A study from MediaRadar has revealed that Amazon Prime Video is spending much more than Netflix on digital ad spend. Year over year, expenditure by this giant has been more by over 300%. Within the same period, Netflix and Hulu have cut back on their advertising.
What advertisements are they spending so much on? Todd Krizelman, CEO of MediaRadar, stated that “Amazon Prime Video’s jump to number one can in part be attributed to the heavy promotion of its new original content, including increased investment in native advertising. In fact, its native advertising spend rose 5X, year-over-year, when comparing 2018 and 2019.”
There is a clear difference in how original content is promoted when comparing Netflix and Amazon. For example, Amazon is pushing more advertising for three original shows – Hanna, The Boys and Good Omens. However, while Netflix is still promoting its content using this format, there are also expansions in terms of partnerships and licensing.
Those who are fans of Netflix original Stranger Things will soon be able to enjoy mobile and console games, based on licensed content from the streaming platform. Furthermore, Netflix has begun the process of establishing brand partnerships with big names such as Coke, Nike and Burger King.
The top three spenders in terms of advertising in 2018 were Netflix, Amazon and then Hulu. However, 2019 has seen a switch of the top two slots, with Amazon leading OTT ad spending. In fact, according to Forbes, Hulu has dropped traditional TV spending 61% while also increasing their print advertising by 57%.
In early 2019, Amazon launched 12 new ad campaigns for its original programming, and the largest portion of this budget was spent on Hanna. Ads for this show included a 60 second slot during the Super Bowl. In comparison, Netflix launched 67 new campaigns for its original content, but reduced its expenditure on TV, print and digital. Meanwhile, Hulu launched 6 new campaigns, spending the most on true crime series The Act.
