Fragmented Audiences & Shifting Budgets

Fragmenting audiences, shifting budgets. Marketers are not convinced the age of mainstream reach is finished – or, at least, not yet. Proof comes from WARC’s 2022 Marketer’s Toolkit poll: when asked if ‘The era of mass marketing is over’, a 48% plurality of interviewees rejected this proposition.

The data, though, indicated there is a broader awareness that the rules of engagement are changing. While inflation/cost-of-living were the biggest source of concern for 2023, mentioned by 37% of the panel, media and audience fragmentation was close behind on 34%. The survey also demonstrated how this concern is now influencing budgets.

When asked about spending for next year, two-thirds of respondents expect investment in targeting interest-based communities to rise. Sixty-three percent said the same for gaming – a space where community is deeply embedded – as did 52% for their outlay on influencers and other social media content. Shifts in audience usage (67%) and audience fragmentation (47%) were cited as the main reasons for decreasing investment in certain digital properties – with creator- led platforms like TikTok, Twitch and YouTube amongst the main beneficiaries of this shift, while legacy social hubs like Facebook and Twitter saw more brands plan to cut back than raise their outlay.

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