Written by: Brett House

As the advertising world broadens its reach across various screens and platforms, welcoming new players into the media-selling arena, some core principles remain steadfast. Leading brands continue to pursue a strong, consistent presence in key media channels. Despite the ongoing evolution, the media and advertising industry still mirrors an arms race.

Established giants are defined by their stability and influence, while emerging players seek to make an impact by increasing their ad spend. Meanwhile, rising brands aim for recognition through a blend of creativity and less-crowded media channels. 

Our latest advertising report, titled “Future Titans of Advertising,” spotlights the top 100 brand advertisers across ten highly competitive industries, categorizing them as Titans, Future Titans, and Contenders. Here are the key insights we uncovered:

Heavyweights Flex Their Media Muscle

Titans like Amazon, Verizon, and Disney leverage their substantial media budgets to assert their dominance. These giants secure a minimum of a 15% share of voice in their respective categories, blanketing TV, digital media, and beyond. While half of these brands boosted their media spending over the past year and the other half scaled back, consistency generally reigns in their campaign output and media mix.

Take Verizon, for example. With an 18% share of advertising voice in Q3, the company directed 45% of its budget to TV and 35% to digital platforms. Amazon, which had a big 35% share of the market this quarter because it spent more money, put 75% of its media budget into digital channels. TV was behind at 13%. These market leaders ensure they stand out where their customers are, making every dollar count.

Future Titans on the Move 

While they may not yet command the share of voice of their market-leading counterparts, Future Titans are aggressively escalating their spending and pushing media strategy boundaries.

Our report reveals that Future Titans boosted their advertising expenditure by at least 30% year-over-year, securing a share of voice ranging from 7.5% to 15%. Ambitiously aiming to ascend to Titan status, several marketers—including Temu, Adobe, Allstate, and Bristol Myers Squibb—have even doubled their media budgets this year.

Unable to match the spending power of the largest brands, Future Titans like Chanel and Ford demonstrate a greater willingness to experiment. Consequently, their media mixes tend to be more fluid as they fine-tune their approach to capturing customers’ attention. For instance, Allergan allocated 23% of its budget to digital and 65% to TV, while Temu invested 34% of its dollars in paid social media. Meanwhile, luxury stalwart Chanel maintained a 33% spend in traditional print, a medium that remains uniquely reliable for its category. 

Contenders on the Rise 

Like Future Titans, these brands have made significant strides in year-over-year media spending, albeit starting from a smaller base. Our report indicates that Contenders increased their advertising expenditure by 30%, pushing their share of voice to just under 7.5%.

With relatively modest budgets, these challenger brands exhibit both a need and a willingness to innovate, seeking a greater share of voice in less crowded spaces. For instance, ‌emerging pharmaceutical brand Eli Lilly, known for its weight-loss drug Mounjaro, invested more heavily in free, ad-supported streaming services. Meanwhile, Lululemon’s media budget swelled by 56%, with a substantial 78% directed toward digital channels.

Future Titans and Contenders are finding ways to get more attention on emerging media across streaming and social channels. They can do this better, with less pressure from the bigger-spending, more well-established incumbent brands. Their future success hinges on swiftly identifying the next big opening and mastering the intricacies of alternative media channels ahead of the pack. 

This agile and daring approach to media planning can not only propel these brands into the spotlight but also help them establish strongholds, setting the stage for their ascent to tomorrow’s Titans.