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Digital advertising: can Amazon catch up with Google and Facebook?
The leaders of the digital advertising pack have been Google and Facebook. Is Amazon set to turn on the heat?
There is no doubt about who the big boys in digital advertising are. With a combined market share of 49 per cent in 2017 (estimated), Facebook and Google are way ahead of the rest of the pack. But is there reason to suspect that Amazon can catch up with the Goliaths?
Someone as senior as Sir Martin Sorrell, the CEO of the world’s largest ad group, WPP, believes that Amazon is a ‘huge threat to Google when it comes to search”. WPP has put together an agency in Seattle to cater to Amazon.
Results show that Amazon’s ad revenues are rising quickly. Between January and March 2017, its other business division (which is mainly ad sales) shot up by 58 per cent to $850 million. Analysts believe that Amazon’s rise will be fuelled by data – it has access to more first-party consumer purchase data – that will be extremely attractive to brand partners. Diageo, for instance, has already announced that a new travel TV series will appear on Amazon Prime.
Moreover, with many brands dropping their advertising from Google - due to fears that they appear ‘next to extremist content’ – and Facebook – because its measurement metric errors were attracting negative publicity – many believe that Amazon can sense an opening to move in. Other players like Verizon and Snap Inc too are looking to get a foot in.