DATA: US Marketers Increasingly Targeting Animal Lovers & Hispanic Audiences; Parents No Longer a Top Target

New Data from Lotame Releases the Top Audience Data Segments from 2018

Lotame, a real-time data solutions company that empowers clients to turn data into actionable audience insights and positive ROI, released statistics looking at what prepackaged data audience segments US marketers purchased from January to October 2018 compared to the previous year. The findings are based on spend across the Lotame Data Exchange (LDX) – the world’s largest data exchange for advertisers, representing what the industry as a whole is buying. The top-five categories include Advanced Demographics, B2B, Age, Home & Family, and Automobile Models.

Advanced Demographics

Advanced Demographics made up the highest amount of US spend in 2018 at nearly one-quarter (23%). The Advanced Demographic segments that saw the most revenue growth year-over-year (YoY) include Pet Owners at 89% and Hispanic Audience or Spanish Speakers at 96%. Level of Education saw an increase of 18% YoY which was driven by secondary school & college degree targeting.

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However, some categories didn’t resonate as much with marketers. 2018 saw multiple parent segments go down YoY including declared parents at 49% and parents of young children at 38%. Additionally, targeting household incomes $100K+ went down by 20%.

“According to the US Census, people of Hispanic origin are the largest ethnic or racial minority in the US,” said Evgeny Popov, Global Vice President, Data Solutions at Lotame. “This data demonstrates that marketers are looking to the future and starting to prioritize data to foster long-term relationships with a relevant, growing demographic of consumers.”

B2B

B2B came in next at 15% of 2018 US spend, but the segments didn’t see a lot of revenue increases in 2018. B2B Seniority (management, board members and executives) saw an increase of 17% while targeting by B2B Company Revenue remained flat. However, other segments saw larger decreases, including B2B Company Size at 45%, especially larger companies which were all down within this category. Additionally, B2B Professional Groups are down 44% YoY although IT professionals has become the biggest driver within this category.

“The increase in targeting by seniority level at B2B companies is no surprise as getting granular with sending the right message to the right person, at the right time, is critical for any marketing strategy,” Popov said.

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Age

Always a popular choice, age accounted for 11% of 2018 US spend with increases in targeting Millennials (ages: 25-34) at 32% and younger Gen Xers (ages: 35-44) at 29%. Interestingly, targeting older Boomers at 65+ increased by 25% in 2018.

However, targeting older Gen Xers and Gen Zers went down YoY.  The purchase of audience data for ages 45-54 went down 24% and ages 40-44 went down 42%. Ages 18-24 saw the most dramatic decrease at 68% YoY.

“The purchasing power among Millennial audiences, in particular, is growing substantially,” Popov added. “Many are aging into a new phase of adulthood and beginning to grow families. In fact, more than a million Millennials are becoming parents each year. We are seeing marketers target accordingly.”

Home & Family

Accounting for 7% of 2018 US spend, Lotame’s Home & Family category saw segments targeting dog and cat lovers go down by 64% and 69%, respectively, while animal lovers went up by 451%. This finding correlates with “pet owners” being one of the top drivers in the Advanced Demographic category, but demonstrate more unusual pets are what’s growing in popularity.

“Data from the American Veterinary Medical Association shows that pet ownership is on the rise in the US. with large increases seen in the number of less traditional pets like chickens and lizards,” said Popov. “It’s a smart move for marketers to seek out these animal lovers, traditional or unusual, as statistically Americans spend $70 billion a year on their animal companions.”

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Home & Family also saw School & Education targeting go up 26% and Home Decorating increase 17%. In addition to the decrease in dog and cat lovers, the Do It Yourself (DIY) segment, saw a decrease of 59% YOY.

Automobile Models

The automobile categories account for 5% of total US Spend but the segments with the category saw significant YoY changes. Data segments for sports cars increased by 71% as well as foreign cars by 68%. Trucks also saw a 12% increase in 2018.

But not all auto audiences were considered valuable in 2018. Compact-sized cars dropped by a whopping 82% while mid-sized cars decreased by 64%. In contrast to the increase in foreign cars, domestic automobiles decreased by 64%.

“To maintain their bottom line in the US market, foreign car marketers needed to increase their targeting in 2018 and this data demonstrates that they followed through,” said Popov.

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