Super Bowl Social Spend Shifted Toward TikTok, Reddit

When advertisers turned to digital advertising to capture peoples' attention during Super Bowl Sunday, they were prioritizing different digital channels than in 2022, with a pivot toward TikTok and away from Twitter, spurred by frictions with the latter platform and marketers finding equal-to-better performance elsewhere. The top 20 spenders on digital ads spent $3.02 million on TikTok ads between Jan. 1 and the Super Bowl Sunday, according to data from Sensor Tower. That's an increase of more than 400% from the $54,307 brands spent in 2022. Seven top 20 brands advertised on TikTok in 2023, compared to four last year. Meanwhile, the top 20 advertisers avoided a popular second screen, Twitter, collectively spending 43% less than they did in 2022, per the Sensor Tower data. Only nine brands chose to advertise on the platform, compared to 15 brands last year. “I would say roughly 90% of our clients have dropped off of Twitter, and most of them have not returned,” said Breanne Morrison, vice president of paid social at Publicis Media for Publicis Canada, who noted Twitter had previously been a key activation channel during the Super Bowl. For Sensor Tower's top 20 advertisers, which include brands like PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble, spend on Facebook was fairly flat. Instagram spend increased by around 39% and display, video and YouTube spend increased by 40%, Sensor Tower found. It's worth noting that the Sensor Tower data is an estimate of digital advertisements that include the words Super Bowl and Halftime in their creatives and do not capture all ad formats. Further, Twitter's free ad space offer this year meant that fewer ad dollars from marketers' overall budgets were spent there. The shifting media budget around advertising’s biggest day reflects recent changes in digital advertising. In 2022, Meta and Google were anticipated to bring in less than half of all digital ad revenue in the U.S. for the first time since 2014 as buyers diversify, according to Insider Intelligence. Super Bowl 57 Draws 113 Million Viewers During Most Streamed Big Game Ever Compounding this dynamic, as some advertisers respond to economic headwinds by pulling back spend, ads on some digital channels were cheaper than last year, with costs per thousand impressions (CPM) down 18% on Meta, down 50% on YouTube but up 3.8% on TikTok on Super Bowl Sunday, per analytics firm Varos. In a deviation from previous Super Bowl Sundays, CPMs on Meta did not increase dramatically enough to force clients wanting to run non-game-related campaigns to pause spend for the day, said Katya Constantine, CEO of DTC agency DigiShop Girl. Twitter’s diminishing role in the Super Bowl media mix is notable, given the platform has long distinguished itself as the premier second screen during tentpole events. The Super Bowl is historically Twitter’s highest-grossing advertising day of the year, according to the Information, with those three days bringing in $35 million in U.S. ad revenue. But since Elon Musk took over in October 2022, brands have been wary of the platform's more lax approach to brand safety. Driving conversations, and sales, on TikTok and Reddit An executive at a large brand that spent roughly $20 million on Super Bowl advertising, which included a TV spot, said last year the majority of its social budget, not including YouTube or online video, went to Twitter. Last year, some TV ad sports were selling at $7 million price tags. Advertising on Twitter is a fraction of that, especially as, this year, Twitter matched ad spending up to $250,000 during the Super Bowl, per the Wall Street Journal's report. This year, the exec said the brand did not spend anything on Twitter and instead reallocated to Snap, then TikTok and then Reddit, with the latter two debuting on its Super Bowl media plan. The executive noted that these other platforms showed better reach and engagement than Twitter, and early indicators suggest the 2023 plan elicited more sales too. Twitter remains a priority platform for us during Super Bowl conversationsBiz Hennigan, svp, client lead at creative agency Superdigital Other major advertisers also pulled spend away from Twitter. Last year, DraftKings spent the most of any company on digital ads, per Sensor Tower, and devoted $356,486 to Twitter, its second largest channel after display, video and YouTube. This year, DraftKings spent 46% less on Twitter, at $193,098, after display & video and Facebook. DraftKings declined to comment. Some advertisers like Morrison don't see the heavy discounts as enough to draw clients back while they wait for new ownership to be more clear on the platform’s priorities. While Morrison's clients have been prioritizing TikTok, the platform is still more of a leaned-in experience for its viewers. Twitter, she added, remains the best platform to drive conversations as events are happening. The 10 Best Super Bowl Ads of 2023 Some advertisers still find value in Twitter. Biz Hennigan, svp, client lead at creative agency Superdigital, which works with sports betting firm WynnBET, said Twitter drew similar levels of retweets, shares and comments in 2022 as it did in 2023. “Twitter remains a priority platform for us during Super Bowl conversations,” Hennigan said. "There are definitely unique propositions."

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Super Bowl Social Spend Shifted Away From Twitter and Toward TikTok, Reddit

CPMs on some digital platforms were also cheaper this year

Catherine Perloff

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Catherine Perloff