Get marketing news you'll actually want to read
Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.
Sharpen those No. 2 pencils and prepare for the worst lunch of your life. Brands are going back to school—or, at least, their ads are.
Advertisers ranging from retailers to cleaning supply brands spent an estimated $50 million on back-to-school campaigns in July and the first two weeks of August, up 35% from the same period last year, according to measurement firm iSpot.
Methodology: iSpot counted any advertisement that ran on linear TV and mentioned “back to school” within the ad. For example, Target has spent an estimated $4.2 million on its “Back to School: All About Sharks” spot since July 30, reaching 359 million impressions across programming like the Paris Olympics and Good Morning America.
Running ads during the Olympics, which accounted for about 20% of department store ads, likely inflated ad prices, John Cassillo, a spokesperson for iSpot, told Marketing Brew.
Big spenders: Target increased its back-to-school buy by 72% year over year, up to an estimated $12.1 million so far this year, while Kohl’s spent 116% more, at $10.9 million, per iSpot. Walmart came in third in terms of ad spend, spending an estimated $3.8 million, roughly 24% less than it did last year. Ross, Clorox, Visionworks, and Amazon Prime were considered new advertisers to the category, having not run linear back-to-school campaigns last year.
Zoom out: While retailers hope to cash in on the $31.3 billion market for back-to-school sales, all parents care about is price, according to a Deloitte survey. Two-thirds of parents said they would buy a different brand if their preferred brand was too expensive, and 62% said they’d choose a more affordable retailer.