Braving the

battleground
Welcome to Media Reactions
2023, the fourth edition of
Kantar’s global ad preference
ranking of ad platforms.

How do you decide on your media mix when

there hasn’t been a quiet moment for media
in recent years, with the continued evolution
of digital, and global socio-political events
determining what channels are available
or acceptable? As ever, it continues to be What can we
find in this
a dynamic time for media investment.

Advertising campaigns are seven times more

booklet?
impactful among receptive audiences, so it is
essential to understand the precise benefits each
ad platform can bring to your brand, and what
strengths and weaknesses you need to work with.
Depending on your campaign objectives, different
ad platforms may need to be considered. And ad
preference – what consumers actually think about Ad preference rankings  3
the ad platforms you choose – is an underestimated for media channels
factor that plays into these decisions. and brands
Read on to find out more about trends from
the past four years and how to brave this
fragmented media battleground, where Example channel profiles4
digital pervades real life, and parts of real
life have retreated into virtual worlds.

Top media brands7

per market

Example brand profiles8

Pay attention to attention10

Conclusion13

Jane Ostler Gonca Bubani

EVP, Global Global Thought Leadership

Thought Leadership Director, Media
Top ranking
media channels
Preference Global consumers Marketers

1. Sponsored events Online video ads

2. Cinema ads Sponsored events

3. Out of home ads Digital out of home ads

4. Point of sale ads Video streaming ads

5. Digital out of home ads Social media story ads

Top ranking
media brands
Preference Global consumers Marketers

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

3
What is the battle plan
for media channels?
In-person media Consumers are settled into a life where digital
blends into our surroundings. We don’t need to stay
channels dominate home, or glued to our phones, to witness the full
the ad preference range of experiences and entertainment that media
channels have to offer. However, the impact of in-
rankings for person ad experiences is more pronounced this year:
consumers

All top 5 channels Magazines have Instead, outdoor Marketers’ preferences

for consumers fallen out of advertising is remain more dynamic,
require people the top 5 making a splash: and generally
to ‘go out’ both traditional differ from those
and digital OOH of consumers
rank highly

Consumers’ advertising attitudes

towards sponsored events

Sponsored events
are liked by Fun and
entertaining
both consumers Relevant
Better quality
and marketers
and useful

Sponsored events have a positive Trustworthy Innovative

advertising profile among consumers, and
a fairly stable one as well. Over the years,
the lack of negative perceptions has not
changed, but the perception of innovation, Excessive Too much
as well as trust, has increased. Sponsored targeting advertising
events is one of the media channels that
adapted well to the digital age and the
pandemic, with face-to-face events now Repetitive Intrusive
accompanied by well-produced online
Dull and
events, often in a hybrid format. Marketers’ boring
view of the sponsored events as a channel
for advertising has also been improving Sponsored events 2023 Average 2023
steadily since 2021, thanks to higher trust.
Sponsored events 2022
Sponsored events 2021

4
 Consumers’ advertising attitudes
towards outdoor ads

Consumers
love going out Fun and
entertaining
Relevant
In-person advertising is making and useful Better quality
a big splash in 2023, with outdoor
channels, both traditional and digital,
making the top 5 most preferred
Trustworthy Innovative
ad platforms among consumers.
Digital OOH (DOOH) takes care
of the ‘dullness’ issue consumers
have with traditional out-of-home Excessive Too much
advertising, while bringing further targeting advertising
innovation into the fold. Marketers
are also highly receptive to DOOH
ads. For both groups, digital OOH Repetitive Intrusive
is the most innovative channel out
Dull and
there – especially as it takes advantage boring
of high screen resolution and fast-
developing creative technologies. Out of home 2023 Average 2023
And mainly among marketers,
Digital out of home 2023
trust is also high for outdoor ads.

5
Online video
remains the Changes in marketing spend allocation (% net positive)

marketer’s darling Change in 2023

While online video is towards Anticipated in 2024

the bottom of the ad preference

66
rankings for consumers, marketers Online video
74
continue to place their top bets
on the platform. Online video Video streaming
59
remains the most preferred media 62
channel for marketers for the fourth 57
Social media stories
year in a row. It is the third most 59
trusted channel by marketers, 50
Influencers content
behind only TV and sponsored 59
events. This in turn brings in 50
the media dollars; a net 74% of Social media news feeds
53
marketers say they will increase
48
their spend in the channel in 2024. Ecommerce
56
45
TV streaming
Despite high trust, 39
59

marketers’ interest Online/mobile games

48

in TV is declining Display
36
43

For consumers, TV has never 35

Digital out of home
been among the top ranks for 46
preference. However, for marketers, 35
Music streaming
its trustworthiness has spoken 48
volumes – until this year. TV has 33
fallen from 3rd place last year to Podcasts
45
12th place, and TV sponsorship
32
has also fallen from 12th to 20th. Retail media
46
Marketers’ trust in TV ads is still
high – but it has fallen 5% since 20
Sponsored events
24
2021, while many other channels’
are going up. Combined with a lack Marketing in metaverse
12
of innovation, TV finds it hard to 22
compete for marketer preference. 11
Out of home
Only a net 6% of marketers say they 16
will increase spend in TV in 2024. 11
Ads in store (offline)
19

Marketing in
1
TV product placement
17

the metaverse TV sponsorship

-3

hasn’t lived up
2

-5
to the hype TV
6
-8
Radio
A net 61% of marketers claimed 1
they would increase spend in the -18
metaverse in 2023, however, the Cinema
-6
actual net increase was only 12%.
-50
And for 2024, a net of 22% of Newspaper
-47
marketers claim an increase of
investment in the metaverse. -53
Magazines
Let’s see what happens on that one. -44

6
Top media brands
per market
UK GERMANY

INDIA CHINA
BELGIUM NETHERLANDS GREECE

TAIWAN

JAPAN

USA

COLOMBIA VIETNAM

MEXICO

INDONESIA PHILIPPINES

SAUDI ARABIA UAE

BRAZIL

ARGENTINA
SOUTH AFRICA EGYPT
AUSTRALIA
NEW ZEALAND

7
What ammunition do
media brands have?
Amazon is the most Consumers’ attitudes towards
advertising on Amazon
preferred ad platform
for consumers two
years in a row
Fun and
entertaining
Relevant
Better quality
Out of the 23 markets that we surveyed, and useful
Amazon is the number one brand for
ad preference in Brazil, Germany and
Mexico. It’s also the global leader for ad Trustworthy Innovative
preference. The reasons for its success
include the fact that ads on Amazon
are seen to be relevant and useful, and
with few negative qualities apart from Excessive Too much
targeting advertising
some excessive targeting concerns.
One area where Amazon has made a
noticeable improvement in its ads since
Repetitive Intrusive
2021 is trust – both for consumers and
marketers. Marketers’ trust for the brand Dull and
as an ad platform has increased around boring
10% since last year, also improving their
Amazon 2023 Average 2023
preference somewhat. There is still more
work to be done from the publisher’s side Amazon 2022
to be a top ad platform for marketers. Amazon 2021

Marketers prefer Marketers' most trusted ad platforms

YouTube
YouTube has taken over Instagram’s 1.
previous lead jumping up two spots in
2023, with a big increase in preference.
The platform has improved trust 2.
for its ads compared to last year
– a metric highly correlated with
marketer preference, and is now 3.
the most trusted ad platform. While
established brands like YouTube and
Google garner trust and receptivity 4.
from marketers, this is often not
enough for consumers’ top ranks, where
YouTube doesn’t make an appearance.
5.

8
X, previously known as Twitter, is also
controversial in terms of ad preference
X has often been in the news recently, and is a dynamic example of the chaotic
media battleground. Perhaps partly influenced by the controversy, consumers and
marketers are not particularly happy with the advertising on the platform. X makes
neither group’s top 5 in ad preference. In fact, among marketers, its receptivity is in
the negative. This goes hand in hand with a decline in trustworthy and innovative
perceptions for X. All of this is reflected in the budget allocation figures, with more
marketers claiming they will decrease spend on X in 2024 than will increase it.

Google and Instagram Consumers’ attitudes towards

advertising on Google
stand out this year
Google’s ad preference for consumers Fun and
and marketers has improved steadily since entertaining
2021, making a big jump in 2023. A big Relevant
Better quality
change in Google’s consumer advertising and useful
profile is an improvement in its relevance
and usefulness, despite excessive
targeting concerns. For marketers, Trustworthy Innovative
increase in trust is an important factor.

Excessive Too much

targeting advertising

Consumers’ attitudes towards

Repetitive Intrusive
advertising on Instagram
Dull and
boring

Fun and
Google 2023 Average 2023
entertaining
Relevant Google 2022
and useful Better quality
Google 2021

Trustworthy Innovative

Excessive Too much

targeting advertising Meanwhile, Instagram moves up for
consumers but down for marketers.
Consumers find Instagram ads to be
Repetitive Intrusive more fun and entertaining this year,
making up for excessive targeting
Dull and
boring
concerns. For marketers, the innovation
of ads on Instagram has fallen 12% since
Instagram 2023 Average 2023 2021. While preference levels have not
been impacted, the platform couldn’t
Instagram 2022
hold onto its crown due to increasing
Instagram 2021 trust on YouTube and Google’s side.
9
What ad platforms
capture attention in
the media battleground?
Attention has been Top and bottom ranking media channels for attention

a hot topic among Global consumers Global marketers

marketers recently. –a
 ttention capturing – attention delivering

But as the number of platforms for

advertisers and agencies to choose 1. Cinema ads Influencer content
from increase, the more consumers
might be hit by ads that are screaming
for attention. And this is not only true 2. Out of home ads Cinema ads
because of the increasing number of
digital platforms but also because in-
person touchpoints are an important
part of the competitive set, contributing
3. Digital out of home ads TV ads
to the chaos in the media battleground.

Attention is a hot topic and many Global consumers Global marketers

research studies have proven that it – something –a
 ttention delivering
helps build brands and drives sales. It is I try to ignore (bottom 3)
related to ad preference too: there is a
90% correlation between media channels
that consumers claim capture their 1. Online/mobile games Newspaper ads
attention, and those in which they prefer
seeing advertising. We also see a strong
negative correlation of 97% for preference 2. Video streaming ads Online display ads
with “ad formats they try to ignore.”
So we can conclude that ads that are
positively engaging are in a much better
position to capture and retain attention, 3. Music streaming ads Magazine ads
and will, therefore, not be avoided.

10
Marketers’ receptivity What marketers think deliver consumer attention, versus what
consumers think capture their attention, is also fairly different.
does not correlate Influencer content is a surprising number one for marketers,
as highly to the while it doesn’t make the top 5 for consumers. There are some
channels which both groups see as attention-grabbing such as
media channels that cinema, events and DOOH. However, most of the marketers’
they think deliver darlings feature low down on the consumer rankings.

consumer attention.
This is despite 51% of marketers saying
attention highly influences their media
budget decisions. In addition, 66% and
If attention contributes
60% of marketers say attention has an
important influence on creative and to consumer preference,
media effectiveness, respectively. The flip
side is that close to 50% of marketers do which in turn contributes
to brand impact, should
not see attention as important as brand
or sales outcomes. The metric is not

it still be seen as a
entrenched in marketing systems yet.

separate flag to aim for?

11
We have looked Top and bottom ranking media brands for attention

at trends over the Global consumers Global marketers

past four years in –a
 ttention capturing – attention delivering
Media Reactions
and find that most 1.
advertising equity
metrics do not trickle 2.
down from channel
to brand level. 3.
Amazon can be the brand leader,
despite ecommerce or video streaming
not making it into the top 5 media Global consumers Global marketers
channels. The situation is similar for – something –a
 ttention delivering
attention. The correlation between I try to ignore (bottom 3)
ad preference and attention among
media brands currently sits at 40%,
lower than half for media channels. 1.
Media channels encompass a wide
range of brands under their belt,
meaning premium ad platforms are 2.
likely going to stand out among the
crowd with their own strengths and
weaknesses. This is good news for 3.
publisher brands – the innovations
made to their advertising formats and
offers can bring about real results.

Global media brands’ attention levels

are around midway in rankings when
all 330 brands measured in Media
Reactions are taken into account.
Their attention-grabbing powers
are not that far off from each other
either. 49% of consumers claim TikTok Will generative AI
ads capture their attention, while
Facebook isn’t that far away from the take media tech to
leader at 40%. Local radio, TV, and
ecommerce brands garner the most
further heights?
attention from consumers: Jak FM is AI, in particular generative AI, is another weapon
sitting at the top, 74% of consumers in the media landscape, and one that has great
in Indonesia saying ads on the radio implications for every part of the battleground from
station capture their attention. The planning to targeting, and throughout the creative
lowest attention levels globally can development process as well as effectiveness
go as low as 12%. Similar to media measurement. It is still too early to tell how much
channels, what marketers think deliver of an impact it will make, but many consumers and
consumer attention is different to what marketers are already positive about its possibilities.
consumers see as attention-catching. Asking consumers, over half (55%) are positive
about AI, and of marketers, it’s two thirds (66%)
There seems to be excitement, but it remains to
be seen how many markteters fully adopt AI for
their marketing purposes in the coming year.

12
Conclusion
While the digital takeover In-person media channels should not be
underestimated, as many bring consumer
may have slowed down, receptivity and attention. This can bring more
the media battleground brand impact for ad campaigns with the right
content and customisation. However, digital’s
is never static. There is journey isn’t over, it is now around us in-person
always new information to as well, transforming and digitising offline
channels as we know them.
consider in the equation
of the media mix. In this ever-chaotic battleground, there are always
new powers emerging, but marketers also have
more ammunition to successfully navigate the
landscape. Pay attention to attention; it might
not be a go-to measurement system yet, but it is
a signal of consumer preference for ad platforms.
And don’t forget local; any local ad platforms can
capture attention over global ones, so marketers
need to strike the right balance for their brands.
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About
Media Reactions
We’ve been researching media
experiences and perceptions for
over 20 years. Media Reactions
combines consumer and marketer
studies for a complete view of
the current media landscape
and how to navigate it.
The 2023 consumer survey is based on around
16,000 interviews in 23 markets (Argentina,
Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt,
Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, KSA,
Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines,
South Africa, Taiwan, UAE, UK, USA, and Vietnam).

The 2023 marketer survey spoke to around

900 marketing professionals from advertiser,
agency and media companies around the world.

Find out more

Get in touch to discuss the implications for your brand.
We have detailed reports and data packages available to inform your media decisions with
the full global and market-level rankings of media channels and brands, and much more.

Visit our website or contact your local Kantar representative for more information.

14
About Kantar
Kantar is the world’s leading
marketing data and analytics
business and an indispensable
brand partner to the world’s top
companies. We combine the
most meaningful attitudinal
and behavioural data with deep
expertise and advanced analytics
to uncover how people think and
act. We help clients understand
what has happened and why
and how to shape the marketing
strategies that shape their future.