Digital advertising in Canada is currently navigating a complex landscape shaped by consumer preferences and regulatory changes. A significant portion of Canadians express a desire to skip digital ads if possible, indicating a general fatigue with the volume of advertising they encounter. Despite this, consumers acknowledge that advertisements are effective tools for discovering new products, highlighting a paradox where ads are both essential and overwhelming. Transparency and authenticity in advertising help cut through the noise.
Obviously, there has been a shift from traditional linear TV to more flexible, on-demand content consumption via streaming services and social media platforms. This transition presents both challenges and opportunities for advertisers aiming to capture consumer attention in a rapidly evolving digital environment. When advertising, however, it is imperative to recognize both Canada’s ethnic and cultural diversity (and accompanying preferences) as well as regional differences in preferences. Clearly a one-size-fits-all approach is ineffective.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Digital content consumption
- Social media content consumption
- Daily device usage
- How consumers control and manage ads
- Trusted ad locations
- Attitudes toward trust, privacy and ad truthfulness
- Attitudes toward ad personalization
- The future of ads
Though Canadians recognize that ads are a non-negotiable part of life, they are still going to lengths to avoid them. And, when they do encounter them, not all content sources or ads stack up the same. Traditional media still tops the list as most trusted in consumers' eyes.
Candace Baldassarre, Research Analyst
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Market predictions
- What consumers want & why
- Opportunities
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THE MARKET
- Market context
- Impact of inflation
- Graph 1: issues Canadians report having been affected by over the past two months, 2023-24
- Canadians’ higher savings rates persist amid inflationary pressure
- Graph 2: household savings rate, 2019-24
- Diversity is defining
- Graph 3: distribution of foreign-born population, by region of birth, 1871 to 2036
- Canada’s demographic shift: the growing importance of genuine diversity in marketing and media
- Graph 4: proportion of visible minority in Canada, 1981-2036 (projected)
- Canada’s aging population: brands must adapt engagement strategies for growing elderly demographic
- Graph 5: population aged 0-14 and 65+, 2000-40*
- The 2024 US Election yields an incoming Trump presidency
- Market drivers
- The fate of TikTok in North America is uncertain
- California puts its foot down on removing digitally purchased content
- FTC introduces click-to-cancel
- Amazon sells out of Black Friday NFL ad inventory
- Black Friday booms on TikTok
- Google delays depreciation of third-party cookies…for now
- X updates Terms of Service to address AI training
- Meta partners with Lightstorm Vision
- The World Federation of Advertisers shutters its GARM initiative
- Google imposes limits on data retention
- Netflix sells out Christmas football ad space
- Ads coming to Threads sooner than expected?
- Improvements to Threads’ posts’ analytics
- Not all blue skies for Bluesky
- X alters revenue sharing requirements
- Omnicom to acquire IPG
- Cox Media Group confirms many consumers’ fears around their smartphones
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CONSUMER INSIGHTS
- Consumer fast facts
- Digital content and media consumption
- Social media leads by a longshot
- Graph 6: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days, 2024
- Age has everything to do with content consumption
- Graph 7: have seen/heard content from TV services in past seven days, by age, 2024
- Graph 8: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days, by age, 2024
- Paid media sources aren’t affordable for all
- Graph 9: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), by household financial situation, 2024
- Graph 10: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), by household income, 2024
- Quebecers consume content differently
- Graph 11: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), by region, 2024
- Language isn’t a laughing matter
- Graph 12: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), by language spoken at home, 2024
- Newcomers are not gravitating to traditional media
- Graph 13: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), overall vs consumers living in Canada for less than five years, 2024
- Multicultural Canadians have a major interest in social media
- Graph 14: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), by race, 2024
- Representation isn’t just a buzzword for Coca-Cola
- Social media and digital consumption
- YouTube continues to dominate
- Graph 15: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days, 2024
- Younger consumers are more likely to consume content on all sources in the past week
- Graph 16: sources of audio/video content in past seven days, by age, 2024
- Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat stand out among youngest adults
- Graph 17: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), by age, 2024
- Younger men’s social media usage cannot be ignored
- Graph 18: sources of audio/video content in past seven days (select), by age and gender, 2024
- Social media is a surefire way to reach newcomers and multicultural Canadians
- Graph 19: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), by race, 2024
- Graph 20: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), overall vs consumers living in Canada for less than five years, 2024
- Language is inextricably linked to social media content consumption
- Graph 21: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), by language spoken at home, 2024
- YouTube’s popularity in the Atlantic Provinces is stayed
- Ontario stands out
- Graph 22: sources of audio and/or video content in past seven days (select), by region, 2024
- Device usage
- Nearly every Canadian adult uses both a smartphone and TV daily
- Men’s device usage is undeniable
- Graph 23: daily device usage, by gender, 2024
- Gaming consoles are part of the fabric of younger men’s lives
- Smartphones and TVs lead
- Graph 24: daily device usage, 2024
- Appealing to (heavy) device users demands attention to age
- Graph 25: heavy device users (5+ hours per day), by age, 2024
- Graph 26: daily device usage, by age, 2024
- Appealing to (heavy) device users demands attention to age
- Over 65s are enthusiastic television owners
- Work-from-home means work-from-laptop/PC
- Graph 27: heavy laptop/PC users (5+ hours per day), by workplace location, 2024
- Shaq wins…a baking show?
- Looking to language makes sense when discussing device use
- Graph 28: daily device usage (any use) (select), by language spoken at home, 2024
- More than half of newer Canadians spend five or more hours on their smartphone per day
- Graph 29: heavy smartphone users (5+ hours per day), overall vs consumers living in Canada for less than five years, 2024
- Black Canadians’ smartphone usage is notable
- Smartphones are especially essential for those in less-than-ideal financial situations
- Graph 30: heavy smartphone users (5+ hours per day), by household financial situation, 2024
- Controlling and managing ads
- Canadians want to avoid ads wherever possible
- Age and gender impact attitudes around ad intrusiveness
- Graph 31: attitudes toward digital ads (% agree), by age, 2024
- Consumers are standing up to ads
- Graph 32: actions taken in response to online ads, 2024
- Age impacts avoidance tactics
- Graph 33: actions taken in response to online ads, by age, 2024
- Graph 34: have used an ad blocker in response to online ads, by age, 2024
- 18-34-year-old men are getting crafty
- Graph 35: actions taken in response to online ads (select), by age and gender, 2024
- Black consumers are more likely to have paid for ad-free versions
- Prairie Provinces residents are especially willing to pay to make ads go away
- Graph 36: have paid for an ad-free version of an app or service, by region, 2024
- Trusted ad locations
- Ads heard or seen on the radio or through TV services from linear providers are most trusted
- Graph 37: trust in ads seen and/or heard on digital content (any trust), 2024
- Trust is a spectrum
- Graph 38: trust in ads seen and/or heard on digital content, 2024
- Trust is a spectrum
- Text and social media ads are in need of an image revamp to gain middle-aged and older consumers’ trust
- Graph 39: trust (any) in ads seen/heard in text messages or on social media, by age, 2024
- Newer Canadians and multicultural consumers are more trusting of ads on a variety of sources
- West coast is not the best coast for trusting ads
- Graph 40: do not trust in ads seen and/or heard on digital content (select), overall vs British Columbians, 2024
- Attitudes around trust and privacy
- Trust and confidence is lacking among Canadians
- Age-based differences in concerns are obvious
- Graph 41: attitudes around trust and privacy (% agree), by age, 2024
- Positive attitudes around ads and advertisers are lacking
- Multicultural Canadians are more trusting of brands and advertisers
- Graph 42: attitudes around trust and privacy (% agree), by race, 2024
- Healthy financial situations are correlated with healthy attitudes toward large companies’ truthfulness in advertising
- Graph 43: “I believe that large companies are generally truthful in their advertising” (% agree), by household financial situation, 2024
- Rural areas need more convincing
- Graph 44: attitudes around trust and privacy (% agree), by area lived, 2024
- Attitudes toward advertisements
- The paradox of advertising
- Ryan Reynolds continues to be the cornerstone of Mint Mobile’s campaigns, creating a consistent and reliable brand identity
- Canadians are confused about cookies
- Newcomers are especially unsure around cookies
- Graph 45: “I am not really sure what internet cookies are” (% agree), overall vs consumers living in Canada for less than five years, 2024
- Two-thirds of Canadians’ gazes are captured by sales and promotions
- You can’t go wrong with a good deal
- Graph 46: ads with promotions or sales are more likely to catch my attention (% agree), by household income, 2024
- Graph 47: ads with promotions or sales are more likely to catch my attention (% agree), by household financial status, 2024
- South Asian consumers really like sales
- Graph 48: ads with promotions or sales are more likely to catch my attention (% agree), overall vs South Asian, 2024
- Canadian consumers prefer captions
- Captions make sense…but not in French?
- Graph 49: “I prefer when videos on social media have captions” (% agree), by language spoken at home, 2024
- Using captions to foster inclusivity among newcomers and multicultural Canadians
- Graph 50: “I prefer when videos on social media have captions” (% agree), overall vs consumers living in Canada for less than five years, 2024
- Graph 51: “I prefer when videos on social media have captions” (% agree), by race, 2024
- Attitudes toward ad personalization
- Consumers are one-of-a-kind and expect their ads to reflect this
- Younger consumers want to see what they are interested in
- Graph 52: “I am intrigued by the potential of AI to make ads more relevant to me” (% agree), by age and gender, 2024
- Graph 53: “I prefer when online ads for products/services are tailored to what I am personally interested in” (% agree), by age, 2024
- Multicultural consumers’ openness to personalization is obvious
- Graph 54: attitudes toward ads (% agree), by race, 2024
- Income has no impact on the desire for relevancy
- Graph 55: “I prefer when online ads for products/services are tailored to what I am personally interested in” (% agree), by household income, 2024
- Parents primarily want to see things they are interested in
- Graph 56: “I prefer when online ads for products/services are tailored to what I am personally interested in” (% agree), overall vs parents, 2024
- The future of ads
- The future of ads is at an exciting inflection point
- The impacts of age and gender are obvious
- Graph 57: “I am willing to follow QR codes from ads” (% agree), by age and gender, 2024
- Graph 58: “I can tell the difference between AI and human-generated ads” (% agree), by age and gender, 2024
- Netflix blurs the line between video content consumption and clothing shopping
- Multicultural Canadians show a keen interest in QR codes
- Graph 59: “I am willing to follow QR codes from ads” (% agree), by race, 2024
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COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
- Launch activity and innovation
- Simpsons, meet football
- Chicken sandwich and a show
- TikTok takes a try at sports with a focus on Messi
- EDM has a space on TikTok
- YouTube takes aim at AI-generated media
- YouTube expands auto-dubbing
- Amazon’s focus on AI innovation pays off
- Google overhauls its Shopping platform with a focus on AI solutions
- Snapchat debuts ad solutions
- Instagram launches (QR) profile cards
- Instagram pushes Carousels
- Threads develops Loops
- Meta develops Movie Gen
- Roku and Instacart collaborates on shoppable ads
- Roku helps cover the costs of converting social content
- Reddit sees major growth due to AI-powered language services
- AI-powered Reddit Answers
- X debuts new analytics tools
- X revamps ad platform
- Spotify introduces SAX
- Marketing and advertising
- Coors Light brings the excitement home with their broken can
- So Many Dicks
- Rare authenticity with Selena Gomez
- Escape the Afterlife via Roblox
- Scotiabank continues to champion women in sports
- e.l.f. appeals to cosmetics users in VR
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APPENDIX
- Consumer research methodology
- Consumer research questions
- Household financial situation
- Abbreviations and terms
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