At the beginning of the internet, there were just websites.
Then Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and other platforms came along. And advertising moved there.
Advertising moved to their large platforms – with their excellent targeting and tools – allowing brands to efficiently advertise at scale.
The platforms are still the bulk of digital advertising – but off-platform advertising (like in the 1990s) is coming back.
Off-platform advertising includes newsletters, podcasts and direct advertising on websites. It also includes content that goes on platforms – but where you pay the creator directly – like sponsorship of YouTube videos. Anything where you are not paying the platform.
Podcasts – there are now over half a billion podcast listeners globally, and half the US population over the age of 12 listens to at least one podcast a month (eMarketer). Revenue is expected to go from $30bn last year to $130bn by 2030 (Horizon Grand View Research).
Newsletters – smaller but growing. $11bn last year, projected at 18bn for 2027 (statistica).
Influencers – gone from $2bn in 2016 to $24bn in 2024 (statistica). Estimated to reach $48bn by 2027 (dash).
I’m not sure why the platforms are not more aggressively getting involved. It might partly be because of new regulations. It might just be that competition is higher and it’s now less profitable for them that it used to be. And it might be that they will get more involved in the future.
The opportunity for brands is finding new ways to reach their audience. The ROI on this advertising can be excellent in many cases. The difficulty is that it can take more work to find the right places to advertise, and then to negotiate terms.
For smaller brands, off-platform advertising offers a massive opportunity. For the largest brands, they can be a valuable addition to the brand’s advertising mix.