11 Stats to Inform Your Marketing and Advertising in Canada

July 15, 2016

Nielsen-Digital-Ad-Campaign-On-Target-Rates-in-Canada-Jul2016How likely are digital ads to reach their intended targets in Canada? The broader the target, the better, according to recent data from Nielsen, which found that ads targeted to 18-49-year-olds were on-target 71% of the time. Digital ads targeting a single gender were generally on-target less than half of the time, with those targeting men having higher rates than those targeting women.

Notably, on-target rates were higher for mobile than desktop campaigns, with this true across demographic zones. For example, digital ads targeting specific genders among adults older than 30 were on-target 55% of the time for mobile and 41% of the time for desktop.

Also, the analysis of more than 3,800 Digital Ad Ratings campaigns run in Canada between June 2013 and April 2016 found that as audience targets narrow, video ads tend to outperform display ads in on-target rate, though in each case the on-target rates are quite low.

The following list highlights some other key points about Canadian consumers and marketing from recent research.

  • Advertising on sites deemed prestigious results in many respondents having a more positive perception of the advertising brand, per results of a study [pdf] from Marketing, in partnership with Globe Media Group, Canadian Marketing Association (CMA), and Rogers Insights. Major daily newspaper sites are considered the most prestigious online properties, per the report. So what contributes to making a web experience prestige? The most critical elements are that it’s a trusted source for information (79%), that it’s well designed (76%) and that it holds the respondent’s interest (68%). Notably, having less ads or no pop-ads was cited by just 1%, as was the site being not cluttered or “busy.”
  • Watch out for ad blocking, though! About 1 in 6 online Canadians have installed ad blocking software on their desktop, per a report [pdf] from IAB Canada, ranging from a low of 11% in Atlantic Canada to a high of 19% in BC. Another 13% reported having previously used ad blocking, while 48% are aware of ad blocking but have never used the software. Ad blocking usage is higher among males (18%) than females (15%), and is highest among 18-34-year-olds (25%).
  • For its part, a report from the Reuters Institute [pdf] finds that among Canadian news consumers, 22% use ad blockers, ranking Canada 18th out of 26 countries measured. Interestingly, 55% of Canadian news consumers trust the news most of the time, making them the 4th most trusting country out of the 26 tracked, and far ahead of US news consumers (33%) on this measure. Other results from the study indicate that of 6 countries selected, Canadians (48%) are the most likely to say that labeling of sponsored content in online news sites is clear.
  • Canadian music consumers allocate the largest share of their music-related spending to buying admission to live music concerns (31%), details a recent Nielsen report. Trending up this year are budget allocations to buying admissions to music festivals (11% share of spend), buying admission to DJ events (6% share) and paid online music streaming services (4% share).
  • Close to half (45%) of TV viewers in Canada used an OTT service as of Fall 2015, notes a Media Technology Monitor (MTM) survey [pdf], up 32% from the year-earlier period. The study also discovered that more than 1 in 10 Canadians have a wearable device.
  • During Q1, smartphones (41%) and tablets (14%) combined to account for a majority of traffic to e-commerce sites in Canada, reveals Demandware. Canadians spent 9 minutes per e-commerce site visit in Q1, ahead of the global average of 7.8 minutes, while spending 7.8 minutes on average when visiting via phone (just ahead of the global average of 7.5 minutes). E-commerce shopping activity grew more quickly in Canada than it did globally, ranging from the increase in baskets (64% vs. 20% growth) to the increase in orders (35% vs. 19%).
  • Spending on email advertising in Canada reached CA$21.8 million last year, and is expected to show double digital growth this year to CA$24 million, forecasts eMarketer. Email ad spending is predicted to continue growing throughout the forecast period, reaching CA$32.1 million in 2020.
  • Some 45% of Canadian shoppers aged 18-64 recall digital out-of-home (DOOH) ads in the past week, says a report [download page] from the Out-of-Home Marketing Association of Canada (OMAC). DOOH ad recall was found to be highest in Toronto (56%), Vancouver (50%) and Montreal (47%). A bare majority (53%) of respondents said they are more likely to notice advertising on a digital sign than on a static billboard, while about half (49%) feel that digital signs stand out more than advertising online. Fewer (39%) believe that ads on digital signs stand out more than ads on TV, though a majority (52%) of respondents in Toronto felt that way.
  • Keeping with the topic of advertising, a report from Salesforce Marketing Cloud [download page] indicates that growth in Facebook ad CPMs was higher in Canada than in any other country identified. In Q1, Facebook ad CPMs jumped by 189% year-over-year to reach $6.72, topping the global average of $5.75. However, the CTR for Facebook ads in Canada (0.44%) trailed the 6 other countries tracked.
  • Trust – as in all countries – has a big impact on how consumers engage with brands, according to the 8th annual Most Trusted Brandâ„¢ Survey from Reader’s Digest and Ipsos Reid. Some 84% of Canadians pay more attention to companies that they trust than to those they don’t, and 81% agree that they’re willing to pay a little more money to support a product or service from a company they trust than a company they don’t trust. Virtually all (92%) tend to buy a product or service from a company they trust more (given similarity of quality and price), and 85% tend to recommend a product or service to friends and family when they trust a company. The study notes that Toyota is the most trusted hybrid and passenger car manufacturer, a position it has held for at least 5 consecutive years. Other trusted brands include Sun Life Financial (among life insurance companies), Shoppers Drug Mart (among drug stores) and Nestlé (among bottled waters).

Happy marketing!

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