US CPG Digital Ad Spending 2019

Private-Label Competition and M&A Dampen Ad Spend Growth

Executive Summary

US consumer packaged goods (CPG) advertisers will increase their digital ad spending by 17.3% to $11.12 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, total US digital ad spend will grow by 19.1% this year. CPG advertising is growing at a slower rate than most other ad spending verticals due to private-label competition and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the CPG space, which squeeze ad budgets.

What is CPG’s share of total US digital ad spend?

CPG will account for 8.6% of total US digital ad spend in 2019. Its share will fall to 8.5% in 2020.

What are the challenges facing CPG advertisers?

CPG must contend with industry consolidation, working with external parties (like retailers and vendors) when leveraging consumer data, and making sense of the rise of interactive shoppable ads.

Which digital ad format is growing fastest?

Search ad spend will increase 27.6% in the CPG sector this year. CPGs are spending more on search as consumers increasingly shop for CPG products online.

How much will CPG advertisers spend on mobile?

CPG advertisers will spend $7.54 billion on mobile ads in 2019, up 22.8% over the previous year.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report includes our annual breakdown of US CPG industry digital ad spending. It includes a comprehensive overview of total digital ad spending, as well as estimates by channel, device and format.

KEY STAT: The US CPG industry will increase its digital ad spending by 17.3% to $11.12 billion in 2019.

Here’s what’s in the full report

3files

Exportable files for easy reading, analysis and sharing.

3charts

Reliable data in simple displays for presentations and quick decision making.

22expert perspectives

Insights from industry and company leaders.

Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. CPG Digital Ad Spending Outlook
  3. Digital Ad Spending by Device
  1. Digital Ad Spending by Format
  2. Key Takeaways
  3. eMarketer Interviews
  1. Read Next
  2. Sources
  3. Media Gallery

Interviewed for This Report

Joe Barbagallo
Jaguar Land Rover North America
Department Manager, Digital, Social and CRM
Interviewed April 10, 2019
Jonathan Barnard
Zenith
Head of Forecasting
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Jim D’Antoni
Dish Media
Director, Ad Sales
Interviewed April 24, 2019
Mike Fisher
MediaMath
Vice President, Advanced TV and Video
Interviewed April 9, 2019
Richard Gagnon
Havas
Head of Havas Healthmedia
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Doug Grumet
AMP Agency
Senior Vice President, Media
Interviewed July 11, 2019
Cheryl Huckabay
The Richards Group
Media Group Head
Interviewed April 9, 2019
Sarah Kramer
Spark Foundry
Chief Client and Operating Officer
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Jon Morgenstern
VaynerMedia
Senior Vice President, Head of Investment
Interviewed April 2, 2019
Ali Plonchak
Crossmedia
Managing Director, Digital Strategy and Integration
Interviewed April 2, 2019
Krish Sailam
DWA
Senior Vice President, Global Programmatic Solutions
Interviewed April 5, 2019
Sarah Scherer
Goodway Group
Product Marketing Manager
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Jon Schulz
Viant
CMO
Interviewed April 11, 2019
Mike Seiler
AKQA
Director, Search and Shopper Marketing
Interviewed April 1, 2019
Jeremy Tate
DWA
Senior Vice President, General Manager
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Vanessa Vignon
Ubisoft
Vice President, Media and Audience Management
Interviewed April 18, 2019
Matthew Waghorn
Huge
Vice President, Strategy
Interviewed April 12, 2019
April Weeks
Centro
Executive Vice President, Media Services and Operations
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Chris Wexler
Cramer-Krasselt
Senior Vice President, Director, Media and Analytics
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Brian Wieser
GroupM
Global President, Business Intelligence
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Sarah Wilson
DWA
Media Director
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Michael Zacharski
EMX Digital
CEO
Interviewed April 11, 2019

authors

Ross Benes

Contributors

Lauren Fisher
Principal Analyst
Oscar Orozco
Senior Forecasting Analyst
Peter Vahle
Forecasting Analyst