Local Advertisers See Flat Overall Ad Spending

Most local advertisers nationwide will hold steady on their total ad total spend and media allocations in 2019, according to BIA Advisory Services’ newly released U.S. SAM Survey of Advertising and Marketing.

Only entertainment industry advertisers (i.e., amusement parks, sports teams, motion picture theaters and other entertainment venues) indicate they would make a slightly higher investment in advertising this year, while retailers, professional service providers, and home/trade service advertisers anticipate maintaining the same investment in advertising for their large or small businesses this year.

Mobile and social advertising are the two areas where advertisers indicate a willingness to increase ad spend in 2019.

“It’s clear from our data that local advertisers are comfortable maintaining investment in the ad platforms they are convinced generate the best ROI for their business,” said Celine Matthiessen, BIA’s VP of analysis and insights and SAM study director.

“Over the past several years, our research indicates that advertisers are more focused on personalized, targeted communications and they believe mobile and social deliver on important customer engagement KPIs.”

The SAM survey indicates that advertisers want more than basic demographic targeting. They want full insights into consumer behavior on their path to purchase like knowing websites and social pages they have visited and produce searches they have used to purchase products and services.

This shift in advertising priorities puts the obligation on ad sellers to successfully demonstrate how their channel reaches the right customers throughout the buying process in a manner that can be tracked.