With singles "vaxxed and waxed," will 2021 turn out to be the summer of love? Unfortunately, Pathmatics Explorer can't help us predict the future. But it can tell us how the top dating sites and apps are advertising. Pathmatics data shows us that dating apps overwhelmingly favor Facebook, Instagram, and Hulu, with over 90% of digital advertising budgets devoted to these three platforms. So who are the top advertisers in the dating industry, and how are they using digital to woo new customers?
The pharma and healthcare market is making moves to claim its space in the digital arena. By the end of 2021, industry ad spend is expected to surpass $11 billion, a 32% increase in just two years. Pharma and healthcare's gradual expansion into the digital space is primarily being driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, as consumers spend more time online instead of being exposed to traditional, static advertising.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every facet of day-to-day life. Rising unemployment rates, decreased recreational spending, and lockdown measures have taken a toll on our collective psyche and spending habits. The beauty and fashion industry did not go unspared from the pandemic's death grip; big-name brands were forced to shutter their storefronts and furlough thousands of corporate and retail-level employees. At the same time, a dramatic increase in online sales put pressure on key industry players to re-examine and invest in their respective e-commerce strategies.
As vaccination numbers rise, no one is more excited to welcome back consumers than department stores. Brick-and-mortar retailers were already struggling before the pandemic as malls fell out of fashion and Amazon expanded its online shopping empire. And as you would expect, a deadly virus didn’t make things any easier. Sales plummeted when COVID-19 closed stores for weeks on end. Barney’s, JCPenney, Neiman Marcus, and Lord & Taylor were among dozens of iconic retailers that filed for bankruptcy during the pandemic.
It's been a year for ride-share advertisers, and the drivers that keep them on the road. With quarantine in full force, the customer base dried up, with few, if any, willing to catch a ride with a stranger, mask or no mask. However, it didn't only affect the consumer, but the drivers too, as the contract employees shed their chauffeur status for whatever job was available. Flash forward to 2021 - the pandemic is in a new phase as the country is flush with vaccines - and with renewed demand, drivers are getting back in gear.
Nothing screams "summer" quite like an ice-cold beer or refreshing rum punch — and this year, vaccinated Americans will finally be able to share a drink with friends. With bars reopening and summer barbecues back on, global beverage sales are projected to increase 3% in 2021. So how are big beverage brands preparing for a post-vaccine summer? Diageo, Bacardi, and Brown-Forman have all increased spending in the last year, so let's take a closer look at their advertising strategies.
There may not be any spectators at the Tokyo Olympics this year, but the show _will_ go on, and the advertisers are here for it. From television to OTT to digital, brands have had an extra year to gear up for the worldwide Summer event, and are using the opportunity to gain the attention of a public who, after a long 15 months, are looking for something to celebrate. Between official sponsorship opportunities and general Team-USA cheer, advertisers have a lot to work with when it comes to Olympic themed advertising--and they've shown up in full force this year.
At the start of lockdowns, sales of hand sanitizer surged 838%. Cleaning brands simply couldn't keep up as store shelves were wiped clean by anxious shoppers. Distilleries even pivoted from making bourbon and vodka and started pumping out the disinfectant instead. The sanitizer-buying frenzy has eased since then, but popular cleaning brands Clorox, Lysol, and Purell are betting we won't abandon our germaphobe tendencies after we're vaccinated — at least, not yet. All three brands are advertising more now than they did during stay-at-home orders.
Money transfer and payment apps are seeing an unprecedented spike in adoption and usage. While these initial surges aligned with retail business closures and statewide stay-at-home orders, the gradual proliferation of contactless payment apps reflects consumers' mounting desire for both convenience and safety in how they manage their financial lives. Today, we'll review how PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App pivoted their digital creative and spending strategies to account for shifting trends in consumer spending habits throughout the pandemic and our fundamental understanding of money.
Throughout the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures expedited the adoption and implementation of digital mental health apps and tools. To meet the rising demand for psychiatric and teletherapy services amid a worsening global mental health crisis, telehealth providers took center stage and emerged as one of the fastest-growing categories throughout the pandemic. Today, we'll examine how some of the industry's key players approached their respective ad strategies from the initial days of the pandemic through Spring 2021.
As the global pandemic sent shockwaves throughout the world, lockdown measures ignited a boom in remote work. While many industries struggled to weather the COVID storm, video conferencing and collaboration software vendors, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack, reaped the rewards. In fact, the use of remote collaboration software surged over 176% in May of 2020. Today, we'll explore how these three brands adapted their respective ad strategies to usher in a new era of business and work culture.
Amazon created the first Prime Day to commemorate the company’s 20th anniversary on July 15, 2015. Promoted as “bigger than Black Friday,” the day-long event promised exclusive sales to Prime members on a wide variety of products. Despite the early criticism of the deals offered, the sale day became an ever-growing cultural and economic phenomenon. Every year shoppers could expect deals on everything from apparel to books to household wares and smart home tech.
In a typical pre-pandemic day, around 492,000 orders were placed on the GrubHub platform. In 2020, GrubHub received roughly 623,000 orders per day. The food delivery boom can be attributed to people avoiding grocery stores and restaurants, as well as efforts by brick-and-mortar restaurants and retailers to provide safe, contactless options during the pandemic. Food delivery services DoorDash, GrubHub, and Instacart have spent more on digital advertising than before lockdowns were in place, so let’s compare their ad spend since 2020 and where their peak spends lie.
As shoppers slowly emerge from months at home in their sweatpants, luxury brands are grappling with how to sell watches and purses in a post-pandemic world. Burberry reported its sales were down 48% in Q1 2020 — not surprising, considering that stores around the world were closed to stop the spread of COVID-19. Likewise, Gucci sales slid 22% in the first quarter of 2020 in spite of a boost from online shoppers. So far in Q1 2021, luxury goods seem to be regaining their pre-pandemic sparkle.
With so many people skipping their commutes and staying at home, you might expect car sales to have taken a hit during the pandemic. But according to Edmunds.com, COVID-19 has only accelerated the demand for used cars. August and September 2020 posted the fastest rate of used car inventory turnover in the last six years. Part of this has to do with the shortage of new vehicles due to auto factory shutdowns. With fewer options to buy new, cooped-up consumers have been setting their sights on used cars.
Apple is making massive changes to the settings on iPhones, all in the name of privacy. This move will fundamentally change mobile advertising on those devices by taking a privacy option, which up until now was hidden deep in users’ phones, and displaying it prominently when they open an app. This is expected to dramatically impact the way advertisers target ads and a lot of companies are scrambling to figure out how best to move forward without breaking the new rules and getting kicked out of the Apple App Store.
Not since the 60's has a nation had so much pent up tension and longing for intimate connection - and back then, the only place you could swipe right was a rotary phone. Now, love is just a click away! Well, except for that whole pandemic-quarantine thing? But all that is about to change. It's been a long year, and the dating apps are preparing for "single and ready to mingle" to transition into, "vaccinated and ready to get the hell out of my house and meet someone who hopefully looks like their profile picture!" Or, some version of that, anyway.
Digital advertising plays an essential role in the modern-day brand’s success, from revenue and customer growth to driving brand awareness throughout a company’s lifecycle. After a tumultuous year, several technology companies entered 2021 with plans for an IPO. One of the most anticipated brands to go public in 2021 was Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in America.
As of April 19, all US adults are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. This marks a huge milestone in the vaccination effort, and comes ahead of the May 1 deadline President Biden had originally set. We know from CDC data that 134.4 million Americans have received at least one dose of either the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson jab.
Up until recently, cruises were the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry. But as the world closed its borders in response to COVID-19, the fallout created an elevated level of concern amongst the public surrounding the health and safety aboard cruise ships. As expected, there's been a significant financial impact for all cruise lines, making it challenging for these brands to attract travelers and thus result in closures.
