D2C, B2B Media Opps: Netspend appoints marketing chief amid spend shifts (Score 58)

Sales lead: This hire will directly impact the company's marketing strategy & agency roster. 

• Netspend hired Phil Archer as CMO, effective April 2023.
• This is Archer's second stint at Netspend as he was the marketing SVP from 2000 to 2004.
• He most recently served as an advisor for Wiser Partners. 
• Archer now leads all of Netspend's marketing initiatives. 

Target demographic: Millennial/Gen-X consumers and businesses

The company will likely:

• Continue ramping up national TV spend
• Shift digital dollars around to find optimal ROI
• Make changes to its agency roster

Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)

• YTD spend: Netspend spent approximately $8.2m on national TV ads YTD, about double the $4m spent in this channel during the same time period of 2022. 
• 2021-2022 spend: Full-year spend increased by 39% from $11.5m in 2021 to $15.9m in 2022. 
• Ad programming: It placed ads during programming such as Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2023, Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns, Tamron Hall, Martin, and Greenleaf. 

Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)

• YTD spend: Netspend spent around $1.1m on digital display ads YTD, a 27% decrease from $1.4m spent in this channel during the same time period of 2022. 
• YTD data: 129m impressions via Facebook (52%), YouTube (23%), Instagram (23%), Twitter (1%), and desktop video (1%). 
• 2021-2022 spend: Full-year spend fell 36% from $5.6m in 2021 to $3.6m in 2022. 
• Ad location: It placed 100% of these ads directly onto sites such as facebook.com, youtube.com, instagram.com, twitch.tv, and twitter.com. 

Additional channel insights  

• Top podcasts sponsored: Joel Olsteen Podcast, The Daily Zeitgeist, TechStuff, Behind the Bastards, and The One You Feed. 

Agency analysis:

• Opportunity: The new CMO may review the media account or seek additional agency assistance. 
• Current roster:
  • Broadbeam Media: media AOR