As we conclude 2023 and look toward the new year, MediaRadar reviewed advertising in technology.

Whether this sector is quickly advancing or slowly rebounding, gain insights to create strategic outreach and make informed media planning decisions for your clients.

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MediaRadar’s data sample estimated that over $12.5 billion was spent with digital, print, and national TV media through November of 2023 by 22.8k tech companies. Ad spend decreased by 9% YoY, while the number of companies saw a 2% YoY decrease. Brands or product lines advertised saw a 3% YoY decrease to 32.8 thousand.

Electronics, telecommunication companies, and software drive tech spend accounted for 84% of the advertising – $10.6 billion (b). Collectively, these three were down by 9% YoY from the $11.6b spent in 2022. Telecom companies saw a 24% YoY increase, while electronics and software were both down by 11% and 26% YoY respectively.

Drilling into detailed advertising categories, all is not decreasing. Spending surges are occurring with cell providers, who saw an uptick of 40% YoY to $2.2b in ad buys. Website hosting and domain providers spiked by over 100% YoY. Cloud computing, prepaid wireless providers, and home security systems increased by 3% to 8% YoY. And this is just a few tech advertisers showing a ramp-up in ad spend from 2022 so far.

12 Technology Brands to Watch in 2024

MediaRadar’s data sample highlighted tech brands that increased advertising year-over-year through November 2023. Each tech brand or product line spent more than $14 million. These twelve tech advertisers spent more than $2 billion combined to showcase their brands or product lines after a collective 200% plus YoY increase.

Wix.com increased ad spend by over 90% YoY advertising its cloud-based web development services. 100% of the over $257mm was digital-focused. Specifically, online video (OLV), which increased by 114% YoY. Its placement of video ads on over 90 outlets captured 98% of the ad spend. The majority of video buys were pre-roll and over 60 seconds, with peak spending occurring in Q1. The remaining 2% was a mix of paid social, display, native, podcast, and OTT.  Wix eCommerce which is included in the spend increased 90% YoY to $77mm.

Grammarly increased by over 100% YoY to over $108 million in ad buys this year. The writing software dedicated 86% of ad spend to OLV after a 155% YoY increase from 2022. Its ad mix shifted in 2023 with decreases in Facebook (down by 42%), Instagram (down by 67%), and national cable TV (down by 72%). Grammarly showed investment in other digital media ranging from digital displays to webinars and whitepapers. MediaRadar’s CPM Pricing Recommendations for OLV Open Auction is $1.84 to $2.25, based on its online average CPM of $2.05.

GoPro’s 2023 advertising reached $47 million through November 2023 thanks to a 435% YoY increase. The action cam’s online video spend was 86% of its investment with over a 1000% YoY increase. The majority of the remaining 14% went to paid social ads with small investments in display, native, and broadcast TV (less than $90k combined). Its video spend was concentrated on ads 15 seconds or less with mid-roll placement. 

McAfee invested over $27 million with a 484% YoY increase to advertise its direct-to-consumer security software. Other than the new exhibit space spent at Consumer Electronics Show (CES), investment was digital, which was up by 535% YoY overall. OLV was 80% of the spend, exceeding $21mm. Digital display (up by 229% YoY) and native (up by 4% YoY) investment reached around 18% of the 2023 spend to date.  McAfee’s video spend across 70 plus media outlets concentrated on ads 11 to 15 seconds in length.

Verkada is the outlier on this list of tech companies with 93% dedicated to paid social on Facebook and Instagram. Ad spend for its video surveillance equipment increased by 167% YoY to nearly $15 million. There were new media bought such as cable, display, email, and native. Over $6.5mm (44%) of the ads were video through Meta platforms, TV, and OLV. The tech advertiser also participated in seven events with the most spent at the International Conference & Exposition (ISC) West. This year it was new to event sponsorship.

OnePlus, a mobile phone, invested over $151 million in advertising after a 1000% YoY surge. Video ads through online video and paid social made up 98%, or over $148mm of the spending. Interestingly, there was a mix in length with around $75mm dedicated to 31 to 45-second ads and around $70mm worth of ads longer than 60 seconds. Nearly half of the video ads were placed with YouTube’s Kid’s Education & Entertainment, Gaming, and Entertainment & Movies channels.

T-Mobile Consumer topped $1.2 billion in digital, print, and TV ad dollars so far this year thanks to a 220% YoY increase. Digital media increased by 532% YoY and TV was up by 25% YoY, while print trade outlets saw a 63% YoY drop. The brand’s spend concentrated on online video with $837mm invested, but there was also $276mm spent on TV advertising. Video through all formats was over $1.1 billion leaning into ads 16 to 30 seconds long.

ShipStation, the shipping software, spent nearly $108 million after a 22% increase compared to the same period last year. National TV was 97% of the spend totalling $104mm after a 24% increase from 2022. TV ads were placed across 57 networks, notably, ESPN was a top outlet, capturing over $10mm during October alone. Pro Football programming was nearly $20mm of the spending. ShipStation is gearing up to capture sports audiences by also investing in sports information and college football programming.

Bose Corporation spent just under $224 million advertising its audio equipment lines including Bose Noise Canceling Headphones and its Earbuds. Overall, that’s a 77% year-over-year increase. Driven by digital media, spending went up by 80% YoY, hovering around $215mm. Most was dedicated to online video advertising, which increased by 90% YoY. TV spending totaled $8.3mm due to both broadcast and cable increases. Video spend through OLV, paid social and TV was $196mm.

ADT Security Services’ 50% YoY increase to nearly $58 million was a result of all (digital, print, and TV) increases. TV advertising was 68% exceeding $57 million after a 50% increase from last year. Digital media increased by 102% YoY to more than $16 million spent, mostly dedicated to online video. OLV increased by nearly 1000% YoY to more than $11 million invested. ADT shows ad buys placed with 350 outlets, which includes 28 TV and 6 print media names.

Logitech iPad KeyBoards’ advertising increased by more than 1000% this year, resulting in over $46 million spent digitally. Video spending was 99% of the total ad investment and was placed through online video outlets exclusively. Most of which, $30mm spent, were 16 to 30 seconds in length. YouTube’s Tech, Society & Culture, and Gaming channels captured 80% of the video dollars through November.

Kardia invested over $30 million in national TV ads (less than $11k in native) through November 2023 after increasing by 589% YoY. Its tagline “EKG Anywhere, Anytime” was seen on 29 cable and 6 broadcast networks, including A&E Network, ABC, and AMC among others. News programming slotted in the top three programming types so far with over $15 million spent. Additionally, primetime spending peaked during Q1 with each month hovering around $1.2mm during that time.

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