Following the release of the latest IPA Bellwether Report, industry executives share their thoughts on the news that the COVID-19 pandemic once again hit UK marketing budgets hard in the final quarter of 2020. – said Tyrone Stewart in MobileMarketing.

Katarzyna Bargielska, CMO & Co-Founder at AdTonos, commented on the report:

“While reductions in ad spend might be ongoing across the board, they are increasingly less steep and there are welcoming signs that a return to growth is on the horizon. Audio, in particular, has seen the pace of budget reduction slow significantly, now down from -32 per cent in Q3 to -21.6 per cent for Q4. This is testament to the ability of audio to continue to sustain strong advertising interest – encouraged by recent spikes in digital listening across live streams, podcasts and smart speakers – despite the current challenges.”

“As marketing focus stays fixed on maximising reach and returns, we can only expect the appeal of audio to rise, accelerated by a larger stay at the home economy and audio’s capacity to build emotional connections with the listener. In tandem, programmatic capabilities are making it possible for cross-channel audio campaigns to be targeted with ever-sharper precision and measured at an equally granular level. It’s no coincidence that the preliminary estimates for investment in 2021/2022 are at their highest for the Main Media Advertising category, which includes audio and video. Moreover, brands want to know that their valuable budgets are securing optimal exposure for increasingly fractured and elusive audiences and the best chance of positive response; that’s exactly what today’s diverse audio landscape offers.”

Read the entire article and learn more industry comments.