8 Important and Fun Digital Marketing Stats From the Past Week

The last several days were full of highlights from the realm of online marketing data. Here are eight stats that really stood out:

1. One year from now, digital will officially be king
Total digital ad spending will surpass TV for the first time in 2017, according to eMarketer’s quarterly forecast. Next year, the New York researcher said, spending on television spots will total a little more than $72 billion, or roughly 36 percent of total media budgets in the U.S. Meanwhile, online ad spending in 2017 will be about $77.4 billion, or approximately 38 percent of total ad spending, per eMarketer.

2. Pinterest opens up ads to all marketers
The social platform this week revealed that small and medium-sized businesses can now run ads on it like big brands have been doing for some time. Pinterest also reported that marketers that have spent at least $1 per day on advertising on the social platform see a 20 percent increase in clicks on their posts. 

3. People want robot friends, evidently
If you think robots are “so next decade,” guess again. Jibo, maker of a companion robot, said it has presold $4 million worth of its household bionic helper on its website—even though the product won’t be available until the end of the year. 

4. The Jetsons age is finally upon us
There are Jibo competitors hitting the market as well—Asia’s PaPeRo and Pepper, for instance, and Paris-based Buddy. Check out our SXSW-themed cover story about how robots are soon coming to a home near you. What’s more, ABI analysts project that companion robots will grow from a relatively miniscule sector in 2015 to a $46 million industry by the end of the decade and a $2.5 billion industry by 2025. 

5. IHOP gets personal about social targeting
The Glendale, Calif.-based company used personalized Promoted Tweets that included GIFs and users’ names in Twitter ads it ran through March 8, National Pancake Day. IHOP used the platform’s Tailored Audiences feature, targeting approximately 7.3 million users with such personalization, according to a rep for the company. To zero in on groups in such a personal way, the brand and agency MRM//McCann set up 37 custom audiences based on 20 popular names and their derivatives (e.g., Christopher or Chris). 

Christopher, celebrate #NATLPancakeDay w/ a FREE short stack & an invite for a friend! https://t.co/PABtlkznck pic.twitter.com/1fFQdOYTaz

— IHOP (@IHOP) March 1, 2016

6. KLM is flying high on Facebook Atlas
Facebook released new measurement tools for its Atlas ad server, including a path-to-digital-sales feature, which helped airline KLM uncover 24 percent more converted bookings.  

7. Hey, handy person, need a tape measure? There’s an app for that
Speaking of measurement, Hover quietly released a military-inspired app last year that’s designed to be a sort of digital tape measure (just to name one of its chief capabilities). The digital offering must work pretty well because word has gotten around—15,000 folks have downloaded the Hover 3-D Building Visualization and Measurements app in the last several months. Hover told Adweek it’s getting set to debut its first ad campaign in the coming weeks. 

8. Ball cap mocking the Donald is a hit 
The New York Times spelled “Drumpf” in his family’s native Germany.) All the credit goes to the cable channel’s John Oliver, who lambasted Trump on his show Last Week Tonight in late February in a bit that’s garnered 17 million YouTube views. 

8 Important and Fun Digital Marketing Stats From the Past Week