Profit Ability 2: The new business case for advertising

Commissioned by Thinkbox, this new study brings together the vast econometric databases of Ebiquity, EssenceMediacom, Gain Theory, Mindshare, and Wavemaker, to create the most comprehensive analysis of advertising effectiveness to date. Collectively it has examined £1.8 billion worth of media spend across 141 brands and 14 categories.

‘Profit Ability 2: the new business case for advertising’ is an update and expansion on Ebiquity and Gain Theory’s ground-breaking Profit Ability study from 2017, offering the first post-Covid/Brexit view of advertising’s business performance.

 

Recent years have seen major changes in behavior due to shifting media consumption, the pandemic, Brexit, and the cost-of-living crisis, highlighting the need for a current and comprehensive understanding of advertising investment’s role and its potential impacts.

‘Profit Ability 2’ is the first post-Covid analysis of advertising’s financial impact, featuring the largest econometric meta-analysis to date on what drives advertising effectiveness. It demonstrates that all forms of advertising can be profitable, particularly when their sustained effects are measured.

In total, 14 business sectors are represented in the dataset, where seven have the required brand count of nine brands to be reported individually. The data also covers ten media channels:

  • Audio: all forms of audio advertising including linear radio, digital radio and podcasts
  • BVOD: Video on Demand on broadcaster platforms
  • Cinema: On screen advertising in cinemas
  • Generic PPC: Pay per click search advertising on non-branded keywords
  • Linear TV: Broadcast TV advertising
  • Online Display: All formats of display advertising
  • Online Video: All formats of online video pre/mid/post roll including YouTube
  • Out of Home: Digital and static posters in all environments
  • Paid Social: All advertising within social platforms including in-feed video
  • Print: All advertising within newspapers & magazines. Digital spend with newsbrands etc. included in Online Display

Highlights

New study proves that advertising is a profitable driver of business growth
Most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of advertising’s financial impact
Profitability varies greatly by media – TV is the greatest driver of overall profit volume

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