Ad Market Decelerates Again In April, Weakest In 19 Months

The festive atmosphere at Cannes may have been cooled a bit during a panel, titled “Trust and the Future of Media,” presented during Day 3 of Bloomberg Media’s Cannes Lions programming. “Winter is coming from a data privacy standpoint,” said Tracy-Ann Lim, chief media officer at JPMorgan Chase. Lim urged listeners to bring the right people to the table when trying to comply with regulatory bodies, saying the parties should realize “that you don’t know what you don’t know.” GroupM’s CEO North America Sharb Farjami added that “consumers now see data as a case of ownership,” and that there are now more questions about what brands are doing with that “property.”

The choices you make about your products' eCommerce packaging have implications that travel far beyond their customers' journey. The moment of unboxing is often the first physical interaction an eCommerce brand has with a new customer – and that moment has the potential to make a significant and lasting impact. It's crucial for brands navigating today's competitive online climate to win over new shoppers and convert them into repeat customers. That's why the people responsible for making decisions about product packaging must educate themselves about these materials. Paper is the Sustainable Choice - Compared to other materials, paper creates a minimal impact on the planet. Consumers Prefer Paper - Modern online shoppers are increasingly conscious of – and interested in – how businesses operate on a sustainability level, bringing packaging to the forefront of the many factors considered when deciding what brands to shop with. Creativity Elicits Enthusiasm - Contrary to plastic void fill options (commonly bubble wrap or air pillows), colorful and printed tissue paper-based interior packaging alternatives create endless possibilities to tell a brand's story while creating a unique and memorable unboxing experience. Adaptive, Efficient, and Innovative - Fortunately, an array of paper-based packaging options that serve an aesthetic purpose also offer protective advantages, adding operational efficiency to the fulfillment process – like Seaman Paper's robust portfolio of multipurpose paper-based products.

The U.S. ad market expanded for its 11th consecutive month in March -- rising 4.3% over March 2023 -- according to the latest monthly installment of Guideline's U.S. Ad Market Tracker. Smaller ad categories outpaced the growth of the top categories by a margin of nearly four-to-one. While the top 10 increased spending only 1.9% over March 2023, all other categories expanded 7.9%. March's growth was also due to a massive increase in digital vs. traditional media ad spending.