CTV fills in spend gaps; Facebook adds even more Reels

Plus: Back-to-school sales return to pre-pandemic growth this year [Insider Intelligence]( [Emarketer Daily]([Emarketer Daily]( Charts. News. Analysis JULY 18, 2023 | By Sara Lebow, Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, Alex Samet It’s been over 60 years since the last time the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) were on strike at the same time. The SAG president at that time? [An actor named Ronald Reagan](. What does this mean about the future of current SAG president and former star of “The Nanny” Fran Drescher? We’ll leave that up to your imagination. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. TOP STORY [CTV is filling gaps in declining linear TV ad spend]( All the metrics we track for connected TV (CTV) are trending upward, including time spent, ad dollars, and users. All this is happening as linear viewership declines, and for the first time, non-pay TV viewers have surpassed pay TV this year, according to our forecast. The CTV market has “blown past our expectations with almost every update,” said our analyst Paul Verna. Here’s what advertisers need to know to keep up with this shifting landscape. [Keep reading]( NEWS AND VIEWS [Facebook pivots back to video with more Reels and HDR]( Our view: Facebook has declared a pivot more times than Ross moving a couch on “Friends.” Its latest updates put Reels editing tools within Facebook’s feed and transform Facebook Watch into the Video tab. For advertisers and creators, that probably means more video content on Facebook, assuming the changes result in users actually spending more time with video. [Prime Day sellers spent 14% of event revenues on Amazon ads]( Our view: Retail media ads have transformed from a perk to a necessity on Amazon. While sellers may not be happy about the added expense of selling on Amazon, don’t expect it to change anytime soon as Prime Day has become an ad boon for Amazon. [Walmart ranked most promising brick-and-mortar retail media network]( Our view: It’s no Amazon, but Walmart’s brick-and-mortar and consumer packaged goods prominence strengthen its retail media network, according to a Lotame survey. The same survey found that for digital, outside of Amazon, eBay ranks as most promising. ANALYSIS [Back-to-school sales return to pre-pandemic growth this year]( We expect sales to rise 2.9% to $71.74 billion this year, per our forecast, a far cry from the massive 13.2% growth of 2021. One of the reasons we expect modest growth is that two primary back-to-school categories (consumer electronics and apparel) have had middling results this year. But two other back-to-school forecasts, based on consumer surveys, offer starkly different outlooks. [Keep reading]( THINGS TO KNOW 📋 [Last week in agencies: Shifts at Havas, Saatchi & Saatchi, more]( 🧵 [5 reasons Threads could still go the distance]( 🦾 [3 ways ecommerce brands can use AI for personalization]( 🌐 [Wix’s new tool can create entire websites from prompts]( PODCAST [Behind the Numbers: The Daily]( Mobile time spent nears a pivotal point, paying with smartphones, and how many folks use generative AI. Tune in on [Apple Podcasts](, [Spotify](, or wherever you listen to podcasts. [Follow us on Instagram.]( “Behind the Numbers” is made possible by Verisk Marketing Solutions. [Listen in]( THE BIG QUESTION Digital digits: What milestone will digital ad spend worldwide pass this year? A) $500 billion B) $600 billion C) $700 billion D) $800 billion [Get the answer]( Email sent to: {EMAIL} If you cannot view the HTML newsletter, [please read it in your browser here](. [Become a Premium Subscriber]( | [Advertise with us]( [Manage your email preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Terms of Use]( | [Privacy Policy]( ©2023 Insider Intelligence, 11 Times Square, New York, NY 10036 [LiveIntent Logo]( [AdChoices Logo](