Ad Buying in 2024

With the Olympics and a Presidential Election on the docket, 2024 is already shaping up to be an ad buying year for the ages.

In October 2023, NBCUniversal had already captured nearly $1 billion in ad sales for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, pacing well ahead of past Olympics.¹ In early November, CBS sold out all of its advertising inventory for Super Bowl LVIII.² And political ad spending is already projected to reach an all-time record $11 billion in a Presidential election year.³

All of these factors create a challenging landscape for B2B and B2C marketers. In the wake of rising media costs and increased competition across all channels and formats, brands must get more creative with their media buys to deliver results.

Let’s examine the 2024 media landscape and unpack five strategies to help brands navigate a white-hot market.

What marketers can expect in 2024

Rising media costs are already prompting marketers to reevaluate their media plans heading into 2024.

Digital and social media are expected to remain top advertising channels for all brands. And that’s precisely where we expect to see some of the fiercest competition for ad dollars, especially as the election cycle heats up. Data reported by Insider Intelligence and eMarketer projects that political ad spending will reach $10.2 billion during the 2024 election cycle.

How will this impact marketers? To find out, we chatted with Simon Group strategic partner Melissa Noyes, President and CEO of MN & Company, a full-service media management and marketing solutions agency.

“Typically, as political and issue ad spend ramps up, we see pressure on inventory drive up CPMs across the board. Then, when you add record-setting Olympic ad spend to the mix, it’s going to be the perfect storm for many markets,” Noyes explained. “We do our best to educate clients, especially our non-political clients, that both traditional CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) as well as dynamic CPMs within the digital space will go up, which means if budgets aren’t adjusted accordingly, they should count on lower impression deliveries until the markets right themselves.”

5 ways marketers can weather rising media costs

No matter the competition or price, advertising remains one of the most proven brand-building approaches for virtually any organization. The key for marketers in 2024 is finding smarter ways to keep up their media presence and optimize their ad buys. Here are five ways to do so:

1. Budget and plan early
   • The rush to buy Super Bowl and Olympics spots shows us that demand will be extraordinarily high and inventory unusually low throughout 2024. This will trickle down from linear and connected TV all the way to Google ads and social placements. Marketers can get ahead by building more lead time into their budgeting and planning schedules than in the past whenever possible.
2. Diversify your media mix
   • With TV and social media likely to be flooded with advertising—especially in the months leading up to Election Day—it’s a good time for marketers to look beyond those ad platforms. Consider adding less-crowded options like trade and niche publications to your advertising mix. Additionally, 2024 may be a good time to test out a newer channel you haven’t used before, such as cross-device digital display ads, which have significant cost-efficient inventory and data targeting capabilities.
3. Stay flexible and agile
   • An amazing campaign you developed in 2023 that drove high engagement may not have the same results when you repeat it in 2024. That’s why marketers should plan to pivot in the new year. Four ways to do so:
     • Flex your creative muscles with new and refreshed campaigns.
     • As best practice and even more so now, develop multiple keyword options so you can shift digital ad strategies if your top targeted keywords become too competitive and expensive.
     • Consider the right time to deploy A/B testing to maximize outcomes.
     • Explore new ways to express your brand, including:
       • Developing more branded content that reinforces your company’s identity
       • Creating original content and packaging it up into a report, e-book or other proprietary asset
       • Carving out a distinctive storytelling approach to create a stronger emotional connection with your intended audience
       • Developing personalized content to give your buyers a bespoke journey
4. Watch your timing
   • The Paris Olympics will run from July 26 – August 11, 2024. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Many marketers choose to pause or limit their advertising during these peak times. But that’s not the right strategy for every brand. New product launches or seasonality concerns may mean that you have to advertise at these times no matter what. The key is to know what you’re up against so you can budget and plan accordingly.
5. Develop a contingency plan
   • Marketers already know they need a Plan B in place. But this year, a Plan C might be a good idea, too. The unexpected often happens in advertising, and being prepared helps brands avoid the reputational and financial costs of having to stop a campaign completely shortly after launch. Keep your finger on the pulse of current events and plan backup tactics and channels so you can keep up the momentum of your campaigns.