Ricardo Amboage, Head of Programmatic and Display Investment at Starcom weighed in:
“The latest figures reflect the prevalent positive mood felt throughout most parts of the media-industry. It is true that the pandemic continues to fuel uncertainty among some marketing teams : ongoing restrictions to the travel industry, disruption to supply chains, and staff shortages due to self-isolation. As Chris Whitty says “we’re not out of the woods yet”. However, it is clear that significant pent-up advertiser demand is being released thanks to the success of the vaccine and loosening of lockdown.
Some brands and media businesses have not only weathered the crisis, but capitalised by using the pandemic as a catalyst for positive change. Marketers have increased investment in D2C strategies and begun to scrutinise and optimise retail budgets. Media suppliers have pivoted to programmatic solutions in order to offer advertisers agility in the face of uncertainty. In response to declining circulations, Publishers have strengthened their relationships with core readership by growing subscribers and their online logged-in user base. The acceleration of these trends are reflected in the strong positive growth seen by digital media channels.”