery chain Kroger also significantly increased its digital advertising to $7.4 million.
How COVID-19 is Impacting Various Digital Media Formats
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered Americans' digital media consumption habits—boosting streaming during midday hours, increasing engagement with news and gaming platforms, and prompting advertisers to adjust their digital ad spending despite an overall 3% decline in March compared to February.
Momentary B2B Ad Spikes Return to Normal
Following an initial surge in digital advertising spending by B2B verticals such as home furnishing, IT, and business education programs in response to the early COVID-19 pandemic disruptions, these sectors have now largely reverted to their pre-pandemic investment levels as the market stabilizes.
From Signal to Strategy: Navigating What's Next in Media Investment
In 2025, U.S. media investment plateaued at $281 billion with digital media dominating 65% of spend, prompting advertisers to shift from broad, scale-driven omnichannel strategies to precision-focused, outcome-led investments that prioritize high-engagement formats like social (+9.9%) while reducing spend in declining areas such as mobile apps (−3.4%), reflecting a disciplined approach centered on measurable returns amid fragmented consumer attention.
YouTube Advertisers to Watch: Which Brands Spent More Than $100mm in 2021?
In 2021, fourteen companies collectively spent nearly $2.7 billion on YouTube ads, with Amazon notably increasing its YouTube ad investment by 124% year-over-year to over $100 million, allocating 47% of its ad budget to retail products, 30% to media and entertainment, and significant portions to tech and various content categories such as music and gaming.
Top B2B Mergers and Acquisitions from Q3
In Q3, major B2B mergers and acquisitions—including AstraZeneca's $39 billion purchase of Alexion Pharmaceuticals to enhance mRNA and rare disease research, and Salesforce's $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack to strengthen workplace collaboration against Microsoft—totaled about $1.8 trillion in U.S. deals, with significant increases in advertising spend post-acquisition, such as Alexion's ad budget growing over tenfold and Slack expanding its television advertising presence.