Study Sees Gains in Adspend on Kids’ Content

Advertising spending on children’s content in the U.S. rose by almost 50 percent last year, according to MediaRadar.

Per the advertising intelligence and sales platform, adspend promoting children’s products and services rose to more than $1.6 billion in 2022. Of that, 70 percent was on digital channels, including streaming, and 29 percent on traditional TV. In 2021, spend was more than $1.1 billion, with 54 percent on digital and 41 percent on TV.

“This is a growth category,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO of MediaRadar. “Even as other verticals have seen a pullback in spend, investments in children’s content and from children’s brands have grown substantially year-over-year—particularly in digital.”

Vikrant Mathur, co-founder of the AVOD service HappyKids, noted, “Because children’s content is subject to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), brands buy kids’ inventory directly, so they know exactly where their ads run, on what shows, what times, even what position in the ad pods. Kids’ content also offers a brand-safe and suitable environment for messaging, making it great for top advertisers.”

About half of the spend was to promote toys and games, with retail, apparel, personal care and consumer electronics as other key categories.

“Our data reveals that a wider variety of brands are investing in this space,” added Krizelman. “It’s not just toys and games. Savvier advertisers understand that many parents are watching programs or engaging content with their kids, creating an opportunity to reach a wider audience.”