Reports: advertising

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Cover image for Beyond the screen

Beyond the screen
How and why gaming merch and collectibles fuel fandom

Brandon Sutton

3 Sep 2025

Marketing Digital Fandom

The physical gaming merchandise and collectibles market is a multibillion-dollar industry that serves as both organic marketing and a way to strengthen community engagement. However, the space has grown increasingly complex due to a surge in fan-made merch, a crowded field of game properties, and economic pressures like the rising cost of living.

Cover image for Social as the home of online scenes

Social as the home of online scenes
Going beyond viral moments

Hanna Kahlert

14 Aug 2025

Creators Creators France

In a fragmented digital environment, scenes are becoming important tools for connecting with and mobilising fans. Social platforms can be useful for finding, understanding, and engaging with scenes. However, not all social moments are created equal. This report reveals how social is only part of the bigger picture, and dives deep to show that the c...

Cover image for Streaming strongholds

Streaming strongholds
High-potential markets for global music players

Perry Gresham

11 Aug 2025

ARPU Labels Streaming

While the balance of music streamers continues to tip towards global south markets, their smaller ARPU rates limit their revenues. Meanwhile, periodic price-rises and the advent of supremium will reinforce the contributions from the West. This report highlights streaming strongholds, those markets which, underscored by high music engagement and his...

Cover image for Is in-game advertising the next frontier for PC and console games?

Is in-game advertising the next frontier for PC and console games?

Rhys Elliott

15 Jul 2025

Apple YouTube Netflix

In-game advertising (IGA) in AAA console and PC titles is experiencing a resurgence. Advancements in technology, shifting consumer behaviours, evolving monetisation strategies, and a now-mature games market have reignited interest. With AAA publishers adopting free-to-play models and hybrid monetisation – mirroring mobile gaming’s success – a...

Cover image for Breaking saturation

Breaking saturation
Music streaming pricing strategy

Tatiana Cirisano and Perry Gresham

8 Apr 2025

Labels Subscriptions Streaming

Nearly two decades into the streaming era, established subscription markets like the US are approaching saturation. While growth pockets for standard subscriptions remain, the next stage is about raising average revenue per user through both price increases and user segmentation.

Cover image for Socioeconomics of podcast listening

Socioeconomics of podcast listening
Engaging a higher value audience

Rutger Rosenborg

11 Oct 2024

Creators Subscriptions Radio

Podcasts alone will struggle to monetise via subscriptions, leaving advertising as podcasts’ key source of revenue for the foreseeable future. However, podcasts do attract high-earning, high-spending audiences, which are often hard to reach with conventional advertising.

Cover image for Bridging the creator gap

Bridging the creator gap
Monetising social video’s micro-communities

Samuel Griffin and Ben Woods

3 Apr 2023

Subscriptions YouTube Twitch

The pandemic-induced boom in content creation has saturated social video platforms at a time when creators are battling a downturn in digital advertising revenues. These dual pressures of less exposure and dwindling financial returns have put pressure on mid-tier creators; the community that derives all their creator income from advertising, subscr...

Cover image for Podcast videos

Podcast videos
Format blurring expands podcasts’ future

Annie Langston

1 Feb 2023

Creators Apple Spotify

Podcasts are breaking out of traditional audio and entering the video space, as nearly a quarter of consumers now watch podcast videos monthly. Visual elements for podcasts are becoming a crucial tool to reach new audiences and engage current listeners.

Cover image for Podcast monetisation and remuneration

Podcast monetisation and remuneration
Balancing creator and platform needs

Annie Langston

22 Aug 2022

Creators Apple Spotify

Audio platforms traditionally monetise through advertising and, to a lesser degree, listener subscriptions. However, with the rise of the creator economy and more creators entering the podcast space, platforms must bulk up their offerings for creator monetisation as well.

Cover image for Audio ad opportunity

Audio ad opportunity
Niche targeting unlocks attention

Annie Langston

4 May 2022

Apple Spotify YouTube

Podcast advertising is one of the key income sources for both audio platforms and creators alike. Ad agencies and platforms must go ever deeper with targeting capabilities by learning more about the other entertainment habits of audio consumers. Social...

Cover image for COVID-19 and the Vulnerability of Pure Play Sports Streaming Services

COVID-19 and the Vulnerability of Pure Play Sports Streaming Services

Alistair Taylor

23 Apr 2020

Subscriptions US UK

The postponement of annual competitions and major quadrennial events has highlighted just how heavily pay-TV and sport-centric streaming services’ value propositions rely on live sports. Filling schedules with re-runs, docuseries, interviews and archived footage are stopgaps unlikely to increase engagement.

Cover image for Ad Receptiveness Consumer Survey

Ad Receptiveness Consumer Survey
Country Snapshots

Mark Mulligan

23 Mar 2020

Subscriptions Marketing Music streaming

Ad receptiveness consumer snapshots for US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, Sweden, France, Netherlands, and Italy.

Cover image for Sports Consumer Trends

Sports Consumer Trends
The Sun Sets on Pay-TV Dominance

Alistair Taylor

6 Feb 2020

Amazon Facebook BBC

With subscription video on demand (SVOD) services surpassing pay-TV penetration en route to becoming a mainstream medium, sporting consumption habits have inherently changed. Rights holders, broadcasters, streaming services and betting and gaming companies will all feel the impact of fast-changing consumption habits and new regional nuances.

Cover image for The Paywall Paradox

The Paywall Paradox
Ring Fencing Advertising’s Most Valuable Consumers

Mark Mulligan

12 Dec 2019

Spotify Marketing Amazon

Music and video subscribers are the most influential technology and brand advocates amongst their peer groups and are therefore the most valuable users for advertisers and brands to reach. They are consuming progressively more content behind paywalls, which, as predominately ad-free spaces, represents a growing challenge for marketers.

Cover image for US and UK Sports Fans

US and UK Sports Fans
Reaching Digital Natives

Alistair Taylor

6 Dec 2019

YouTube Amazon revenue

Sports as a product is feeling the squeeze of the peak attention economy. Sports fans in the traditional sense are ageing, and appealing to a younger digitally-native audience is a fundamental issue that rights holders can no longer ignore. Sports rights holders have realised the importance of their virtual (gaming) counterparts, acknowledging that...

Cover image for Consumer Ad Receptiveness

Consumer Ad Receptiveness
Apathy, Evasion and Engagement

Mark Mulligan

30 Sep 2019

Spotify Marketing Amazon

On-demand audiences expect to be able to control their digital experiences, and many have opted for the ad-free oases of streaming subscriptions. While traditional media might be losing audience share it is not giving up the fight, instead investing heavily in ad tech that improves targeting and advertiser agility.

Cover image for Sports Fans Consumer Trends 2019

Sports Fans Consumer Trends 2019

Alistair Taylor

6 Aug 2019

subscribers Netflix Audience engagement

Sports-centric subscription video on demand (SVOD) services have largely struggled to entice subscribers, based on their current value propositions which consist mainly of niche rights. Pay-TV has the lion’s share of premium domestic sports rights, providing it with an advantageous set of assets partially justifying premium-priced contracts for i...

Cover image for TV and Video Advertising

TV and Video Advertising
The Shift to Digital

Tim Mulligan

29 Jun 2018

Netflix Facebook emerging markets

The video advertising landscape is slowly moving away from both being broadcast TV based and being primarily driven by developed markets. The transition is picking up pace, with TV advertising declining by an average 3% per year from 2017 to 2023. In the meantime, over-the-top (OTT) ad revenue will increase by 10.

Cover image for Tech Majors Market Shares Q1 2018

Tech Majors Market Shares Q1 2018
Advertising and Subscriptions Power Growth

Alistair Taylor, Karol Severin, Tim Mulligan and Zach Fuller

7 Jun 2018

Subscriptions Streaming Apple

In Q1 2018 advertising revenue and services revenue drove strong growth for the tech majors – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, with Alphabet and Apple retaining their respective leads in each of those revenue segments but losing market share. Subscriptions were also a big part of the Q1 narrative; Amazon and Apple highlighted significant subscr...

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