Wavo Blog: Ad Costs and the Holiday Season
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Yogmaya Singh
Media Analyst Specialist at Wavo
Wavo Blog: This series shares information that’s most relevant to music marketers around the globe.
“Rising costs revealed the competitiveness of the season on the biggest ad platforms.”
Context
The Holiday season is often regarded as the busiest time of the year across industries. Competition is at its highest as marketers compete to push their products in front of individuals looking to spend big on gifts or experiences.
The music marketing paid media landscape also becomes more costly as holiday songs climb through the charts. This past year was no different as the rising costs revealed the competitiveness of the season on the biggest ad platforms, emphasized by the steep drop in costs once the holiday season ended in January.
“Data shows average CPM costs steadily increasing from the start of the Holiday season in October to December across platforms.”
Execution
Looking at our music campaigns, data shows average CPM costs steadily increasing from the start of the Holiday season in October to December across platforms. Then, we observed a dramatic shift in costs in January where CPMs were at some of its lowest levels compared to the past year.
Most notably, Facebook and TikTok both experienced around a 40% decrease from December to January with Snapchat not far behind seeing a 31% decrease.
For our recorded music campaigns, we can attribute this shift in CPM to the much fewer song releases and fewer total digital advertising campaigns in January compared to October-December. The drop of competition meant a drop in CPMs as the number of advertisers competing for placements also decreased.
Youtube had little change in its costs compared to the social platforms since it generally hosts awareness/video view campaigns rather than ROAS. However, at a closer glance, December to January was the first time average CPMs had decreased since September and this was the largest overall shift in cost compared to previous months, likely due to the influx of new releases.
“Looking ahead, the low CPM costs in January may be an opportunity for newer artists and non-holiday related releases to reach wider audiences than they could months prior for the same budgets.”
Key Takeaways
It’s safe to say that the holiday season has a significant impact on costs for music marketers alongside the retail industry. The music industry experiences some of the most competition not only on the charts, but also for ad placements on social platforms, as the influx of new and old holiday songs add to the already saturated market.
Looking ahead, the low CPM costs in January may be an opportunity for newer artists and non-holiday related releases to reach wider audiences than they could months prior for the same budgets.
Written by Yogmaya Singh, Media Analyst Specialist at Wavo
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