Era of Adaptation: Future-Forward Strategies For Brands of All Sizes

NIELSEN ANNUAL MARKETING REPORT
ERA OF ADAPTATION
FUTURE-FORWARD STRATEGIES FOR BRANDS OF ALL SIZES
SEE COVER OPTIONS IN FOLDER
Copyright © 2021 The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. All Rights Reserved.
INTRODUCTION FINDINGS SUMMARY KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MARKETERS ABOUT THIS REPORT
FOREWORD
Are we there yet? The short answer is, no. But, we are moving forward! I stepped into the CMCO role at Nielsen at a compelling time for the media
industry and marketers. COVID-19 has tested us all, but now we are shifting
Like you, I’ve just experienced one of the most challenging years of my career
from “what has been” to “what will be.” I hope you will find this report useful in
as a CMO. Data has been a steady guide, but we all know that most marketing
providing insights on our industry and the implications of COVID. We are here to
challenges also require a heavy dose of intuition. That has been particularly
help as we let the reset begin.
true of the pandemic period we are—hopefully—emerging from.
The economic, health and safety effects of the pandemic will affect consumers
and businesses for years to come, but many brands are now thinking about
reinvestment and growth strategies.
JAMIE MOLDAFSKY
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
What do we know? Data and what it can tell us about individual and market Nielsen
behavior is more critical than ever. Our reliance on marketing technology
increases as we face a future without cookies. Quality data and marketing
technology solutions have historically been out of reach for many medium- and
small-sized companies, yet these businesses are the ones that need the most
help today. In fact, the Federal Reserve recently published a report that found
that sales for 88% of the country’s small businesses have not returned to pre-
crisis levels.
That’s why we surveyed marketers from small, medium and large businesses for
this year’s marketing report. It’s also why Nielsen is introducing expansions of
its core measurement and attribution solutions to bring them within reach for
businesses that haven’t been able to leverage them before.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 4
FINDINGS SUMMARY....................................................................................................................... 5
Resist the Urge to Stop Marketing........................................................................................ 7
Reallocation Response Times are Critical........................................................................ 10
It’s Time to Re-Think Omnichannel..................................................................................... 13
CTV and Addressable are Budding, yet Largely Uncharted, Opportunities.... 16
Measurement is a Universal Challenge............................................................................ 19
First-Party Data is a Good Start, but it’s Not Enough................................................. 22
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MARKETERS.......................................................................... 25

ABOUT THIS REPORT...................................................................................................................... 26
INTRODUCTION
THIRD EDITION 2020-2021
No one was prepared for what the world has experienced over the past year. companies feel the pinch of budget cutbacks more severely than larger ones.
The widespread disruption has meant something different for everyone, but
While the world is far from putting the pandemic in the rearview mirror, the
businesses and households alike have responded similarly: do your best to
companies that we surveyed for this year’s report, regardless of size, are
adapt, and then continue adapting.
focused on charting their paths forward, slicing through looming uncertainty to
For businesses, the need for agility was clear, but uncertainty and disruption drive revenue. That said, awareness around which channels and platforms to
left most ill-equipped to know how and where to make adjustments—often consider, as well as which approaches to take, vary greatly.
while managing cutbacks, layoffs and curtailed (sometimes dramatically)
There is no universal silver bullet to guarantee success and growth, but granular
marketing budgets.
data and scalable marketing solutions can provide brands of all sizes with the
Now, as marketing and advertising begin to rebound, brands need to be smart insights and direction to approach any and all decisions with precision and
about their strategies and tactics if they want to reach a world of audiences reliable outcomes—even during the most unprecedented of times.
whose habits and preferences have shifted. Media preferences are ever-
changing, and new policies and regulations have triggered new identification and
deduplication challenges across platforms and devices.
MANY MODERN MARKETING TOOLS ARE NO LONGER OUT OF
There is no more one-size-fits-all approach for businesses looking to engage
with consumers. Some may opt to invest in addressable ads in linear TV
REACH FOR SMALL- AND MID-SIZED COMPANIES.
programming, while others might lean into ad-supported video on demand
platforms. For others, a mix of targeted email campaigns and paid social media
spend might be more appropriate. The variations are seemingly endless. *For this report, we have designated
company size as follows:
Business size* and industry aside, ingenuity is a must for marketers today, but
the stakes they face to validate their efforts have never been higher. Thankfully, SMALL MEDIUM LARGE
the tools available to help marketers reach consumers are well-designed to meet Marketing Marketing Marketing
the escalating pressure to drive return on investment. And importantly, many budgets of budgets of budgets of
less than $1 million to $10 million
modern marketing tools are no longer out of reach for small- and mid-sized $1 million $10 million or more
companies. That’s a key change, notable for two reasons: enterprise solutions
have historically been too expensive for smaller companies, and smaller
FINDINGS SUMMARY
1 RESIST THE URGE TO STOP MARKETING 3 IT’S TIME TO RE-THINK OMNICHANNEL
When budgets get tight, brands often retreat and pull back on marketing, which Omnichannel business and marketing strategies have become critical in
can have negative ramifications in both the short- and long term. The pandemic recent years as consumers have adopted e-commerce as a complement to
remains a significant obstacle for many brands, but as recovery optimism grows, their traditional shopping behaviors. But consumers use digital channels for
businesses of all sizes need to position themselves for future growth, and that more than just making purchases, and it’s important for marketers to modify
includes engaging with new consumer groups. their omnichannel strategies to focus on the individual touch points along the
customer journey rather than just the point of purchase.
2 REALLOCATION RESPONSE TIMES ARE CRITICAL 4 CTV AND ADDRESSABLE ARE BUDDING,
YET LARGELY UNCHARTED, OPPORTUNITIES
Adaptability has always been critical for marketers, but not like it is today. Few areas of the media industry have pivoted as significantly over the past year
Change is constant, but during a pandemic, change is a daily consideration. as the way consumers interact with video content. While total TV consumption
And when change goes unnoticed, marketing mix can go awry, which leads has fallen from historic highs in mid-2020, connected TV (CTV) usage has
to inefficiencies and waste. While large scale would seem like a hindrance to become a staple of our daily media diets, with video streaming accounting for
staying nimble, smaller businesses actually had more trouble adjusting their nearly one-fourth of total streaming among streaming-capable homes as of
marketing spend in response to the pandemic last year. year-end 2020. But personalized and targeted ads aren’t limited to streaming
platforms. Industry trends support the growing demand for addressable
measurement at scale across publishers and advertisers as media buyers look
to engage with viewers in live, linear, on-demand and streaming environments.
More than three-fourths of U.S. homes have at least one enabled connected
device1, and eMarketer estimates that addressable TV advertising spend will
reach $3.5 billion by 2021.
August 2020 Nielsen Total Audience Report
1
FINDINGS SUMMARY
5 MEASUREMENT IS A UNIVERSAL CHALLENGE
The proliferation of new platforms and devices amplifies a shared pain point
among companies of all sizes: cross-channel measurement. In fact, fewer than
20% of marketers surveyed for this year’s report say they feel confident in their
ability to measure their return on investment (ROI). This illuminates a significant
disconnect between marketers’ main objective for the year (customer acquisition)
and their ability to measure the success of their core marketing tactics.
6 FIRST-PARTY DATA IS A GOOD START,

BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH
Few would question the need for high-quality data, but cookie-reliant marketers
will soon be without a critical data source they’ve been leveraging since the start
of Web 2.0. While the death of cookies doesn’t mean first-party data disappears,
it does mean that marketers will need to re-assess the sources and quality of
their data to establish and maintain relevant relationships with consumers.
And not all first-party data is created equal, especially when its quality and
thoroughness depend on input from consumers. That’s where second- and
third-party data can help, yet large companies are 50% more likely to see the
value of complementary datasets than smaller ones.
1. RESIST THE URGE TO STOP MARKETING

Nothing upends consumer behavior like a global pandemic, and businesses
and brands will need to remain nimble and focused on behavior shifts throughout
2021, with a keen eye on new behaviors that may have become ingrained after a
year of living with COVID-19. While marketing budgets and spend continue
to increase after dropping in mid-2020, many businesses’ budgets remain
significantly constrained.
Brands, however, can’t run the risks associated with going silent. In addition to
reducing top-of-mind awareness, short-term decisions to stop advertising put long-
term revenue at risk—both incremental revenue and base sales. Nielsen’s database
of long-term effect models suggests that brands that stopped advertising in the
second half of last year could see revenue declines of up to 11% this year2.
When budgets are constrained, not all brands are in a position to both maintain
engagement with existing consumers and develop campaigns to gain new
consumers. But the business of staying engaged with existing consumers isn’t
business as usual. Very little in our daily life resembles life in 2019, and marketers
have just as much pivoting to do when it comes to acquiring new customers as they
do with retaining existing consumers.
A year into the pandemic, all of the marketers we surveyed rank customer
acquisition as their top objective for the year. Across marketing objectives,
customer retention was the only real variance, as smaller companies rank this
objective as more important than companies with larger budgets.
A YEAR INTO THE PANDEMIC, ALL OF THE MARKETERS

WE SURVEYED RANK CUSTOMER ACQUISITION AS
THEIR TOP OBJECTIVE FOR THE YEAR.
2
May 2020 Adapting Advertising to a New Normal Webinar 7
TOP MARKETING OBJECTIVES

50% Small / Medium: < $10M
42% 41% Large: >$10M
40%
29% +22%
30% 27%
20%
20% 16%
10%
4% 6% 4% 4% 2% 2%
0%
CUSTOMER BRAND CUSTOMER CUSTOMER COMPETITOR CHURN
ACQUISITION AWARENESS RETENTION ADVOCACY CONQUESTING REDUCTION
Q. Please rank each of the following marketing objectives for your business from most important to least important. Chart shows the percentage of respondents who picked
Q. Please rank each of the following marketing objectives for your business from most important to least important. Chart shows the percentage of
that objective as their #1 priority
respondents who picked that objective as their #1 priority
The 22% variance with respect to customer retention is interesting, particularly because larger companies
should be well versed in knowing the cost of customer acquisition vs. retention. It’s clear that all brands place
a premium on acquisition and brand awareness, but it will be interesting to see if larger companies find “We had to completely change our focus to
themselves adjusting their strategies if consumer loyalty wanes and there is no dedicated effort to combat it. talk about all things COVID. Without doing
this, it looked like we were ignoring the
problem. There was a lot of clutter to
try to cut through as well, so we worked
COMPANIES WITH SMALLER MARKETING BUDGETS PLACE MORE IMPORTANCE ON hard to find the right messaging that
CUSTOMER RETENTION THAN BRANDS WITH LARGER BUDGETS would resonate well with our customers.”
– MARKETING ASSOCIATE, FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRM
8
Generally speaking, the focus on retention among brands with small- and medium-sized marketing budgets MARKETER’S TAKEAWAYS
is evident in the tactics they’re using to meet their objectives. Companies of different sizes have different
perspectives on reach, for example, while companies of all sizes view targeting and data quality similarly. • Business strategies and marketing campaigns
Personalization and path-to-purchase message sequencing are also more important among brands with are unique to individual brands and
smaller marketing budgets, while businesses with larger budgets are mainly focused on audience targeting, companies. With that in mind, each brand must
reach and data quality. ensure that marketing success measurement
aligns with its specific business objective.
TOP MARKETING TACTICS • There is never a good time to stop advertising.
When budgets are limited, marketers should
+13% Small / Medium: < $10M focus on engaging with existing customers
50% Large: >$10M in the short term. As consumer behaviors
-46% shift, however, brands need to position
39%
40% 35% themselves for future growth, which often
29% provides an opportunity to engage with new
30% 6X 3X
-54% consumer groups.
16% 18%
20% 15% 13% 11%
10%
8%
2% 4% 4% 2% 2%
0%
AUDIENCE AUDIENCE DATA PERSONALIZATION PATH-TO- AD PUBLISHER
TARGETING REACH QUALITY PURCHASE MESSAGE CREATIVE PLACEMENT
SEQUENCING
Q. How important are each of the following tactics to your marketing strategy performance? Please rank from most important to least important. Chart shows the
percentage of respondents who picked that tactic as their #1 priority
Q. How important are each of the following tactics to your marketing strategy performance? Please rank from most important to least important.
Chart shows the percentage of respondents who picked that tactic as their #1 priority
2. REALLOCATION RESPONSE TIMES ARE CRITICAL

Large companies, particularly those with household names, spokespeople and widely recognized logos, have
greater resources than smaller ones. That doesn’t always mean, however, that they always allocate their spend
efficiently, shift when they need to and capitalize on new trends or opportunities quickly.
That said, perhaps taking a lesson from their smaller counterparts, larger companies have grown increasingly
nimble, allowing them to react more quickly to market demand and shifting consumer behaviors. By
incorporating agile marketing principles and investing in modern marketing technologies, they’re conquering
inefficiencies and reacting dynamically. And as a result, companies with larger budgets were better able to
adjust their marketing mix spending in 2020 as market conditions shifted.
MARKETING MIX SPENDING AGILITY BY BUDGET SIZE AND INDUSTRY

100%
Small: <$1M
79%
80% Medium: $1-10M
Large: $> 10M

59%
60%
41% 44% 41%

Travel and Tourism
35% 37% 37% Retail

40%
32%
FMCG / CPG
Healthcare / Pharmaceutical
20%
Financial Services
Technology
0%
BY BUDGET SIZE BY INDUSTRY SECTOR
Q. How significantly did you have to adapt your marketing mix spend in 2020 as a result of COVID-19? Chart shows the percentage of respondents who had to adapt
Q. How
a lot or asignificantly did you
significant amount have
(top-2 to adapt
answers your marketing
on a 5-point scale) mix spend in 2020 as a result of COVID-19? Chart shows the percentage of respondents
who had to adapt a lot or a significant amount (top-2 answers on a 5-point scale)
10
Budget is often the primary barrier to the adoption of marketing analytics and attribution solutions, and
that barrier escalated among companies with small- and mid-sized budgets last year amid budget freezes,
curtailments and staff layoffs. Unsurprisingly, brands with small budgets say expenditure limitations
overshadow all other considerations, while companies with larger budgets say modern marketing technology
solutions better position them for the future.
IMPEDIMENTS TO ADOPTING MARKETING ANALYTICS AND ATTRIBUTION SOLUTIONS

50%
Small: <$1M
40%
Medium: $1-10M
33%
30% Large: $> 10M
23% 22%
20%
10%
0
BUDGET DATA INTERNAL COMPARABLE IDENTITY ORGANIZATIONAL PRIVACY EXTERNAL
LIMITATION ACCESS KNOWLEDGE METRICS RESOLUTION BUY-IN REGULATIONS / DEPENDENCIES
GAPS ACROSS CONCERNS
CHANNELS
Q. What are your biggest challenges with marketing analytics / attribution? Please rank from most challenging to least challenging. Chart shows what percentage of
Q. What areranked
respondents your biggest challenges
each area as their #1 with marketing analytics / attribution? Please rank from most challenging to least challenging. Chart shows
challenge.
what percentage of respondents ranked each area as their #1 challenge.
COMPANIES WITH LESS FUNDING FOR MARKETING EFFORTS SAY THAT

“We cut all programs that were not
BUDGET LIMITATIONS INHIBITED THEIR ABILITY TO ACCESS MARKETING showing immediate benefit.”
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS IN 2020
– MARKETING DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY COMPANY
11
In response to growing client needs, the marketing technology industry MARKETER’S TAKEAWAYS
has adapted, broadening the range of products they offer beyond one-size
solutions that only the world’s biggest corporations can afford. Truth be told, • Marketing efforts will always face budgetary constraints, and future
an array of solutions have been scaled for businesses of different sizes, and allocations often hinge on proven ROI. These are particularly relevant
so have their pricing models. In looking at planned expenditures over the next points for companies with smaller budgets. That’s why marketing
year, it looks like many companies have gotten the memo. Those that have analytics tools are critical, as they work to ensure that your spend is well
not, should heed the call. allocated and help you adjust when it’s not.
• Identity resolution and cross-channel measurement are newer

capabilities from a modern marketing perspective, which means many
ANTICIPATED CHANGE IN MARTECH INVESTMENT OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS companies have yet to fully explore or consider them. As cookies go
away and the need for marketers to stay focused on individual-level
engagement elevates, brands of all sizes need the right tools to help
them identify, allocate and adjust with precision and focus.
31%
SMALL: <$1M
25%
MEDIUM: $1-10M
$
46%
LARGE: $> 10M
Q. How Q.
doHow do youyour
you expect expect your investment
investment in Marketing
in Marketing TechnologyTechnology
Software toSoftware to change
change over the nextover the next
12 months?
12 months?
12
3. IT’S TIME TO RE-THINK OMNICHANNEL

Many marketers develop their omnichannel strategies
ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN ADVERTISING BUDGET OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS
to ensure that the customer buying experience
is seamless across online and traditional store
SOCIAL MEDIA
experiences. It’s time for them to take that a step
SEARCH
further so that they’re thinking about creating
VIDEO: ONLINE / MOBILE
seamless experiences for consumers from touch point
EMAIL
to touch point—not just at the point of purchase. It’s
DISPLAY: ONLINE / MOBILE
a slight, but critical nuance, but it involves an array
PODCAST
of layers of data and insight into understanding the
NATIVE ADVERTISING
full consumer journey—even those that don’t end in
DIRECT EMAIL
a sale.
STREAMING AUDIO
Brands of all sizes say that customer acquisition is CTV
their top marketing objective, yet respondents in our PRINT
NEWS
survey plan to increase their marketing spend on AM / FM RADIO

a few select channels rather than focus on holistic OUT OF HOME
experiences for consumers. LINEAR TV
CINEMA
Brands shouldn’t be solely focused on spending more
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
on social media and search. They also need to think
about the next step in the consumer journey—and Plan to increase budget Plan to keep budget the same Plan to decrease budget N/A
invest in it. And given the heightened focus on ROI, Q. As COVID-19 continues to evolve, how do you expect your organization’s advertising budget to change in the next 12 months for each of the
marketers need to measure across all of the channels Q. As COVID-19
following continues
paid media to evolve, how do you expect your organization’s advertising budget to change in the next 12 months for each of the
channels?
following paid media channels?
they allocate funding to, no matter how small the
allocation. And as we will discuss more in depth later,
the lack of confidence in measurement is widespread.
13
AMONG THOSE PLANNING TO INCREASE BUDGET, WHO IS CONFIDENT THEY CAN MEASURE ROI?
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
NEWS
SOCIAL SEARCH VIDEO: EMAIL DISPLAY: PODCAST NATIVE DIRECT STREAMING CTV PRINT AM / FM OUT OF LINEAR CINEMA
MEDIA ONLINE / ONLINE / ADVERTISING EMAIL AUDIO RADIO HOME TV
MOBILE MOBILE
Very confident Not very confident
Q. How confident are you in your ability to accurately measure return on investment (ROI) for each of the following paid digital and traditional media channels? ‘Very confident’ stands for
Q. top-2
the Howresponses
confidenton aare youscale.
5-point in your ability to accurately measure return on investment (ROI) for each of the following paid digital and traditional
media channels? ‘Very confident’ stands for the top-2 responses on a 5-point scale.
“We are focused on very specific audience

65% OF ADVERTISERS ARE PLANNING TO SPEND MORE ON ONLINE AND MOBILE building for targeted campaigns. Focus
$ VIDEOS THIS YEAR, BUT THREE OUT OF FOUR ARE UNSURE ABOUT HOW TO on the customer journey especially for
online channels.”
ACCURATELY MEASURE ROI
– FINANCIAL SERVICES EXECUTIVE
14
The marketers we surveyed value owned and earned media tremendously, and they
have a high interest in understanding cross-platform reach. Spend in digital channels
will certainly increase going forward, particularly in a pandemic, but owned media
(websites, email) need to be fundamental considerations as well. Given the reduced
physical interaction between brands and consumers, each brand’s digital presence
needs to work that much harder.
If marketers are truly looking to improve customer acquisition, they need to ensure
that every communication channel serves a purpose in the journey. To do this
effectively, they need the right data to personalize tactics and the ability to measure
the impact of their efforts in order to act quickly. And that means marketers need
to invest in the right tech while considering privacy and identity as they iterate on
their strategies.
MARKETER’S TAKEAWAYS
• True omnichannel marketing strategies span well beyond ensuring a seamless
buying experience in on- and offline channels.
• In their customer acquisition plans, brands shouldn’t solely focus on increasing

their spending on select channels. They need to think about all of the touch
points throughout the consumer journey.
15
4. CTV AND ADDRESSABLE ARE BUDDING, YET LARGELY UNCHARTED, OPPORTUNITIES

CTV adoption has been increasing in recent years,
but the pandemic served as a catalyst for widespread
adoption during the early lockdown periods. For
example, during the heavy CTV enablement period
CHALLENGES WITH CTV ADOPTION
last year, older demographics in the U.S. grew their
streaming usage to account for 26% of streaming
minutes3 being viewed.
INTERNAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS
Marketers across industries know that CTV presents a ORGANIZATIONAL BUY-IN

wealth of new opportunities, but it is new territory for
MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES
many. Understanding that smart TVs will facilitate the
delivery of measurable ads in linear TV programming MEDIA PLANNING EFFICIENCY
is one area of opportunity for marketers. The
broadening expanse of ad-supported video streaming AUDIENCE TARGETTING
platforms presents yet another opportunity,
AD INVENTORY QUALITY
particularly as 47% of the video streaming distribution
in the U.S. at year-end 2020 came from players other AD INVENTORY SCALE
than big-name subscription-based VOD platforms4.
OVERLAP WITH LINEAR TV
The newness and nuanced nature of the CTV
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
landscape is a hurdle for marketers, as knowledge
gaps rank highest among the challenges they’re Extremely difficult Not so difficult
facing. Organizational buy-in is another key challenge, Somewhat difficult Not at all difficult
yet that could be more manageable once marketers Neutral
have clear insight into where the opportunities line

up with their objectives and how CTV can help them
Q. What level of difficulty do you face, if any, with each of the following OTT / Connected-TV advertising areas?
achieve their goals. Q. What level of difficulty do you face, if any, with each of the following OTT / Connected-TV advertising areas?
3
August 2020 Total Audience Report
4
Nielsen Streaming Meter data, December 2020.
16
When new technologies come to market, larger companies are often quicker to explore how to leverage
them than smaller organizations. As a result, it’s not surprising that large companies face different
challenges with CTV than smaller ones. Companies with larger budgets still have knowledge gaps, but they
are farther along the learning curve and are more focused on measurement capabilities and understanding
how to scale ad inventory.
CTV CHALLENGES FOR COMPANES WITH DIFFERENT BUDGETS

Small / Medium: < $10M
INTERNAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS
ORGANIZATIONAL BUY-IN +13% Large: >$10M
MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES +24%

MEDIA PLANNING EFFICIENCY
AUDIENCE TARGETTING
AD INVENTORY QUALITY
AD INVENTORY SCALE +44%
OVERLAP WITH LINEAR TV
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
“CTV is a big priority for our company.
Q:Q.What level of are
difficulty do you face, if any, with each of the following (ROI)
OTT for
/ Connected-TV advertising areas? Chart shows
We want people to keep up with their
How confident you in your ability to accurately measure return on investment each of the following paid digital and traditional media top-2 (somewhat
channels? or
‘Very confident’
extremely difficult) on a 5-point scale
stands for the top-2 responses on a 5-point scale.
health care needs despite the pandemic,
and we plan to increase CTV and
messaging rotation this year to get the
WHEN NEW TECHNOLOGIES COME TO MARKET, LARGER COMPANIES ARE OFTEN word out.”
QUICKER TO EXPLORE HOW TO LEVERAGE THEM THAN SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS – MARKETING MANAGER, HEALTHCARE COMPANY
17
Despite the growth of streaming services and over-the-top (OTT) options, marketers shouldn’t discount
the value of traditional TV. Importantly, adults 18+, on average, still spend more than four hours each day
watching live and time-shifted TV programming5, and advancements in addressable advertising now facilitate
personalized, targeted experiences in programming that was traditionally focused on mass reach.
Across media types, television comes with the highest price tag per CPM, which makes it less viable for brands
with smaller budgets. The benefits of personalization and targeting through addressable ads, however,
may broaden the appeal over time, as we’re already seeing in certain industries looking to overcome the • Amid the rise in smart TV ownership and
disruptions caused by COVID-19. increasing video streaming consumption, savvy
marketers are leveraging data and technology
to deliver personalized messages across an
ARE REAL-TIME TARGETED ADS ON LIVE LINEAR TV ON THE RADAR? array of technologies and platforms—even
linear television programming.
50% 47% • TV is no longer just a tool for mass reach, and
addressable advertising is no longer limited
40% 37% Small: <$1M to web and app experiences. The future of
Medium: $1-10M marketing is personal, and CTV (in all variants)
Large: $> 10M is bringing personalization to household living
30% 27% 26%
25% rooms across the country.
23% 22%
20% Travel and Tourism
20% FMCG / CPG
15%
Retail
10% Financial Services
Technology
0%
Q. How important are real-time targeted ad placements in live, linear TV to your future marketing strategy?
Q. How important are real-time targeted ad placements in live, linear TV to your future marketing strategy?
5
Nielsen National TV measurement, June 2020 18
5. MEASUREMENT REMAINS A UNIVERSAL CHALLENGE

Marketing budgets and spend allocation are always scrutinized. In a pandemic, that scrutiny intensifies—
and measurement, optimization and re-allocation become paramount. The demise of cookies, combined
with the erosion of data and ongoing fragmentation, only amplify the need for effective, future-forward
martech. Given the landscape, brands of all sizes and industries have very little confidence in their existing
martech capabilities.
CONFIDENCE IN YOUR EXISTING MARTECH SOLUTIONS

50%
Small: <$1M
40% Medium: $1-10M
Large: $> 10M
30%
Technology
20% 20% 19% Retail
20%
16%
11% 10% 10% 9% Financial Services
10%
FMCG / CPG
0%
Q. How confident are you that you have the right marketing technology in place to measure return on investment (ROI)? Chart shows
Q. How confident
percentage are youwith
of respondents thattop-2
you have the(very
answers rightconfident
marketing technology
and in place toon
extremely confident) measure
a 5-pointreturn
scale on investment (ROI)?
Chart shows percentage of respondents with top-2 answers (very confident and extremely confident) on a 5-point scale
19
While brands always view over-arching capabilities like brand awareness and engagement as critical, an
increasingly fragmented media landscape dense with platforms and devices will likely soon shine a light on
more focused capabilities like deduplication, multi-touch attribution and marketing mix modeling. And when it
comes to these technical capabilities, brands of all sizes aren’t very confident in their solutions.
MOST IMPORTANT MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES
BRAND AWARENESS
FULL-FUNNEL MEDIA ROI
ENGAGEMENT
MULTI-TOUCH / SALES ATTRIBUTION
VIEWABILITY
MARKETING MIX MODELING
UNDUPLICATED REACH & FREQUENCY
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Q. Please rate the importance of each of the following metrics / measurement capabilities to your organization. Chart shows top-2 (very
important
Q. Please rate and extremely important)
the importance of each of on
theafollowing
5-point scale
metrics / measurement capabilities to your organization. Chart shows top-2 (very
important and extremely important) on a 5-point scale
“This year, we want to revisit all our
messaging, our targeting, our personas.
It’s time we find and leverage all the tools
and techniques that work and discard
those that don’t yield results.”
– MARKETING EXECUTIVE, FMCG COMPANY

20
AMONG THOSE WHO HAVE IT AS TOP PRIORITY, WHO IS CONFIDENT IN MEASUREMENT?
ALL
Full-Funnel • COVID-19 notwithstanding, measurement and
SMALL-MEDIUM Media ROI proving ROI remain universal challenges across
LARGE
brands and industries. That’s why having the
right marketing technology, especially as the
ALL world moves away from cookies, is critical in
Multi-Touch / Very confident
SMALL-MEDIUM Sales Attribution Not very confident any situation where brands want true visibility
LARGE into the full customer journey.
ALL • Without cookies, marketers will increasingly

Unduplicated
SMALL-MEDIUM Reach & Frequency
need to rely on their first-party data and create
LARGE solutions that help develop and maintain
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
meaningful relationships with real people,
not devices.
Q. How confident are you in your organization's (or your media agency’s) ability to accurately measure each of the following? ‘Very confident’
Q. How confident
stands areresponses
for top-2 you in your
onorganization’s
a 5-point scale(or your media agency’s) ability to accurately measure each of the following? ‘Very confident’
stands for top-2 responses on a 5-point scale
21
6. FIRST-PARTY DATA IS A GOOD START, BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH

The importance of data quality can’t be overstated, yet it’s an obstacle for marketers regardless of budget size.
Companies with smaller budgets find it less problematic, but at a time when the importance of person-level
connections is rising, all brands should have maximum confidence in their data quality.
TO WHAT EXTENT IS DATA QUALITY / ACCURACY AN OBSTACLE?
Small: <$1M
50% 47%
43% 41%
Medium: $1-10M
40%
40% 37% Large: $> 10M
34%
30%
29% 26% Technology
Retail
20%
Financial Services
10%
FMCG / CPG
0%
Q. What level of difficulty do you face, if any, with each of the following audience data topics? Chart shows percentage of respondents with top-2 answers (very difficult or extremely difficult)
on a 5-point scale
Q. What level of difficulty do you face, if any, with each of the following audience data topics? Chart shows percentage of respondents with top-
2 answers (very difficult or extremely difficult) on a 5-point scale
WHEN IT COMES TO STRATEGY EXECUTION, 86% OF MARKETERS FROM COMPANIES

OF ALL SIZES RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF FIRST-PARTY, DESPITE THEIR LACK OF
CONFIDENCE IN THEIR DATA OVERALL
22
IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS DATA TYPES BY BUDGET SIZE

100%
85% 86% 86%

80%
65%
59% 61%
60%
52% 50%
42%
40% Small: <$1M
Medium: $1-10M
Large: $> 10M

20%
0%
FIRST-PARTY DATA 2ND PARTY DATA 3RD PARTY DATA
Q. Please rate the importance of each of the following audience data types as it applies to your addressable / digital media strategy. Chart shows percentage of
Q. Please rate the
respondents withimportance of(very
top-2 answers eachimportant
of the following audience
or extremely data
important) ontypes as itscale
a 5-point applies to your addressable / digital media strategy. Chart shows
percentage of respondents with top-2 answers (very important or extremely important) on a 5-point scale
Importantly, data is available from myriad sources. And as connectivity and digital interactions increase,
new sources will continue coming online. Somewhat surprisingly, brands of all sizes are primarily focused
“We plan to expand our data partnerships
on data sources that highlight an action at the end of a customer journey, such as an actual purchase, credit
card charge or an interaction with a web page. As marketers begin focusing on the entire consumer journey to support the growth of e-commerce,
rather than just an end point, multi-touch attribution solutions will become critical in identifying all touch D2C, B2B, and improve customer
points rather than just the last one. experience throughout.”
– MARKETING EXECUTIVE, FMCG COMPANY
23
IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS DATA SOURCES FOR COMPANIES OF DIFFERENT SIZES
100% Small / Medium: < $10M MARKETER’S TAKEAWAYS

Large: >$10M
80% 80% • First-party data is the lifeblood of your
80%
67% marketing efforts. Be sure to collect it
60%
58% properly, regularly and in full compliance with
50% 51% privacy regulations.
40% • Not all data are created equal. Some are used
27% to enrich first-party data, such as information
20% 22% 17% 16%
22% 22%
from consumers themselves and information
20%
9% 5% 5% from data partners, and some sources will
0%
become obsolete, including third-party
CRM DIGITAL PRODUCT MOBILE CREDIT CARD AUDIO TV SMART web cookies.
BEHAVIOR LEVEL LOCATION PURCHASE LISTENERSHIP VIEWERSHIP TV
PURCHASE • Data partnerships are no longer out of reach
Q. How important are each of the following audience data sources to your organization? Chart shows percentage of respondents with top-2 answers (very important for smaller businesses, and they’re not overly
or extremely important) on a 5-point scale
Q. How important are each of the following audience data sources to your organization? Chart shows percentage of respondents with top-2 time consuming to develop. Premium data
answers (very important or extremely important) on a 5-point scale
marketplaces can help brands of all sizes
develop meaningful relationships with real
It goes without saying that the widespread effects of the pandemic will extend into the foreseeable future people even in an era of data erosion and
and that consumer behavior will continue to shift accordingly. Now that the world has more than 12 months heightened privacy regulations.
of pandemic learning in hand, businesses should continue collecting data to know how to engage with
consumers amid continuing disruption and change. And as data erosion continues, data partnerships should
be a top priority. Data and person-level engagement are the keys to marketing success going forward, and
many tools and solutions have been scaled to benefit brands and budgets of all sizes.
24
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MARKETERS
FOR COMPANIES WITH SMALL BUDGETS FOR COMPANIES WITH MID-SIZE BUDGETS FOR COMPANIES WITH LARGE BUDGETS
• Focus on customer retention to manage • Customer retention is key during and beyond • Keep brand awareness high during and
cash during and beyond the pandemic. the pandemic. beyond the pandemic.
• Use data to target and personalize your • Analyze emerging trends to identify new • Optimize your ad spending; don’t cut it.
interactions with your customers. consumer segments.
• Adapt your creatives to communicate your
• Conduct due diligence and find martech • Adapt ad creatives to the times and to the brand’s values.
solutions to help you optimize spending. audiences you want to reach.
• Support standards initiatives related to
• Use martech to measure your marketing • Work with an identity resolution partner to cross-channel measurement.
efforts and diversify your marketing improve your first-party data.
• Engage with channels that can help you
mix accordingly.
• Get up to speed on industry initiatives for achieve your business outcomes.
• Prioritize spending in proven channels. cross-channel measurement.
• Think about the personalization options
• Begin experimenting in CTV this year, and • Run campaigns on both linear TV and CTV in CTV.
learn from the experience. to compare performance.
• Embrace identity resolution and connect
• Look for data partnerships to boost the • Connect to external data sources to add new with data partners.
value of your first-party data. insights to your customer data.
25
ABOUT THIS REPORT

The data used in this report comes from Nielsen’s Annual Marketing Survey. A MARKETING BUDGET
total of 260 marketing professionals were recruited and completed the survey
online between October and December 2020, while 485 other respondents SMALL (UNDER $1M) 117
screened out or led to incomplete responses.
MEDIUM ($1M-10M) 44
In terms of seniority level, 75% of all respondents were at the manager
position or above, and 72% worked directly in marketing or analytics LARGE (OVER $10M) 50
departments, with the balance in executive or operations roles with direct
visibility into marketing decisions. BLANK 50
Many of the analyses in this report relate to the size of the marketing budget
at the respondent’s company, or to the sector of the economy in which the
TOTAL 260
business operates. Here are the corresponding sample distributions for these
two important reporting dimensions. Please keep those sample sizes in mind
when reading and interpreting the charts in this report.
ECONOMIC SECTOR
FINANCIAL SERVICES 30
FMCG / CPG 22
CONTACT US HEALTH CARE / PHARMACEUTICAL 30
[email protected]
RETAIL 27
TECHNOLOGY 103
TRAVEL AND TOURISM 19
OTHER6 29
TOTAL 260
6
Sample size for other industries too small for reporting (politics, telecommunications, automotive, restaurant) 26
ABOUT NIELSEN
Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a leading global data and analytics company that provides
a holistic and objective understanding of the media industry. With offerings spanning audience
measurement, audience outcomes and content, Nielsen offers its clients and partners
simple solutions to complex questions and optimizes the value of their investments and
growth strategies. It is the only company that can offer de-duplicated cross-media audience
measurement. Audience is Everything™ to Nielsen and its clients, and Nielsen is committed to
ensuring that every voice counts.
An S&P 500 company, Nielsen offers measurement and analytics service in nearly 60 countries.
Learn more at www.nielsen.com.
27

Era of Adaptation: Future-Forward Strategies For Brands of All Sizes

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NIELSEN ANNUAL MARKETING REPORT

Reallocation Response Times are Critical........................................................................ 10

It’s Time to Re-Think Omnichannel..................................................................................... 13

CTV and Addressable are Budding, yet Largely Uncharted, Opportunities.... 16

Measurement is a Universal Challenge............................................................................ 19

First-Party Data is a Good Start, but it’s Not Enough................................................. 22

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MARKETERS.......................................................................... 25

6 FIRST-PARTY DATA IS A GOOD START,

1. RESIST THE URGE TO STOP MARKETING

A YEAR INTO THE PANDEMIC, ALL OF THE MARKETERS

TOP MARKETING OBJECTIVES

2. REALLOCATION RESPONSE TIMES ARE CRITICAL

MARKETING MIX SPENDING AGILITY BY BUDGET SIZE AND INDUSTRY

Large: $> 10M

41% 44% 41%

35% 37% 37% Retail

IMPEDIMENTS TO ADOPTING MARKETING ANALYTICS AND ATTRIBUTION SOLUTIONS

COMPANIES WITH LESS FUNDING FOR MARKETING EFFORTS SAY THAT

• Identity resolution and cross-channel measurement are newer

3. IT’S TIME TO RE-THINK OMNICHANNEL

survey plan to increase their marketing spend on AM / FM RADIO

Very conﬁdent Not very conﬁdent

“We are focused on very specific audience

• In their customer acquisition plans, brands shouldn’t solely focus on increasing

4. CTV AND ADDRESSABLE ARE BUDDING, YET LARGELY UNCHARTED, OPPORTUNITIES

Marketers across industries know that CTV presents a ORGANIZATIONAL BUY-IN

yet that could be more manageable once marketers Neutral

have clear insight into where the opportunities line

CTV CHALLENGES FOR COMPANES WITH DIFFERENT BUDGETS

MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES +24%

10% Financial Services

5. MEASUREMENT REMAINS A UNIVERSAL CHALLENGE

CONFIDENCE IN YOUR EXISTING MARTECH SOLUTIONS

40% Medium: $1-10M

Large: $> 10M

MOST IMPORTANT MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES

– MARKETING EXECUTIVE, FMCG COMPANY

AMONG THOSE WHO HAVE IT AS TOP PRIORITY, WHO IS CONFIDENT IN MEASUREMENT?

ALL • Without cookies, marketers will increasingly

6. FIRST-PARTY DATA IS A GOOD START, BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH

TO WHAT EXTENT IS DATA QUALITY / ACCURACY AN OBSTACLE?

WHEN IT COMES TO STRATEGY EXECUTION, 86% OF MARKETERS FROM COMPANIES

IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS DATA TYPES BY BUDGET SIZE

85% 86% 86%

Large: $> 10M

IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS DATA SOURCES FOR COMPANIES OF DIFFERENT SIZES

100% Small / Medium: < $10M MARKETER’S TAKEAWAYS

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MARKETERS

ABOUT THIS REPORT

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