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Marketers are diverting ad spend into less-regulated media outlets for teens, including gaming and audio streaming platforms, following Australia's social media age ban.
Broadcast video on demand, (BVOD) streaming video on demand (SVOD) and out-of-home campaigns, are on the rise, as brands pivot away from algorithms.
The launch of the social media ban for under 16s last week changed how marketers leverage social media feeds to reach younger audiences.
They now face the “new” gatekeepers - parents. And digital campaign strategy has shifted from behavioural to contextual targeting.
Robert Nagy, general manager of product and operations at independent media agency Yango, calls the ban a “tectonic shift”.
“With direct access to teens on major platforms effectively severed, the reliance on granular behavioural targeting is effectively over,” he said.
“Strategically, this forces a pivot back to "household targeting", viewing parents as the primary gatekeepers; while simultaneously seeking teens in contextual "safe harbours".
“We are moving away from relying on algorithms to find under 18-year-olds and returning to relevance-based placement, where understanding the specific content and communities young audiences consume are more valuable than tracking their digital footprint.”
Direct targeting is off the table. Marketers are required to be more creative, strategic and think holistically about how to get a brand's messaging through to its addressable audiences.
“We’re now going to need to speak around them,” said Veronica Cremen, managing director at Vonnimedia.
“Through parents, siblings and shared environments, we’ll need to unlock the gatekeeper in youth marketing rather than direct targeting.”
The shift from large advertisers targeting teens is not a new trend forced by the social ban, according to Maija Gwynn, general manager at Lexlab. She said bigger brands have already adopted the approach, and that it is the smaller brands that have the hold on youth marketing, not confined to the same regulations.
“We've seen this over several years, predating the social media ban. Targeting the parents is a popular tactic for child-focused services and products.
“Instead it's small, local brands promoting products like clothes and jewellery that seem to be most common in my teenage daughters' feeds. Advertisers like this, having less governance than the larger companies, will continue to target whoever the ad platforms allow them to.”
Marketers are now testing where ad spend should go.
The platforms included in the ban are Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Reddit, X (formerly twitter), YouTube, TikTok, Kick and Twitch.
While gaming and music streaming platforms, other popular meeting grounds for teens, do not face the same restrictions.
“As the $7 billion Australian social ad market begins to wobble, we expect a rapid redistribution of ad spend into channels that offer high engagement without the regulatory baggage,” said Nagy.
“Gaming is the immediate beneficiary; for under-16s, platforms like Roblox and Fortnite are already their primary social networks, offering immense opportunities for creative partnerships that social media can no longer provide.
“Simultaneously, we will see a significant shift toward audio and music streaming. "Less scrolling means more listening," making the one-on-one connection of podcasts and audio ads a critical tool for reaching this demographic in a screenless environment.”
Platforms like Spotify, which allows advertisers to target users as young as 13, are expected to reap the benefits of social media’s leftover ad dollars.
“Most publishers and platforms in Australia are tightly restricted with age targeting (social media platforms were a big exception until the ban), with most only allowing age targeting of 18+,” said Gwynn.
“This means that advertisers can't target teens when they're on Netflix, Twitch or Apple Music. Spotify is an outlier to this, as you can target 13+ year olds if the ad is deemed appropriate.
“Spotify will benefit from the ad dollars from brands specifically trying to target teens, but I imagine they will be under increasing pressure to align their policies with the rest of the market.”
Influencer marketing is another way in, as Gwynn acknowledges loopholes in reaching underage accounts still on the apps.
“The inability to officially target teens under 16 via the social ad platforms will further drive the growth of paid influencer marketing,” said Gwynn.
“An influencer popular with teenagers will show up in their feeds, including the 14 and 15 year olds who suddenly have a DOB of 2008 in their social media accounts, so they'll be an ideal vehicle for brands to reach this audience.”
The social media ban has encouraged teens to embrace a proper Australian childhood shaped by real life experiences and being outdoors. With fewer teens spending their time scrolling social media feeds, the out-of-home market is an essential channel for connecting with the demographic during this peak time.
“This disruption also signals a renaissance for "real-world" and broadcast media,” said Nagy.
“If teenagers are spending less time glued to social feeds, physical spaces regain their premium value, leading to a resurgence in out-of-home and cinema advertising.”
The industry is expected to pour ad spend into broadcast TV and streaming.
“Broadcast and subscription video on demand (BVOD/SVOD) will likely see increased investment as essential upper-funnel channels,” said Nagy.
“The smartest marketers are already building diversified portfolios, moving budget into these areas to ensure they aren't left scrambling as social media reach declines.”
Campaign budgets will follow where teens turn next for their social media fix.
Alternative platforms such as Lemon8, owned by ByteDance, which is also the parent company of TikTok, and Yope, have risen to popularity in the wake of the ban.
However, they are already facing the pressures to comply, and were reportedly issued a notice to “self-assess” from the eSafety commission.
Cremen at Vonnimedia said the ban is an opportunity to tap into “family media”, as a compliant, brand-safe approach that still reaches this age group.
“The budget will follow the attention of where the age group goes,” said Cremen.
“No doubt it will be integrated into the platforms above (gaming, Spotify), as teens will still experience media but without a social login.
“Leaning into a ‘family media’ could be a way to then integrate a ‘teen media’, but advertisers will need to be more strategic in their tone and message. In compliance, we as advertisers just need to be more creative.”
Brand Safety
In a statement to the national press club, communications minister Anika Wells criticised the role of social media advertising, calling out a “predatory algorithm”.
Marketers appear to be more vigilant in how to achieve both brand safety and brand suitability in this climate.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) defines brand safety as the “exposure to an environment and/or context that will be damaging or harmful to the brand. This could be an ad published next to, before, or within an unsafe environment that promotes religious extremism, child endangerment, pornography, drugs or extreme violence".
While brand suitability safeguards the above, ensuring ad placements align with specific brand values. This has broadened to consider digital safety for teens.
“Being brand safe now considers where the audience shouldn’t be at all versus if the brand is near something controversial,” said Cremen at Vonnimedia.
“As an agency, we’ll be thinking through regulatory safety - are we compliant and audience-appropriate? And reputational safety - are we aligned with the broader sentiment around teen wellbeing and tech use?”
“With this, it will allow us to be more thoughtful not just what we’re saying, but who we’re saying it to. I do believe that if your message even hints at encouraging underage engagement on restricted platforms, it reflects poorly on the brand.”
Nagy said the ban has made brand safety “more complex”. The ban has created a “volatile environment” and trust is low. Brands might not only lose the teen market on these platforms, but also “privacy-conscious adults” due to the uncertainty that surrounded the ban and age-verification.
Brands will turn to alternative messengers, in the role of trusted publishers (gaming, podcasts) and influencers who have engagement with younger audiences, and can “bridge” the gap from the lost social media reach. This will help maintain visibility amidst the disrupted social landscape.
“The immediate fallout of the ban - including "false positive" lockouts of adults and privacy concerns over ID checks - creates a volatile environment where user trust is fragile,” he said.
“The friction of age verification may drive privacy-conscious adults away, shrinking the addressable audience further.
“In this uncertain climate, trusted publishers and influencers become invaluable "bridges" and offer a way to legitimise brands to these younger audiences in particular. They offer a way to maintain visibility and trust across harder-to-regulate spaces like gaming and podcasts, providing a safer, privacy-compliant alternative to the unpredictability of the current social landscape.”
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