Average Ad Spend by Direct-to-Consumer Brands Is Up 50% in 2019

DTC companies are splashing out across digital, TV and print

When it comes to ad spend, direct-to-consumers brands, known for changing the playbook on how a company operates and connects with consumers, are moving toward a familiar path carved out by their conventional competitors.

According to a new report from advertising intelligence firm MediaRadar, DTC brands’ ad spend across digital, TV and print is up an average of 50% year-over-year, from $700,000 in Q2 2018 to more than $1 million in Q2 2019. Digital alone increased 22% year-over-year, from $115 million in Q3 2018 to $140 million in Q3 2019.

Just as DTC brands are moving toward an omnichannel (read: online and offline) retail strategy, these companies are looking to increase brand awareness and customer acquisition through a strategy that includes tried-and-true channels such as TV and print.

“In the early days, DTC brands did purely transactional direct-response advertising,” said Todd Krizelman, co-founder and CEO of MediaRadar.

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