The Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) defines disruptors as those brands that have the power to transform a category – think Uber, Airbnb, Dyson, Wayfair and Zillow. They are generally new entries into an existing marketplace that significantly challenge, and subsequently change, previously well-established consumer behaviours and norms.
In the VAB report The Market-Changer’s Playbook: Why TV Is Where Disruptors Go to Grow Big, an analysis of the TV spend of 35 category disruptors showed that they collectively spent over $2.6 billion on TV in 2016, a 23% increase year-over-year.
The report also looked at that spend in relation to available brand metrics such as website traffic, online interactions and revenue/sales or valuations for private companies to determine what, if any, correlations exist. The disruptors segment saw a 184% year-over-year increase on total digital actions – including increased search queries, social media actions and total online views – with an increased investment on TV.
The majority of that investment is coming from five major digital disruptors (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google), who spent almost $1.4 billion on TV last year, up from $550 million in 2011.
For brand-expanding public companies like these, the report found that revenues spiked after they launched a TV campaign or sharply increased TV spending. For instance, Dollar Shave Club and Care.com saw over a 100% increase in revenue upon launching a TV campaign or heavying-up on TV, respectively.
