AdRoll’s Q1 2024 State of Digital Marketing Report Unveils the Recovery of CPM, with a 7% Uptick in December

AdRoll, a leading marketing and advertising platform that helps business-to-consumer brands grow their businesses, released the Q1 2024 edition of its State of Digital Marketing Report, a comprehensive summary drawing from marketing trends and insights consolidated from more than 20,000 online businesses, offering ideas to help digital marketers further improve marketing ROI.

In Q4 2023, advertising cost per mille (CPM) experienced a 23% decrease compared to the previous year, marking the smallest year-over-year decline since Q2 2023. Notably, December witnessed an unexpected 7% uptick in CPM from November, signaling heightened advertiser confidence and campaign effectiveness toward the end of the year. The trend underscores the importance of understanding supply and demand dynamics in digital advertising, with advertisers seeking optimal engagement across channels.

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The U.S. economy has shown remarkable resilience, with indicators pointing to rapid improvement. January’s U.S. consumer sentiment index reached its highest level in two and a half years, reflecting growing optimism. AdRoll’s customer survey conducted in January 2024 indicates a significant uptick in advertising spend for 2024, with 40% of marketers planning to increase their budgets and 30% planning to maintain budgets similar to 2023.

“2024 will witness a substantial surge in advertising spend, inevitably leading to increased CPM rates. However, the extent of this rise will differ significantly across various advertising channels,” said Vibhor Kapoor, president of AdRoll. “To maximize return on investment, marketers must prioritize audience targeting and engagement throughout the customer journey. By aligning spending with audience presence and behavior, marketers can build a revenue pipeline for sustainable growth.”

As advertisers navigate an increasingly complex landscape, understanding the nuances of each advertising channel is paramount. AdRoll’s report reveals that the average brand utilizes six advertising channels, with search, display, and Meta’s platforms emerging as top choices. To optimize campaign performance, marketers must leverage cross-channel attribution tools to measure effectiveness and accurately tailor strategies to the customer journey.

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