Kantar Media Reactions 2023 study reveals that Amazon has once again taken the title of consumers' most preferred ad platform.

According to Kantar Media Reactions 2023, most consumers consider ads on Amazon to be relevant and useful, with few negative qualities.

Despite not being one of the top five favourite platforms for marketers globally, Amazon is building trust among this group — with a 10% year-on-year rise in trust scores. The e-commerce giant also tops the charts in Brazil, Germany and Mexico, three of the 23 markets included in the study.

Among marketers, YouTube has leapfrogged to the top of the charts, improving trust by 6% compared with 2022.  The rise of YouTube demonstrates marketers' preference for established brands, even if it does not register in consumers’ top five platforms.

Top-ranking media brands



2023's analysis also reveals that "in-person" touchpoints dominate consumers' preferred channels — with sponsored events taking the lead for the second year in a row. The rest of the top five also comprises channels that are experienced in person, including cinema ads, point of sale and Out-Of-Home / Digital-Out-Of-Home.

Top-ranking media channels



The study shows there's a significant contrast between marketers' and consumers' most preferred channels, with marketers inclined towards newer channels while consumers prefer channels that cause the least interruption to their lives.

TV or not TV?

Notably, TV, the traditional lynchpin of ad campaigns, is absent from the ranking of marketers' preferred ad channels in 2023. While TV has never been rated highly among consumers, it has historically performed strongly among marketers.

However, it has fallen from third place in marketers' preferred channels in 2022 to 12th place in 2023. TV sponsorship has fallen from 12th place to 20th and only 6% of marketers say they will increase TV spend in 2024.

"While TV as a preferred channel is waning among global marketers, it remains the glue that holds ad campaigns together in South Africa. However, loadshedding is disrupting the status quo and shifting attention to online channels. We also see South African's appetite for e-commerce growing, driven by trust in those channels," says Nuala Harris-Morele, managing director of media in sub-Saharan Africa at Kantar. 

The marketers' mindset

The Kantar Media Reactions 2023 survey of around 900 marketers around the world also quantifies how trends and changes in the media landscape shape their attitudes.

Key highlights include the following:

The Metaverse continues to be an unfulfilled promise

In 2022, a net 61% of marketers claimed they would increase spending in the metaverse, but only a net of 12% actually did. In the 2023 study, only one in five (22%) stated they will raise their budget for Metaverse advertising next year.

Twitter, the end of an era

The research shows that X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has suffered reputational damage among marketers. X, the latest incarnation of the platform, does not feature in the list of marketers' top five preferred ad platforms. A decline in perceptions of innovation (now 16%, down from 28% in 2021) and trustworthiness (now 7%, down from 11% in 2021) is accompanied by a net 14% of marketers saying they will reduce their ad investment on the platform in 2024.

The race for attention

Marketers continue to invest in channels that consumers don't think are attention-grabbing. For marketers, influencer content is king in terms of delivering attention, but it doesn't make the top five for consumers. Furthermore, a staggering 50% of marketers do not see attention as important as brand or sales outcomes, despite the evidence that it helps build brands and drives sales.

According to the study, cinema ads, sponsored events and Digital-Out-Of-Home are among the few channels that both consumers and marketers believe are attention-grabbing. Both groups are in agreement that TikTok is the most attention-grabbing media brand.

Gonca Bubani, global thought leadership director of media, Kantar, says, "Successful advertising today seamlessly integrates into consumers' lives: in their scrolling, viewing or simply while they go about their days. This year, consumers have spoken up and said they strongly prefer advertising that they see Out-Of-Home, like at sponsored events or the cinema. So why is there such a huge mismatch between the advertising consumers enjoy and what marketers are spending their precious budgets on?"

"We know advertising campaigns are seven times as impactful among receptive audiences, so for marketers, it's crucial to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different ad platforms and invest their money where it will make an impact," concludes Bubani. 

Individuals can download a copy of the study and register to watch the webinar Kantar Media Reactions 2023: Braving the battleground on Kantar's website. 

For more information, visit www.kantar.com. You can also follow Kantar on Facebook, X or on Instagram.