Let’s see what this week’s numbers say about online advertising, shall we?

• Inflation has been resulting in decreasing marketing spend, according to CMOs in the US. It may be impacting creative investments the world over, per results from LIONS’ State of Creativity Study When asked to what extent the prospect of recession has impacted budgets for creative investment, a slight majority (53%) of brand leaders said that it had led to a decrease in investments, while a larger share (61%) of creative partners concurred. Respondents indicated that their top priority for creative investments this year will be in targeted promotions and activations (48%), suggesting a focus on short-term results. Slightly fewer are prioritizing brand-building and awareness (45%)
• One in 5 B2B buyers across the world reports using social media posts to research and evaluate suppliers, according to recently-released research from McKinsey. The survey – fielded among almost 4,000 B2B customers and sellers in December 2022 – also finds that close to as many (18%) are using mobile apps for the same purpose. The analysts note that the number of sales channels used across the buying journey has grown from 5 in 2016 to 10 this year. When identifying and researching new suppliers, buyers express a preference for a near-even mix of digital self-serve (34% share), remote human interactions (32% share), and traditional interactions (34% share). There is slightly more preference for digital self-serve (37% share) than remote human interactions (32%) and traditional interactions (31%) when re-ordering.