PPB June 2018

2017 U.S. Advertising and Marketing Growth | FEATURE adverse retail climate described in the trends analysis, with store closures impacting point-of-purchase displays, premiums and product sampling, while coupon redemption historically drops as the economy improves. The exceptions were brand licensing, which saw an uptick associated with 3-D printing of lifelike figurines and products associated with the latest Star Wars film; and loyalty programs, which are increasingly becoming available via mobile wallets, as well as a rise in hospitality program points (hotels, for example) due to the increase in business travel as the economy improved. Promotional Products As reported last month in PPB , promotional products revenues rose 9.3 percent in 2017 to $23.3 billion. Double-digit growth in the fourth quarter and strong online sales spurred growth during the year, as well as product sales from non- industry providers. A downturn is expected in 2018, regardless of the influx of orders by political candidates, who are expected to emulate 2016 trends, when promotion products spending by political campaigns was the highest ever, and the products were used to drive traffic to campaign websites (ex., Bernie’s Briefs) to increase donations and/or generate additional revenues for candidates’ campaign. Newspaper Advertising Online newspaper subscriptions increased slightly in 2017, in part due to protests by liberals of the Trump Administration’s attacks on several leading news outlets, claiming that they’re purveyors of “fake news.” However, the protest movement didn’t translate into more brand spending on newspaper advertising, which fell 9.7 percent to $16.09 billion in 2017. Daily and Sunday newspaper advertising dropped at double-digit rates, as classifieds were rarely used for employment, auto or real estate, and the distressed retail market led to fewer stores touting sales during select holidays. Weekly newspaper advertising declined at low single-digits, as they were more immune to retailers shifting to digital advertising because of the relatively few local online directory sites operating in small towns that weeklies tend to serve. Radio Advertising Radio growth has been nearly flat for the past five years, with slight upticks in even years due to the influx of political advertising, and down slightly in odd years, such as the 0.2 percent dip posted in 2017 to $15.87 billion. Radio listenership remains steady, regardless of new automobiles being equipped to handle smartphones and MP3 players. Despite a drop in overall new car sales in 2017, the first decline in four years, satellite radio ad revenues rose at a double-digit rate due to a higher commitment to add sales personnel. Digital radio ad growth decelerated, with firms like Pandora finding it difficult to retain subscribers due to an overabundance of ads. Public Relations And Word-of-Mouth Marketing More businesses turned to public relations in 2017 to drive free earned media, resulting in a 14 percent increase to $15.57 billion. Crisis communications also became more vital during the year to deal with growing viral attacks on people and companies associated with controversial issues. For word-of-mouth marketing, the term “influencer marketing” became an important concept for brands, as they sought to reach key opinion leaders that would drive the online and offline conversations about their products, such as affluent couples who host dinner parties and promote select wines via their blogs. Content Marketing With many traditional media platforms posting revenue declines, broadcast operators and print publishers more readily accepted third-party news articles in 2017, some of which were content marketing pieces sponsored by brands, which fueled 12.8 percent growth in this media silo to $13.94 billion in 2017. Print custom publications had a resurgence in 2017, such as Airbnb launching its first print magazine. Marketers increased spending on branded online videos through YouTube, particularly on live feeds featuring select products. There was also a marked increase in branded webinars aimed at consumers, rather than business-to-business users. | JUNE 2018 | 67