As Facebook boycott continues, here’s a look at what major marketers were spending on Facebook and Instagram
While this isn’t the first time advertisers have pulled out of Facebook (there were boycotts back in 2017 and in 2013) this latest brand exit could be the most widespread—and longest lasting—yet.
Over the last week or so, over a dozen big name brands like Coca-Cola, Ford, Levi’s and more have committed to stopping their paid advertising on Facebook (and, for many, Facebook-owned Instagram) for at least the month of July. Many smaller marketers have joined with the number of protesting brands, which now total roughly 350, according to Forbes.
Many of those marketers are joining the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign from the Anti-Defamation League, Color of Change, Common Sense Media, Free Press, the NAACP and Sleeping Giants. The campaign is meant to push Facebook to do something about the hate speech on its platform by hitting the company where it makes its money, advertising, according to the campaign website.
To get a sense of how much advertisers are pulling back from Facebook, Digiday reached out to ad-tracking firm Pathmatics for estimates on how much advertisers spent on the platform during July 2019. Given that many marketers are planning to sit out the month of July, a look at how much they spent on the platform last July is apt. That said, some are planning to stop advertising for the rest of the year. With that being the case, Pathmatics also provided data from July 2019 through December 2019 to get a sense of how much those companies spend on the platforms for half of a year.
Pathmatics started to track marketers ad spending on Instagram early this spring. Below is the most recent month of spending data available on Instagram.
Aside from Facebook and Instagram platform advertising, some companies are also stopping the use of Facebook’s Audience Network, which as Gizmodo reported, is one way advertisers that may have stopped advertising on Facebook and Instagram but can still use Facebook data to target audiences on third-party websites. Pathmatics doesn’t track marketers ad spending on Facebook’s Audience Network.
Here is a running list of the advertisers that won’t be running ads on Facebook in July. It’s unclear how long the pause will extend beyond the end of the month. Some marketers have committed to sitting out the rest of the year, while others say they will reevaluate as need be.
Adidas
The company plans to pull paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the month of July for its namesake brand as well as Reebok, which Adidas acquired in 2005. Per Pathmatics data, Adidas spent $724,935 on paid advertising on Facebook in July 2019. Without available data for Instagram spending from last year, Pathmatics pointed Digiday to its most recent figure from June 2020 when Adidas spent an estimated $868,344 on Instagram ads.
American Honda
For the month of July, the automaker is planning to sit out paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram for Honda as well as Acura. Per Pathmatics estimates, American Honda spent $205,671 on Facebook advertising during July 2019. As for Instagram, the company spent roughly $135,030 during June 2020.
Arc’teryx’s parent company American Sports
High-end clothing and sporting goods company Arc’teryx also said it would join the campaign by sitting out advertising on Facebook and Instagram as well as the company’s Audience Network. Arc’teryx parent company American Sports spent approximately $4,067 on Facebook ads in July of 2019. As for Instagram, the most recent available estimate is from May 2020 when the company spent roughly $1,718 on paid ads on the platform.
Beam Suntory
Throughout July, the spirits behemoth plans to reportedly press pause on Facebook and Instagram advertising. Per Pathmatics’ estimates, Beam Suntory spent $1,605 on Facebook advertising in July of 2019. As for Instagram ads, Pathmatics estimates that the company spent $25,575 in June 2020 on the platform.
Ben & Jerry’s
The ice cream maker said it would stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram throughout July. It’s unclear if the company will extend that or what the company was approximately spending on the platform as Pathmatics didn’t have available data for the marketer.
Birchbox
The subscription makeup brand plans to halt advertising on Facebook and Instagram during July. According to Pathmatics’ estimates, the company spent $91,557 on Facebook advertising in July of 2019. Meanwhile, on Instagram, Pathmatics estimates that the company recently spent $21,794 in June 2020 on ads on the platform.
Chipotle
The Mexican eatery will pause spending on Facebook on July 1, according to Bloomberg. Per Pathmatics data, the company spent roughly $283,041 on Facebook advertising during July 2019. It’s unclear if Chipotle will also pause Instagram. Per Pathmatics, the company spent nearly $1,275,160 on Instagram advertising during June 2020.
Chobani
In a tweet, the Greek yogurt brand committed to pausing all social advertising for July. Per Pathmatics estimates, the company spent roughly $53,915 on paid Facebook ads during July 2019. As for Instagram, during June 2020, the company spent approximately $5,695 on paid ads on the platform.
The Clorox Company
CMO Stacey Grier told Adweek that the company would stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram as well as stop using the Facebook Audience Network for the rest of the year. Per Pathmatics data, The Clorox Company spent approximately $2,681,316 on Facebook advertising from July 2019 through December 2019. As for Instagram, in June 2020 estimates put the company’s ad spend at $5,008,500.
Coca-Cola
The soda giant is planning to pause all social media spending for 30 days, according to CNBC. Per Pathmatics, Coca-Cola’s Facebook advertising spend for July 2019 was approximately $2,308,745. As for Instagram, the most recent available estimate is June 2020’s $50,842 spend.
Conagra
The company will sit out advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the rest of 2020, per CNBC. According to Pathmatics estimates, Conagra spent $280,750 on Facebook advertising from July 2019 through December 2019. As for Instagram, in June 2020, the company spent approximately $179,458 on advertising on the platform.
Denny’s
The chain will not advertise on Facebook and Instagram for the month of July. Per Pathmatics, Denny’s spent roughly $60,630 on Facebook ads during July 2019. As for Instagram, Denny’s media spending estimate for June 2020 was $170,114.
Diageo
The company will stop spending on social media advertising July 1. Per Pathmatics, the alcohol giant spent approximately $1,080,250 on Facebook advertising during July 2019. When it comes to Instagram, Diageo spent nearly $3,707,844 on ads on the platform in June 2020, per Pathmatics’ data.
Eddie Bauer
In a tweet, the company said it would suspend paid advertising on Facebook for July. Pathmatics estimates that the company spent $146,660 on advertising on the platform during July 2019. The most recent media spending estimate for Instagram put the company’s spending on the platform for June 2020 at $5,693.
Edgewell Personal Care
The parent company behind Wet Ones and Playtex will halt spending on Facebook, Instagram and the Facebook Audience Network beginning this week, per CNBC. Pathmatics estimates that Edgewell spent $473,877 on Facebook advertising during July 2019 and a total of $5,706,133 on Facebook advertising from July through December 2019. On Instagram, Edgewell spending estimates for June 2020 were $1,063,765.
Eileen Fisher
The women’s clothing brand also tweeted its support of the campaign and said it would pause all paid ads on Facebook and Instagram for July. Pathmatics data found that the company spent roughly $30,621 on paid ads on Facebook during July 2019. As for Instagram, Pathmatics estimates that during June 2020 the company spent $1,563 on ads on the platform.
Ford
According to The New York Times, Ford will stop all national social media advertising for 30-days. Per Pathmatics, Ford spent $1,477,452 on Facebook advertising during July 2019. On Instagram the most recent available estimate from Pathmatics is from May 2020 which shows that Ford spent $825 on the platform. However, during April 2020 Pathmatics estimates for Instagram spending during the month was significantly higher at $19,470.
The Hershey Company
Per Business Insider, the chocolate maker plans to reduce how much it spends on Facebook advertising by one third for the rest of the year. Pathmatics estimates that from July 2019 through December 2019, Hershey spent $14,168,197 on paid Facebook ads. Most recently on Instagram the company spent $5,467,547 on paid ads during June 2020.
Hewlett-Packard
Earlier this week, HP said it would stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram until the social media giant took action against its brand appearing alongside “objectionable content.” According to Pathmatics data, during July 2019 the technology company spent roughly $4,671,544 on Facebook ads. As for Instagram, during June 2020, the company spent approximately $55,506 on Instagram ads.
Levi Strauss
The famous jean maker is also joining the movement and will pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram through at least July. Pathmatics estimates that Levi’s spent $88,614 on paid advertising on Facebook during July 2019 and $2,079,150 on paid advertising on the platform from July 2019 through December 2019. As for Instagram, the most recent estimate available from Pathmatics is for May 2020 when the company spent approximately $369,152 on paid ads on the platform.
Lululemon
The activewear brand also tweeted that it would join the campaign by pausing advertising on Facebook and Instagram. Pathmatics data found that during July 2019, Lululemon spent roughly $97,127 on Facebook ads and from July 2019 through December 2019 the company spent nearly $472,630 on ads on the platform. On Instagram, Pathmatics most recent data found that during June 2020 Lululemon spent nearly $10,088 on paid ads on the platform.
The North Face
The company was one of the first major marketers to pull its advertising dollars from Facebook and Instagram. It plans to do so throughout July. Per Pathmatics estimates, The North Face spent nearly $1,063,875 on paid ads on Facebook during July 2019. When it comes to Instagram, Pathmatics most recent estimate is for June 2020 during which time The North Face spent roughly $21,043 on paid ads on the platform.
Patagonia
The company also joined the movement early on, committing to removing paid ads from Facebook and Instagram through July. Per Pathmatics estimates, Patagonia spent $170,067 on paid advertising on Facebook during July 2019 and $3,251,582 on paid advertising on the platform from July 2019 through December 2019. The company’s most recent Instagram estimate for Patagonia’s paid ad spending is for May 2020 during which time Patagonia spent roughly $23,250 on paid ads on the platform.
Patron
The alcohol brand also tweeted support and said it would halt advertising on Facebook and Instagram until the social media giant took action to curb hate speech on its platform. Pathmatics estimates that during July 2019, Patron spent $21,347 on paid ads on Facebook and that from July 2019 through December 2019 the company spent a total of approximately $342,645. As for Instagram, the most recent estimate from Pathmatics is from May 2020 when the company spent roughly $229,626 on paid ads.
Pfizer
The pharmaceutical giant also joined in by pausing advertising on Facebook and Instagram for July, according to The New York Times. Pathmatics estimates that the company spent $1,479,164 on Facebook ads during July 2019. On Instagram, Pfizer most recently spent roughly $498,603 on paid ads during the month of June 2020.
Puma
The sportswear brand posted on Twitter that it would join in and stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the month of July. Per Pathmatics estimates, Puma spent $185,432 on Facebook ads during July 2019. Most recently on Instagram during June 2020, Puma spent roughly $297,604.
REI
The outdoor retailer also joined the movement early on and committed to pulling advertising on Facebook and Instagram throughout July. Pathmatics estimates that REI spent $1,676,181 on Facebook ads during July 2019 and most recently on Instagram spent $8,028 on paid ads during June 2020.
SAP
Earlier this week, the company said it would stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram until the platform took action. Per Pathmatics data, SAP spent $590 on paid ads on Facebook during July 2019 and a total of $23,396 from July 2019 through December 2019. On Instagram, SAP spent $2,477 on paid ads during June 2020.
Starbucks
In a statement Starbucks said it would pause advertising on social media “while we continue discussions internally, with our media partners and with civil rights organizations in the effort to stop the spread of hate speech.” Pathmatics data estimates that during July 2019, Starbucks spent $9,234,423 on paid ads on the platform and over the course of July 2019 through December 2019, the company spent $60,902,704 on paid ads. Most recently during June 2020 on Instagram, Starbucks spent roughly $1,161,221 on paid ads, per Pathmatics.
Target
The retailer will also pause ads on Facebook and Instagram for the month of July. Per Pathmatics estimates, Target spent $2,888,706 on paid Facebook ads during July 2019. On Instagram, Target spent roughly $1,058,767 on paid ads during June 2020, according to Pathmatics.
Unilever
The packaged goods behemoth plans to sit out advertising on Facebook and Instagram through the rest of 2020. Per Pathmatics data, from July 2019 through December 2019 the company spent approximately $19,028,937 on paid ads on Facebook. As for Instagram, during June 2020, Unilever spent roughly $1,464,138 on paid ads.
Vans’ parent company VF Corporation
The shoemaker plans to halt its advertising on Facebook and Instagram for July. Pathmatics estimates that during July 2019 Vans’ parent company VF Corporation spent $1,063,875 on paid ads. Pathmatics did not have recent data for Instagram immediately available for Vans.
Verizon
The communications giant plans to sit out advertising on Facebook and Instagram throughout July, according to CNBC. Pathmatics estimates that during July 2019, Verizon spent $771,942 on paid ads on Facebook. Most recently, during June 2020 the company spent roughly $507,249 on paid ads on Instagram.
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