Target Airs Most Spots on Radio and Broadcast TV, Amazon Tops Cable Rankings
Big box retail rivals Amazon, Walmart and Target compete for shoppers online and in store, but the drive for clicks and foot traffic starts on radio, broadcast television and local cable. As the big three heat up their advertising strategies for 2022, a new Media Monitors’ analysis shows Amazon aired more spots on these channels in the first six weeks of the year than either Target or Walmart.
For Amazon.com and Amazon Prime, Amazon aired a combined total of 140,705 instances across radio, broadcast television and local cable between January 1, 2022, and February 14, 2022. Target was close behind the e-commerce company, airing 137,979 spots. By contrast, Walmart placed just 30,058 instances across all three media.
| Brand | Radio Instances | Broadcast TV Instances | Local Cable Instances |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 2,545 | 49,519 | 88,641 |
| Target | 17,570 | 77,498 | 42,911 |
| Walmart | 3,377 | 8,983 | 17,698 |
The Super Bowl and the 2022 Winter Olympics, both held in February, offered brands the chance to reach some of the year’s biggest audiences. With these events anchoring the first six weeks of the year, each retailer followed a different approach to allocating their spots.
“What we see in the first six weeks of 2022 are three different strategies at play,” said Media Monitors President and CEO Philippe Generali.
Amazon used the Super Bowl to promote its digital services – Amazon Alexa and Prime Video – rather than its retail products. Walmart chose the Olympics to launch a new brand campaign, with the majority of its spots airing on local cable and broadcast TV. Meanwhile, Target aired significantly more instances on broadcast TV than on radio or local cable.
“Walmart is bringing attention to the ‘live better’ part of its ‘Save Money. Live Better’ slogan with a new campaign that launched during the Olympics,” Generali said. “While the ad focuses on Walmart’s mission to serve the community during the ongoing pandemic, it also highlights features like groceries, pharmacy services and contact-free delivery via drone – all elements that make it competitive with Amazon and Target.”
Beyond Retail: Amazon Alexa and Prime Video
Beyond promoting its core business and Prime subscriptions, Amazon aired spots for its consumer electronics products and internet services, including Alexa, Echo and Fire TV, along with its Music and Video streaming services. The retailer also aired spots for Amazon Studios and AmazonFresh.
Prime Video spots alone represented 45% of Amazon’s overall number of instances for the period. And while Amazon aired just 289 spots promoting Alexa across radio, broadcast TV and local cable, the retailer maximized its reach with a much talked-about 60-second Super Bowl commercial starring Scarlett Johannson and Colin Jost.
The Super Bowl also featured two commercials for Prime Video: a 60-second spot for The Rings of Power, a new Lord of the Rings series, and a 30-second ad for Thursday Night Football, Amazon’s recent sports acquisition.
RADIO
On the radio, Target ranked number one with 17,570 instances. The retailer aired almost three times as many spots as the other two competitors combined.
| Brand | Radio Instances |
|---|---|
| Target | 17,570 |
| Walmart | 3,377 |
| Amazon (.com, Prime) | 2,545 |
BROADCAST TV
Target also ran the most instances on broadcast TV. Its 77,498 spots were 763% more than Walmart, and 56% more than Amazon.
| Brand | Broadcast TV Instances |
|---|---|
| Target | 77,498 |
| Amazon (.com, Prime) | 49,519 |
| Walmart | 8,983 |
LOCAL CABLE
On local cable, Amazon led the way, airing 88,641 spots, twice as many as Target and more than five times the number of instances aired by Walmart.
| Brand | Local Cable Instances |
|---|---|
| Amazon (.com, Prime) | 88,641 |
| Target | 42,911 |
| Walmart | 17,698 |