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Digital advertisers not trusted on data protection

Less than a quarter of consumers trust digital advertisers and social media platforms when it comes to protecting their data, according to a study by the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), the trade body.

Why it matters

Data is central to modern marketing, and the demise of online tracking cookies means that brands will have to build a new type of value exchange around this information. Trust deficits pose a challenge to that endeavour, and hint at wider questions regarding consumer perceptions in the industry.

Usage does not equate to trust

The ARF’s fourth annual Privacy Study was based on a survey of over 1,200 US consumers, and found:

• Only 18% of participants trusted digital advertisers where data protection was concerned, a total standing at 23% for social media platforms.
• Less than half of respondents trust any organisation to let them control and correct how data is used, to delete this information, or utilise it for their own benefit.
• Forty-nine percent of consumers trust social media properties they use frequently, suggesting that consistent return visits do not automatically equate with positive attitudes.
• The willingness to share information typically rises for the promise of targeted ads — a figure that rose from 14% to 27% when discussing Social Security numbers, for example.

Consumers not “optimising for privacy”

• Consumers are not “optimising for privacy”, with the number of people who regularly change privacy settings, update ad blockers, and so on, coming in at between 15% and 25%.
• Around one-third of individuals will “sometimes take these sorts of measures to protect their privacy”, the ARF found.
• While consumers typically understand terms like “personalised” and “platforms” in privacy policies, many are not familiar with language like “PII” and “cookie”.

Sourced from ARF

Record number of hours spent on mobile in 2021: Report

Mobile continues to dominate as consumers spent a record total of 3.8 trillion hours on mobile in 2021, with 4.8 hours a day spent on mobile in the top 10 mobile markets, according to App Annie’s State of Mobile 2022 report, which lists the global trends.

Why it matters

As consumers continue to embrace a mobile lifestyle, it is seen as the go-to device of the future, with the big screen slowly being replaced by mobile as it continues to break records in categories such as time spent, downloads and revenue.

Key insights

• Consumers spent $170 billion on apps – up 19% from last year – and downloads continue growing at 5% year-on-year to 230 billion.
• Publishers released 2 million new apps and games, bringing the cumulative total to 21 million.
• Despite IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers), ad spend topped $295 billion, up 23% and seen rising to $350 billion next year.
• Mobile gaming grew to $116 billion – an increase of 15% – fuelled by preference to hyper casual.
• Apps earning more than $100 million in consumer spend grew by 20%.
• Led by TikTok (up 90% globally outside China), 7 of every 10 minutes was spent on either social, photo and/or video apps.
• Worldwide consumer spend on dating apps surged past $4.2 billion (up 55% from 2019).
• Time in shopping apps reached 100 billion hours – up 18%, led by fast fashion, social shopping, and by big box players.
• Food and drink apps hit a new milestone at 194 billion sessions in 2021 (up 50% Y-o-Y).

Key quote

“Mobile brings us closer together whether virtual or in person. The future will be based on an immersive entertainment experience you create. You won’t watch movies, you’ll star in them.” – Theodore Krantz, CEO, App Annie.

Netflix reaches 222m subscribers, driven by APAC and EMEA

Netflix ended last year with 222m paid subscriptions, driven by strong growth in Asia Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to the company's latest results.

Why it matters

On average, audiences use five video streaming services and although this number is increasing, Netflix is having to invest in order to succeed. Competition from other subscription and ad-supported services in 2022 is likely to heat up and while the company is expanding strongly outside of North America, it lags behind in key demographics.

For example, while children's content has been important for Netflix's success in recent years, the platform under-performs among older audiences.

Takeaways

• In Q4 2021, the company added 8.3m subscriptions from the previous quarter to take the total to 221.8m.
• Asia Pacific, up 8.6%, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, up 5.0%, saw the largest increases.

Sourced from Netflix, WARC Data

How agencies are pitching a metaverse entry to clients

It’s the future of the internet, it’s a frothy investment market, it’s a tussle over the very fabric of how we humans will interact with each other, or it’s a game: the metaverse is, apparently, all around – here’s what agencies are pitching.

Or rather, two recent reports from major holding groups – Publicis’ Starcom and WPP’s Wunderman Thompson – reflect the shape of advice to come.

The situation

The truth is that this thing, the metaverse, doesn’t yet exist. 

And what’s worse is that the hype wave has caught all of the VC flotsam and mixed it into this vague, though futuristic thing known as Web 3.0. It includes crypto, but also the metaverse. 

So, bottom line, someone is winning from the confusion; opaque markets are good at that. For instance, Wunderman Thompson rallies 15 different experts to define the thing.

Still, there’s some seriousness to be found. The company FKA Facebook is now pursuing Meta ambitions and spending serious money to do so. Microsoft just spent $68 billion on Activision Blizzard with an eye on the metaverse. 

In effect, all this means that little is certain other than the idea that digital services and experiences will become even more important to people’s physical lives.

Definitions

There are two main schools of thought with overlaps. One thinks of the metaverse as an internet that feels like a videogame, where the internet becomes a virtual realm.

The other, sees the metaverse as fundamentally about digital identity, and therefore the task is to build the back-end systems that allow a user to switch between virtual spaces through one, consistent digital identity. In this case, we might want to think about this as Facebook or Google account log-ins, but richer, and even more consequential.

What to do about it

It’s rare that tech actually engages with the metaphysical aspects of philosophy – its loose relationship with ethics is well known – but the metaverse is currently at this a priori point in which thinking about it means thinking about ourselves, the nature of reality, the nature of control. But you came for guidance and there is some guidance available to be, cautiously, followed.

Starcom is honest about the theoretical phase that this technology is in and highlights four tensions, which it is also exploring in a podcast series to accompany the report.

1. Social vs. Solo: how the metaverse smashes 1st and 3rd spaces together.
2. Truth vs. Design: how the metaverse can tell you anything you want to hear.
3. Access vs. Ownership: how in metaverse spaces, actions as well as objects can be owned.
4. Protection vs. Freedom: how the metaverse is organic but needs regulation.

Wunderman Thompson, meanwhile, is a report based on the ways in which business is being done, whether through virtual property or in advanced remote work. It also settles on five important lessons for brands:

1.  Brands need to be part of digital third spaces – the places where people increasingly socialise, work, and shop.
2. Values and ethics will still matter in the virtual world.
3. The level of integration between digital and physical will be high; virtual events will have physical consequences and vice versa.
4. There are two main ways to be involved as a brand: help develop the infrastructure, the tools that will enable metaversal experiences, or perfecting the end user experience.
5. No one owns the metaverse, even if companies are trying to. The internet works because nobody owns it and if the metaverse is going to fulfil its potential, brands will need to collaborate rather than colonise their patches of ‘verse.

Sourced from Starcom, Wunderman Thompson, FT

Addressable ad tech addresses sponsorship

Sky Media, the advertising sales arm of Sky, is applying the same addressable technology that powers its AdSmart product to sponsorships, enabling brands to tailor their idents to different audiences. 

What is it?

Smart Sponsorships, which will be available in market later this year, use Sky’s third-party data or advertisers’ own first-party customer data to show a more relevant creative message depending on which household is watching. So, for example, a car brand could change the car model featured depending on the affluence or life-stage of the household, or change the scenery and voice-over depending on location. 

Why it matters 

Sky Media claims AdSmart campaigns lead to, on average, a 48% reduction in tune-away, a 35% increase in engagement and a 10% increase in spontaneous recall. It expects that Smart Sponsorships will deliver similar uplifts for brands using it.

It also opens up opportunities for smaller, local advertisers to explore the use of TV in new ways (in 2021, Sy Media reports that over 450 brands came to TV for the first time because of AdSmart with a return rate of 73%).

Sourced from Sky Media [Image: Cottonbro from Pexels]

China's jewellery retailers take guochao to lower-tier cities

Building on the popularity of guochao (or ‘China-chic’), some of China’s biggest jewellery retailers are expanding their physical footprint into lower-tier cities.

What’s happening

• By 2025, jewellery retailer Chow Tai Fook is planning to add another 2,000 outlets to its existing total of more than 5,000 in 660 cities; many of these will be in third- or fourth-tier cities.The focus will be on “affordable luxury” with average prices of around Rmb10,000 ($1,575), the Financial Times reports.
• Lukfook Jewellery plans to open as many as 350 new outlets this year, many in lower-tier cities. At the same time it is expanding its e-commerce operations to reach younger generations.

Context

• More than half the sales of Chow Tai Fook’s heritage collection, inspired by the traditional emblems of emperors and empresses, went to Millennial and Gen Z buyers in Q2 and Q3 2021.
• China’s personal luxury goods market doubled in size between 2019 and 2021 to about $69bn, according to figures from management consulting firm Bain & Company.
• Reduced travel options have meant fewer purchases being made outside mainland China. 
• Luxury Swiss jeweller Richemont this week reported Q3 sales growth in China slowing to 7%.

Final thought

“[Gen Z] likes different types of jewellery . . . their preference for the design of Chinese cultural elements could also rise during times of high international tensions” – Xianchi Dai, associate professor of marketing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, speaking to the FT. 

Sourced from Financial Times, Reuters [Image: Chowtaifook.com]

The nature of distrust: Edelman Trust Barometer 2022

Amid rising distrust in organisations including government and the media, expectations of business are on the rise – but that means there’s more to do, not less, according to 2022’s Edelman Trust Barometer.

Why it matters

A majority of people (59%) tend to distrust until they see evidence of trustworthiness. For marketers, it’s important to consider the techniques that can win over sceptics rather than true believers, even as business continues to be the most trusted of the four main institutions studied.

The details

With nearly half of the 36,000 respondents across 28 countries agreeing that government (48%) and the media (46%) are divisive forces in society. “On competence, business now leads government by a 53-point margin and is viewed as more ethical than government by 26 points,” the organisation explains in a business deep-dive.

The onus is now on business to drive impact.

It’s not all good news, however, as the vacuum of trust leaves people expecting more from business. Still, 63% believe they’re being lied to by business leaders (an increase of seven points).

People demand more of business, especially in the areas of:

• Climate change (52%)
• Economic inequality (49%)
• Workforce reskilling (46%)

Eighty-one percent of respondents want CEOs to lead in discussing public policy or what their companies have done to solve societal problems.

Yet, people are increasingly doubtful of the system, if not of individual firms. 52% of respondents now agree that capitalism as it stands does more harm than good in the world.

What to do about it (Edelman recommendations)

• Focus on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) at the core of business strategy.
• Action over pledges on climate change.
• Ally with expert organisations to innovate and drive impact on the big issues.
• Communicate responsibly, show evidence, earn people’s trust.

Sourced from Edelman. Image: Edelman

P&G confident its brands can deliver profit amid rising costs

Procter and Gamble (P&G), typically the world’s largest advertiser, insists its brands are built solidly enough that its customers will continue to choose them as the global cost-of-living rises.

Why it matters

Arguably, major fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms like P&G are advertising companies first-and-foremost. It’s rare that it will make a shampoo or chocolate bar that is radically different from its competitive set. Instead, they rely on building brands whose superiority is assumed, mostly on the strength of marketing activities.

Results in brief

P&G’s Q2 (October-December) results included highlights in home, health, and hygiene.

• Organic sales up 6% year-on-year, driven by large average price increases since 2019.
• Strong segments: Healthcare up 8% and fabric & home care up 7%.
• Slower growth in beauty and grooming, up 3% and 4%, respectively.
• Operating margin down on higher commodity costs, transportation and supply-chain.
• Price increases are set to continue throughout the year, but the company expects improved profitability in coming quarters.

The meaning of superiority

P&G has performed consistently during the pandemic, with demand maintained throughout global lockdowns and reopenings. Some of this can be put down to the company’s so-called “Superior Strategy”, credited with a strong FY21.

P&G’s formulation for “superior communications”, according to its annual report, centres around messaging that “must create awareness, demonstrate superior performance, and create the desire to purchase”. A 12% rise in adspend over the year to reach $8.2 billion didn’t hurt either.

This continues, even as economic conditions worsen. “Superiority does not mean that we're trying to trade up the consumer or trying to innovate only at the top end of the portfolio,” CFO Andre Schulten told Investors.

“Superiority is defined as Superiority at each price tier to the competing.”

Key quote

“We've made investments to strengthen the health and competitiveness of our brands across innovation, supply chains and brand equity. And we'll continue to invest to extend our margin of advantage and quality of execution, improving solutions for consumers around the world” – Andre Schulten, CFO, Procter & Gamble.

Sourced from P&G, WARC, Seeking Alpha

Tech can unlock future for frontline workers: Report

Two billion frontline workers around the world, representing 80% of the global workforce, have been hit hardest by events of the past two years and they are underserved by technology, but just as the pandemic was a catalyst for spurring rapid digital transformation for information workers, Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Special Report on Frontline Workers suggests a similar inflection point on the frontline.

Why it matters

Business leaders navigating the changing workplace can gain insights and guidance from frontline worker data that spotlights the challenge of how to balance employee well-being and growth with business results.

Key insights

• A culture of caring is the new currency on the frontline, with 76% of workers feeling bonded to one another but 62% saying their company doesn’t prioritise culture.
• Fifty-one percent of those in non-management positions on the frontline don’t feel valued as employees and, on average, 58% believe work stress will stay the same or worsen in 2022.
• Amid the Great Reshuffle, frontline workers cite better pay, work-life balance, benefits and flexibility as top reasons for considering a job change.
• Tech optimism is high but there is a training gap for tech solutions – tech tools rank third on the list of factors that can help to reduce stress, after pay and paid time off.
• Forty-six percent of frontline workers say they even value technological tools over mental health and wellness benefits.
• Sixty-three percent are excited about the job opportunities tech creates but 46% fear job loss if they don’t adapt to new tech and 55% have had to learn new tech with no formal training.

Quote

“The pandemic has put incredible strain on frontline workers. But across all of our research, we are getting a clear signal about the opportunity to align business outcomes with the wellbeing and growth of employees. And it’s encouraging to see that technology can help” – Jared Spataro, corporate vice president of modern work, Microsoft.

Background

Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Special Report on Frontline Workers includes a global survey of 9,600 frontline workers across eight countries in eight industries conducted in October/November 2021 who are unable to work remotely.

How KFC grew market share by respecting its rivals

KFC, the quick service restaurant (QSR) chain, drew inspiration from mafia movie “The Godfather” in a campaign that treated imitation brands with respect while affirming the superiority of its own fried chicken.

Background

• KFC was the UK’s second favourite quick service restaurant, and its market share was one third the size of that held by McDonald’s. 
• The brand was also losing share to cheaper, independent competitors. 
• To elevate itself above the competition, KFC knew that it didn’t need to dominate the entire QSR category; it just needed to be top of the fried chicken vertical. 
• However, many of KFC’s competitors had been directly inspired by the chicken brand and were overtly imitating it.

Campaign

• The campaign drew a parallel between KFC’s founder, the Colonel, and Vito Corleone from the mob film “The Godfather”, who places great emphasis on respect.
• KFC launched a film in which the Colonel drives through the UK’s chicken-shop-lined streets in a red vintage car to the backdrop of the “Godfather” theme, inspiring awe and reverence from those he passes.
• The film’s voiceover muses over the number of imitators out there as the Colonel passes them before he arrives at KFC for superior fried chicken. 

Results

• KFC increased penetration by 6.3%, reversing a two-year downward trend, and increased the average transaction value by 3%. 
• The campaign increased KFC’s market share by 6.2%.
• The work won Gold in the 2021 APG Creative Strategy Awards.

Marketing budgets still growing, but more slowly: Bellwether

UK companies continued to revise their total marketing budgets upwards in the fourth quarter of 2021 – a third successive quarter of expansion – but data from the IPA Bellwether Report shows the rate of growth halved from Q3, under the pressures of the Omicron strain of COVID-19, supply-chain disruption and inflation.

Headline Q4 figures 

• A net balance of +6.1% of companies upwardly revised their total marketing budgets in Q4 (Q3 +12.8%). 
• Market research (+7.0%) was the top performing category as businesses seek to better understand the impact the pandemic has had on existing clients and target audiences. 
• Direct marketing (+3.8%) and main media advertising (+3.1%) also showed growth.
• Within main media, video (+7.3%), other online advertising (+4.5%) and PR (+2.0%) all grew but there were budget cuts in published brands (-5.9%), audio (-6.3%) and out of home (-8.3%); sales promotions budgets (0.0%) stagnated.
• Events (-3.9%) and other (-11.2%) marketing budgets registered cuts.

The year ahead  

• A net balance of +34.5% of surveyed companies are planning to expand their total marketing spend in the coming 2022/23 financial year. 
• Close to half (45.7%) of panellists were optimistic of budget growth, compared to just 11.2% expecting spending cuts.
• Events (+19.0% ) and sales promotions budgets (+17.9%) are expected to bounce back in the coming financial year.
• All other marketing activities also expect to see spending increase: main media marketing (+17.4%), direct marketing (+15.5%), other (+10.6%), PR (+9.6%) and market research (+7.4%).
• Bellwether’s annual adspend growth forecast is lowered from 6.2% to 5.2%.
  

Reaction 

“The opportunities [Bellwether] panellists highlight point to the post-pandemic bounce back, further development of the digital behaviours that have been embraced through the pandemic, and the increasing acceleration of interest in the green economy. These are all areas for CMOs and planners to reflect on how they can embrace these topics and bring them into their marketing” – Rik Moore, Head of Insight Strategy and Planning at The Kite Factory.

“Brands clearly see opportunities, but they also know there is a real battle to capture spend as they navigate a potent mix of changing consumer behaviour and rising inflation putting pressure on household budgets. It’s absolutely crucial to understand people’s new essentials and what they’re willing to carve out disposable income for in this time of flux” – Louise Ainsworth, CEO EMEA at Kantar’s Media division.

Sourced from IPA Bellwether Report

Indian advertisers welcome imminent return of TRP for news channels

In a data-driven age, advertisers are looking forward to the return of Television Rating Points (TRP) for India’s news channels after a 15-month hiatus, but some remain wary of the credibility of any new figures that may be published.

The back story 

The ratings were suspended in October 2020 following allegations that several news channels were manipulating viewership figures by bribing panel homes where measurement meters had been placed. Since then, despite promises of improved statistical robustness, advertisers have been investing in news channels without any data to back their decisions. But last week the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asked the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to release the ratings for the news genre with immediate effect.

Why it matters

With five state elections coming up, this would be a good time for both news channels and advertisers to have access to viewing figures – the first to capitalise on an expected increase in viewership, the second to understand where best to allocate their spending.

Context

• The news genre accounts for around 7% of India’s total advertising expenditure.
• In chasing ratings, news channels have been accused of sensationalising stories; the absence of ratings arguably has led to less polarising content and a more brand-safe environment. 
• Smaller news channels have lost out as, with no data, those advertisers sticking with the genre – like auto and FMCG – have tended to spend with the large, well-established channels. 

Key quote

“We will have to wait and watch to see if the numbers are right, what new mechanisms will be in place and how the channels react” – Krishnarao Buddha, senior category head - marketing, Parle Products, speaking to Best Media Info.

Sourced from afaqs!, Best Media Info, Global Circulate [Image: Karolina Grabowska from Pexels]

Kiyan Prince Foundation wins DMA Grand Prix 2021

The UK anti-knife crime organisation, the Kiyan Prince Foundation, a charity named for the promising young QPR footballer has won the Grand Prix at the DMA award for a campaign, Long Live the Prince, that made a huge impact at a time when much of the public had grown immune to crime messaging.

The charity worked with Agency Engine and the EA Sports FIFA team.

Why it matters

Video games can tell profound stories. The campaign brings Kiyan, who was murdered when trying to break up a fight aged 15 in 2006, to the video game Fifa to create a virtual athlete based on projections of the young man had he fulfilled his potential as a footballer.  “The strategy was to reframe Kiyan's story from tragedy to inspiration,” the submission writes.

Details

• On the anniversary of his death, Kiyan was re-signed by QPR and was entered in FIFA 21 as a playable character with a boot deal from adidas.
• The campaign put out a hero piece of shareable audio-visual, featuring Raheem Sterling and Kiyan's father, Dr Mark Prince OBE.
• The initiative was covered by BBC, ITV and Sky News, gained extensive newspaper coverage and raised three times the normal annual revenue for KPF in a single day.

2021 DMA Awards on WARC

Publishers prioritising subscriptions over advertising revenue

Subscriptions are the number one priority for commercial news and magazine publishers this year, according to research across 52 countries by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Why it matters

As print advertising declines and digital advertising revenue grows steadily, many publishers are turning to subscriptions as a more sustainable revenue source. WARC Data's latest forecast shows that print advertising spend will drop 7.1% this year while online publishing advertising spend will rise 7.8% this year to top $25bn for the first time.

As a result, many publishers are emphasising subscriptions and other revenue sources – on average, publishers cite three or four different streams as being important to them this year.

Takeaways

• Four in five (79%) publishers said subscriptions will be important for their company in 2022, above the 73% who said display advertising will be important this year.
• Native advertising (59%) is the third most important digital revenue stream for publishers, followed by events (40%), e-commerce (30%) and funding from platforms (29%).

Sourced from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, WARC Data

Would a ban on targeted advertising work?

Three US lawmakers have tabled a new bill that would ban targeted advertising according to all but broad location data, and therefore tilting the market toward contextual methods – with similar sentiments brewing across the Atlantic, is it time to consider how this would change the industry?

Why it matters

A blunt ban on the use of data would not only hit the business models of the companies that have built their fortunes on targeting capabilities, it would have a knock-on effect on ad prices and would likely – as many industry groups point out – affect small and medium-sized businesses who rely on these services to keep costs down.

The law in brief

The Banning Surveillance Advertising Act would prohibit ad networks and facilitators from targeting through the sharing of personal data, including:

• A list of individuals and connected devices
• Contact information
• A unique identifier

Advertisers would be banned from using third-party data.

It would allow contextual advertising, otherwise known as advertising placed according to the content of the page a user is viewing rather than their own personal profile. There are both high-tech and low-tech ways of buying advertising contextually.

Its enforcement would come through both federal and state regulators, but the initial draft law also includes a relief clause in which civil actions brought and won could see the plaintiff awarded $1,000 for a negligent violation and $5,000 for a knowing violation.

The situation

• For the moment, discount the fact that the legislation is as yet supported only by its three sponsors – Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) – and would face a wildly difficult passage through congress, given how important targeting is to small businesses that make up the important long tail of platform businesses like Google and Meta.
• Yes, there is some political grandstanding, but something similar is happening in Europe as some factions attempt to bring in a blanket ban on data-driven advertising as part of the wide-ranging Digital Services Act. While this is unlikely, elements concerning a ban on targeting minors or allowing people to access full website or service functions even if they refuse consent to targeted advertising are much more likely to move forward. 
• Would it work? You could put an end to data-driven targeting but it’s unlikely that it would yield an unalloyed good given that it would upend the entire business model of the internet – and the many companies and individuals who make a living from it.

Key quote

“Surveillance advertising is at the heart of every exploitative online business model that exacerbates manipulation, discrimination, misinformation, extremism, and fundamentally violates people’s privacy in ways they would never choose if given a true choice”– Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), in a statement.

Sourced from Cory Booker, Euractiv. Image: Pexels

Global attitudes to inflation begin to shift

Around the world, the cost of living (inflation) is rising as larger costs of labour and natural resources drive prices up – this is now starting to affect consumer sentiment at all levels of the wealth spectrum.

Why it matters

Marketers must be concerned with profit, and rising costs mean the margins on higher prices are extremely difficult to maintain.

What’s happening

• Consumers across the world are cutting back. In China, that uncertainty has been affecting purchases since around July. While in Europe, confidence indicators had started to dip heading into 2022.
• In the US, talk of inflation is “no longer transitory” according to the Federal Reserve, which will likely trickle through to trade-downs to major brands' secondary lines. Elsewhere, expect private label to benefit.
• Luxury-focussed outlet Jing Daily observes that even luxury, which has typically been a good way to spend money burning a hole in the pocket of the wealthy, is far less desirable when hard assets like real estate property tend to depreciate less.
• Trickier is the situation for premium brands, whose middle-class audience and customer base will feel a harder pinch.

What it means

A cost of living squeeze could lead to a shock to households similar to a financial crisis. 

Sourced from Morning Consult, European Commission, Jing Daily, WARC

Consumer spending in TikTok grew 77% last year

Users spent approximately $2.3bn in TikTok last year, an increase of 77% from $1.3bn in 2020, according to data from mobile analytics company Sensor Tower. User engagement is also growing strongly – the average number of sessions and the time spent in the app by users rose 30% and 15% year on year in Q4 2021.

Why it matters

A strong Q4 2021 for consumer spending sets the path for continued strong growth in 2022, particularly as TikTok gives more focus to trends like community commerce. Brands are following this movement, with 66% of marketers planning to increase their investment in TikTok this year, a share higher than all of the app's competitors.

Takeaways

• In Q4 2021 alone, consumers worldwide spent $824m in TikTok, more than double the amount spent during the same period in 2020.
• While downloads have stabilised, user engagement has grown strongly.

Sourced from Sensor Tower, WARC Data

For insight on the creator economy, look to Japan's LINE

LINE, a hugely popular messaging app that originated in Japan before expanding to other parts of Asia, holds important lessons for the booming creator/collector economy at a time when NFTs dominate global headlines.

A story in Rest of World (RoW), the tech publication that focuses on stories from Asia, Africa, and South America – the vast swaths of the world often ignored by the Western press – delves into what happened when the messaging app opened up a Creators Market for people to sell stickers.

Why it matters

LINE is a messaging app that has expanded into payments, shopping, gaming, and even taxi services. It’s often mentioned in the same breath as other ‘super-apps’ that characterise smartphone tech in east Asia. What WeChat is to China, LINE is to Japan.

With one key difference: stickers. This feature is the unlikely ‘killer’ aspect of the experience. They are like personalised, cartoon emojis. Both a language and an emotional signal.

Creator economies

In 2014 the app introduced a platform through which people could buy artists’ stickers. RoW’s story looks at this economy.

It’s big business: For LINE, the sticker marketplace brings in around $200m annually. Some creators have made more than $10m from selling on the platform. For others, it has helped launch or supplement careers as Manga artists.

However, the moral of the story is about saturation amid the perception that creating and selling stickers is a quick ticket to fabulous wealth (remind you of any current trends?)

It’s a reminder that markets, especially those mediated by tech, operate under social ideas of value, whose cache helps to drive the price up. As a result, most creators make next to nothing, while a tiny minority take most of the money. As the world starts to hype about another form of digital art, precedents are a useful reminder that utopia is rarely just around the corner.

Sourced from Rest of World. Image: Line