FreeWheel has unveiled new insights from its fifth edition of the European Marketers Survey, in collaboration with CoLab Media Consulting, aimed at identifying future spending priorities and marketing strategies for 2025. The survey focuses on the perspectives of agencies and advertisers regarding sustainability in advertising, highlighting both current practices and future aspirations.
A significant finding from the survey indicates that nearly 60% of marketers are actively tracking the carbon footprint of their digital marketing efforts. This trend is particularly prominent in the UK, where 62% of marketers are monitoring carbon costs, closely followed by Germany at 61%. The survey consolidated responses from marketers across five key European markets: Italy, the UK, France, Germany, and Spain, collectively referred to as the EU5. Results reveal a strong interest among these marketers in examining the operational and technological elements involved in ad delivery, with 66% acknowledging the importance of optimising and minimising the number of intermediaries in transactions. This has led to a focus on Supply Path Optimisation (SPO), which seeks to streamline the relationship between buyers and inventory providers to lessen the carbon footprint associated with advertising campaigns.
The report demonstrates a dual motivation behind the drive for efficiency—enhancing advertising return on investment while simultaneously mitigating environmental impact. Notably, while 59% of marketers across the EU5 deem sustainable advertising to be significant for their businesses, this figure has declined from 77% since the survey's inception in 2020, likely influenced by the current economic pressures in Europe that challenge marketers to achieve more with fewer resources.
The data reveals sector-specific insights, as those in industries projecting optimism about increased marketing spend, such as media and entertainment, travel and tourism, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), are also the ones that place greater emphasis on sustainability. In fact, 73% of marketers in both the media and entertainment and travel sectors, along with 70% in FMCG, expressed the importance of sustainable advertising while remaining optimistic about expenditure growth in the forthcoming years.
Approximately 47% of marketers have established target dates to achieve carbon neutrality or net-zero emissions. Among those with targets, 59% are confident they will meet their goals within the next five years, and 85% anticipate reaching their targets by 2030. This suggests that, despite sustainability potentially being overshadowed by other immediate business concerns, marketers remain committed to realising their environmental objectives.
Additionally, one-quarter of marketers surveyed reported commitments to set Science-Based Targets in accordance with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), addressing Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions throughout their value chains. This integrated approach likely necessitates engaging with intermediaries, further underscoring the potential relevance of Supply Path Optimisation.
Emmanuel Josserand, Senior Director of Brand, Agency, and Industry Relations at FreeWheel, remarked on the findings, stating, “The survey highlights an increasingly thoughtful and realistic approach to sustainability; taking into account both the challenges of sustainability and the opportunities to optimise.” He elaborated on the importance of collaboration and innovation, asserting that "strategic integration of sustainability into every aspect of marketing operations" is essential for the future of advertising methodologies.
This survey sheds light on the ongoing evolution within the marketing industry as it grapples with dynamic environmental responsibilities while striving for operational efficiency and effectiveness.
Source: Noah Wire Services