Market Check

Over the past year, digital advertising spend from categories like technology, finance, insurance, and retail has seen a rebound, though not a full return to previous levels. Publishers reported an increase in digital ad revenue in the first quarter of 2024, with expectations for continued growth into the second quarter. MediaRadar data shows U.S. digital ad spend reached $52.8 million in the first four months of 2024, a 7% year-over-year increase.

Technology

The technology sector, which had cut back on ad spending in early 2023, has shown signs of recovery. The Atlantic's CRO, Alice McKown, noted a rise in branded content interest from tech companies. Forbes' Shae Carroll highlighted increased interest in social video offerings from tech advertisers. A significant trend is the focus on AI advancements, driving growth in branded content. MediaRadar data shows tech ad spend increased by 7% year-over-year, totaling $8.9 billion from January to April 2024.

Healthcare and Pharma

Dotdash Meredith and The Atlantic reported growth in ad revenue from healthcare and pharma sectors. Forbes noted increased interest in social video ads from healthcare advertisers. However, MediaRadar data indicates a 18% year-over-year decline in ad spend for this category, totaling $5.5 billion.

Finance

The finance sector, affected by the Silicon Valley Bank crash, has stabilized. Yahoo Finance's Katy Lawrence reported even levels of ad spend, with a notable increase in tax-related ads. MediaRadar data shows an 11% year-over-year increase in finance ad spend, totaling $9.2 billion.

Retail and Apparel

Retail and apparel sectors show positive growth indicators. MediaRadar data indicates apparel ad spend increased by 18% year-over-year, totaling $2 billion, while retail ad spend decreased by 4%, totaling $14.7 billion.

Travel

Travel remains a strong category for branded video, despite a 21% year-over-year decline in ad spend, totaling $3.8 billion. Publishers noted that travel ad spend is on par with seasonal expectations.

Penske Media's Spy Shutdown

Penske Media temporarily shut down its site Spy, citing a strategy reorganization. All five full-time staff were let go, and the site faced significant traffic challenges and competition in affiliate revenue. Spy's traffic dropped from 1 million unique visitors in January 2023 to 62,000 in April 2024.

Affiliate Commerce Challenges

Publishers face challenges in affiliate commerce. In Q1 2024, only 45% of publishers reported affiliate commerce as a revenue source, down from 62% in Q1 2023. Large digital publishers showed mixed performance in commerce revenue, with BuzzFeed down 9% and Dotdash Meredith up 18% year-over-year.

Numbers to Know

• 5: Local, nonprofit news outlets signed new content-sharing deals with the Associated Press.
• $1.5 million: The Daily Beast aims to cut from its operating budget via voluntary staff buyouts.
• £84.5 million: Losses by the London Evening Standard over the past six years, leading to the end of its daily print publication.

What We’ve Covered

• The Trade Desk’s ‘premium internet’ shift: Concerns among publishers about ad dollar allocation.
• Time’s collectible covers: Efforts to boost reader revenue through special edition publications.
• The New York Times’ attention metrics: Plans to correlate attention levels with other metrics.
• Federating sites: Digital media companies exploring the fediverse for better control over referral traffic.
• Google’s AI-generated search results: Concerns about the impact on referral traffic.

What We’re Reading

• BuzzFeed’s activist investor: Vivek Ramaswamy’s influence on BuzzFeed’s business practices.
• Sports Illustrated’s return to print: Plans by Minute Media to bring back the print product.
• Google’s AI Overview feature: Issues with factually incorrect answers.
• Vox Media and The Atlantic’s deals with OpenAI: Licensing content archives to train AI models.