This year, we’re bringing in the end of the year with a series: 12 Days ‘til New Years. We’ll continue our tradition of highlighting the most notable brands and spending across ad tech platforms, consumer media, and B2B industries.
Monday, the 12 lords-a-leaping in the more traditional holiday countdown were replaced by 12 New Advertisers in 2020.
Today, we replaced 11 ladies dancing with 11 B2B brands that increased their ad spend this year. Join us in counting down to a new year using some of our favorite things—big spenders in B2B advertising.
B2B Boosts Spending in 2020
The B2B advertising industry, like many others, spent much of the first part of the year scrambling to adapt to the new way of life made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic.
B2B faced one sizable challenge: a lack of events, which often provide the backbone of B2B marketing efforts.
They also struggled with a lack of demand for many products that are only necessary when businesses have employees in their office. With offices lying empty, some B2B brands had to find new niches to fill—and new ways to reach potential audiences.
Perhaps because of this, B2B brands spent significantly more on advertising YoY. 2020 saw a 22% increase in B2B ad spend, signifying an increase of $202 million.
B2B advertisers spend $1.1 billion on digital spend alone. Throughout the year, pharmaceutical, tech, and finance brands were the largest spenders—as seen in those industries’ heavy presence in the list below.
11 B2B Brands that Increased Spend
Tremfya
Tremfya is the first pharmaceutical advertiser in our list, marking the industry’s stability even in times of economic recession.
The drug, originally marketed for treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults, has no real connection with COVID-19 or its symptoms. However, it is newly approved for use in adults with psoriatic arthritis. This new approval could point to one reason that the brand increased ad spend by $25 million in 2020.
Deloitte
Deloitte is a British multinational professional services network that has been a player in the financial industry since 1845.
The organization’s $15 million increase in ad spend in 2020 likely speaks to their business consulting expertise, as less established businesses sought help and recovery and Deloitte positioned themselves as experts during an “acute disruption.”
NinjaTrader
Up next is NinjaTrader, another financial entry that allows users to engage in micro trading. Their $8.8 million increase in ad spend went towards ads that focused on the low price of the service, a strong draw during economic uncertainty.
Primis
Primis is the first representative of the tech industry on our list. The company increased their ad spend this year by $7.8 million.
The Primis unit—a video platform for publishers “engages your audience with the right videos at the right time and in the right place to improve their experience, and maximize RPMs.” As audiences watched an extraordinary amount of video this year, it was an opportune time for Primis to build brand awareness and capture more business.
Strategic Intelligence, Inc.
Strategic Intelligence, Inc. provides a wide range of services to a wide range of businesses, but specializes in life sciences.
In a year where pharmaceutical companies are particularly important and there is a greater focus on health and wellbeing, it makes sense that SI spent $7.2 million more on advertising than they did in 2019.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Another pharmaceutical company that saw significant success in 2020, Jazz Pharmaceuticals had an eventful year.
The company launched a new drug for cancer patients in July, introduced their narcolepsy drug in the US, and announced strides in a large clinical trial for idiopathic hypersomnia. Marketing these new releases, as well as pre-existing drugs on the market, led to a $7.1 million increase in ad spend.
Zejula
Zejula, another medication used in the treatment of specific kinds of cancers, further solidifies the pharmaceutical presence in B2B advertising this year.
Because the drug was only approved by the FDA in April of this year, it makes sense that the company increased their spending by $7 million.
IG Group Holdings
IG Group, another UK-based financial company, is next up.
They increased their ad spend by $6.4 million this year as they saw an influx of retail investors and their number of active clients increased 50% YoY.
Sublocade
Sublocade is another pharmaceutical product that saw a large increase in advertising YoY, spending an additional $4 million in 2020.
This ad spend comes hot on the heels of the news that deaths by drug overdose increased by 13% in the first half of 2020, and in a time when many addiction treatment centers are forced to shut down due to a lack of funds.
These statistics make Sublocade, which is used in the treatment of opioid addiction, an even more important product.
C3.ai
C3.ai is an enterprise AI service used in a variety of ways across many industries.
C3.ai customers use the AI program in fraud detection, inventory optimization, sensor health, and a multitude of other processes that keep businesses running with less manual input—an especially important trait during COVID-19, when most businesses are trying to minimize or avoid on-site employees.
The company spent an additional $3.4 million on advertising this year, presumably to stay visible as businesses began looking for options in process digitalization.
IG Forex
Foreign trade is the world’s most traded financial market. A forex trading account enables investors to take advantage of volatility—especially in a year like 2020. As a result, IG Forex increased its ad spend by $2.7M.
To wrap up, these are the 11 B2B brands that increased their ad spending the most this year. Up next in our countdown ‘til New Years will be the 10 Biggest Programmatic Advertisers.
For more updates like this, stay tuned. Subscribe to our blog for more updates on coronavirus and its mark on the economy.
