Datonics Research - Gaming

Gaming is a big-ticket holiday item with consoles like XBox and Nintendo Switch topping many holiday shopping lists. And though 2022 is predicted to be a slower year of growth for the gaming sector, gaming is still top of mind for many consumers.

In this edition of Datonics Research, we explore the gaming industry and associated consumer preferences. For more information on consumer behavior in the gaming category and more, please reach out to us here.

 Demographic Audience for Gaming

At a projected revenue stream of $200B in 2022, the gaming and video game market is at all-time highs reaching a whole new level of audiences. Current users are 73% male and 27% female, with the largest audience (34%) coming from the 18-24 year old bracket, which is likely underreported due to large amount of people under 18 who play video games.

Sixty percent of gamers play daily. Games are played across many devices: 73% own a console (PC, Xbox, PlayStation), 43% own a handheld device (iPhone, Android), 29% own a VR system.

 Gamer Types

  • Leisure gamers/Just for fun – casual player who plays online in their free time, 3-5 times a week. Younger demographic, split between male and female. Slowly progress in a game and may buy the newest version. Play for a short period of time and typically have other obligations.

  • Smartphone gamers – those who play games on their phones in bursts. This audience includes teens, adults with kids, and even older audiences including Baby Boomers.

  • High-volume gamers – will freely spend money on games for upgrades and higher rewards. 18-25 age range, spend 3-4 hours daily playing.

  • E-Sport competitor – Nationally ranked gamers who play in competition against others, play as a part- time job and may win prize money based on performance. Males make up 70% of this group and may have sponsorships. Spend 40+ hours a week playing primarily one game.

Give Back Initiatives – Team Daya and More

Datonics is an avid participant in multiple give back initiatives throughout the year. Last year, our company contributed over $25K to charities around the globe. These include local causes in Datonics’ homebase of New York City, national charities that focus on key issues such as the environment, education and equity, and international efforts that center around building schools in areas of great need. 

Team Daya – Building Schools Across the Globe

Earlier this year, our CEO embarked on a new journey with Team Daya, a group of executives from the advertising & technology industries who are building primary schools in some of the most impoverished places in the world that lack adequate school structure. Michael Benedek traveled to Senegal to start the building of a school for first, second and third graders. 

There are some incredible pictures depicting the experience and beautiful stories.  

Next year the journey continues. Michael and his colleagues plan to travel to Malawi to build a school there. Malawi is consistently ranked among the world’s 20 least developed countries on the UN Human Development Index. Nearly half of primary school-age children dropout before advancing to secondary school and the literacy rate in Malawi is only 62% among people 15 years old and older.

Funds for this school build are being raised now. Contributions can be made here. 

National and Local Charities  

Datonics is proud to support several important charities that are contributing to society in meaningful ways. We share our list of charities here for inspiration to help others select causes to support. 

·         Girls Who Code

·         The Nature Conservancy

·         One Tree Planted

·         American Cancer Society

·         Equal Justice Initiative

·         Feeding America

·         Habitat for Humanity

·         Wounded Warrior Project

·         Futures and Options

Datonics Research – Black Friday

The day of discounts – otherwise known as Black Friday – was established as a shopping holiday and marks the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season. Consumer behavior has changed quite a bit over the past few years and retailers have been working hard to adjust to new and evolving consumer preferences.  

This year’s Black Friday sales started earlier, but deals were still abound on the actual day. In this edition of our Datonics Research series, we explore the start of this year’s holiday shopping season.

For more information on consumer behavior and the best ways for marketers to reach consumers, please reach out to us here.

 Black Friday 2022 - Sales Data

The data is still fresh, but some estimates are projecting that this year’s Black Friday drew in $9.12 billion in online sales alone. That’s up from $8.92 billion in 2021 and $9.03 billion the previous year. Cyber Monday is expected to top Black Friday online sales, with totals reaching $11.2 billion.

Electronics topped Black Friday purchases with items like Apple Macbooks, watches, Xbox Series X and more.

In-person shopping is still expected to draw most retail holiday spending, with the National Retail Federation projecting 67% of Black Friday shoppers shopped in stores.

Consumer Behaviors

  • Families/parents with young children: Parents typically like to shop early. Age group of 35-44 were most likely to participate in Black Friday shopping, while the most frequent in-store shoppers are millennials and Gen-Z, perhaps buying gifts for their parents. 

  • Grandparents: Similar buying habits for grandchildren and children, this group may spend more on single products. 24% of those 65+ make purchases.

Datonics Research – Thanksgiving Edition

Thanksgiving marks the unofficial beginning of the holiday season in the U.S. Friends and families gather together for a festive meal and quality time. Many have a four-day weekend and use the time to travel, start holiday shopping, and much more.

In this special edition, our Datonics Research Series dives into the Thanksgiving Day holiday and the various activities that consumers engage in this time of year.

To learn more, please reach out to Datonics here.

Who Celebrates Thanksgiving and How?

96% of American families gather for a Thanksgiving feast. 51% will cook or bake at home. The Thanksgiving feast is expected to cost 20% more than last year. The average cost of this year’s holiday meal for 10 is $64.05, up from the 2021 average of $53.31. As turkey plays a central role in the feast, it takes up the most significant part of meal’s expenditure. Two and a half million tons is the average turkey meat production in the United States between 1993 and 2018, and 88% approximately of all Americans eat turkey as part of their dinner.

Seven in 10 young Americans prefer “Friendsgiving” over a traditional Thanksgiving. A poll of 2,000 Americans – aged 18–38 – found that 68 percent say celebrating Friendsgiving is their preferred method of engaging in the autumnal celebration.

Who travels on Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is a bigger holiday travel period than Christmas and New Year’s. This year, 54.6 million people are expected to travel over the holiday period, a 1.5% increase from 2021. This Thanksgiving is expected to be the third busiest since AAA started tracking travel volume in 2000 with the highest volume year in 2005 and the second-highest right before the pandemic in 2019. Forty-five percent are planning to visit with family and friends. Young adults who live away from home will most likely travel for Thanksgiving via plane. Travel to a destination 50 miles or more away increases by 54% over Thanksgiving weekend.

Of those traveling, 37.14% choose to travel by car, while 25.71% by air. Google searches for “pet-friendly hotels” are up 42.93% from 2019. Google searches for “pet-friendly motels” are up 36.25% for 2020.

Charity – Donating During Thanksgiving

An estimated 43% of higher-income earners donate more during the holidays. Thanksgiving is the ultimate holiday to throw a charity event and community gathering. Nonprofits and other community organizations can raise 50% of their annual funds around Thanksgiving.

Datonics Research – Electric, Hybrid and Green Car Buyers

We continue our exploration of car buyers with a focus on consumers interested in electric, hybrid and green vehicles. We dive into demographics associated with this group as well as associated consumer behaviors and preferences buyers of these types of cars tend to display.

For more information on the automotive segment, please reach out to Datonics here. 

Buyers of EVs, hybrid cars and more environmentally friendly vehicles tend to live in urban and suburban settings. They often fall into middle-age age bracket and earn more than $100K annually. Buyers of these types of cars tend to have a college degree. They also tend to have at least one other vehicle. Since charging is a consideration for these types of vehicles, buyers tend to travel short distances at a time.

Interests for this group include improved technology and solutions, recyclable and reusable products, reduced fuel costs and the environment. This group also has a high preference for nature and gravitate towards nature-seeking and outdoor activities.

California has the highest number of these types of vehicles registered on a state level, with roughly 43% of all registered vehicles falling into this category. Texas and Florida have the second and third most respectfully.

Datonics Research – Automotive Buyers

According to Edmunds.com, the best car deals come at the end of the year when new models are being released and dealers are trying to sell out the current year’s makes. With the supply chain challenges of the past few years making car buying difficult, demand for new cars is on the rise.

In this post, we explore automotive buyers and what’s important to them when it comes to specific car categories. For information on the automotive category and more, please reach out to Datonics here. 

  • Luxury: The luxury automotive category is popular with people with a higher income or the top 10% of earners in the US. People in this bracket tend to be middle-aged to older generations, live in gated communities, top spenders at luxury stores and returning customers at jewelry stores, high-end hotels, and cruises. These individuals tend to enjoy wine, art, fine dining, and fashion. California, Florida, and New Jersey are states with the most luxury vehicles. Automotive features of interest for this group include extra features, enhanced driving performance, and improved technology. Other areas include large companies interested in company cars for employees as a marketing tool to retain top clients and partnerships.

  •  Pickup & Trucks: Existing buyers generally live in medium and large-sized cities, with average household income of $82,000. Eighty-four percent of full-size pickup truck buyers are male, yet nearly 25% of the Ford Maverick buyers are female, signaling a growing opportunity to engage the female audience to expand on their current interest. People looking for a second personal vehicle, larger families in urban and suburban cities, and recent college graduates interested in their first vehicle are also newer opportunities for this car category.

  •  New Vehicle Seekers: This category tends to appeal to middle-to-upper income earners looking either for a first-time car or to upgrade their current car. Popular demographics are families with children who need extra space, recent movers looking for a fresh start in their new town, or businesses looking for company cars. Adjacent interests include gadget buyers, recent window-tinters, car insurance purchasers, fashionistas, and tech enthusiasts.

  •  Used Vehicle Seekers: Parents of first-time drivers, recent college graduates and those just starting out in their careers are popular buyers of used vehicles. These adults are cost conscious and may also be categorized as coupon shoppers. Recently retired adults, people living in cities with good transportation, and car mechanics are also popular demographics for the used vehicle automotive category.

Datonics Research: Finance

The finance category is a broad one that includes multiple facets of characteristics and behaviors. In this blog post, we explore various demographic groups and their top priorities when it comes to finance.  

For information on the finance category and more, please reach out to Datonics here. 

Datonics Research – Audio Entertainment: Music and Podcasts

The Fall features a wide variety of live music events and festivals. As music enthusiasts, families and more look to break out of summer routines, marketers are seeking new audiences for much-anticipated concerts and live music events.  

And as they do, they are asking: What do live music fans look like these days?  

According to Datonics Research, 84% of viewers are 18-35 years old. Males are more likely to attend a concert than females at 59%. People attend concerts based on their music preferences, including pop, rock, hip-hop, jazz and EDM.  

With the pandemic largely behind us, there is a big opportunity to turn music enthusiasts into concert goers. 62% of Americans consider themselves music lovers or fanatics. More than 66% of Americans aged 18-34 listen to music every day.  

Podcasts 

The podcast category has also grown quite a bit and represents a group that values entertainment in the audio format.  

Podcast listeners tend to be younger and are interested in new technology advertising channels, like audio rather than watching a video. Typically, listeners are tuning in while driving, doing chores around the house or working out. Half of podcast listeners are 16-35 and 35+ make up the other 50%.  

In 2021, there were 116 million podcast listeners, with 43% of men and 39% of women listening to podcasts. The group is predominantly white at 57%.  

Podcast listeners are also highly engaged with 93% of listeners who start a podcast typically finishing it with an average listen time of 43 minutes

For information on the audio entertainment category and more, please reach out to Datonics here.

Give Back Initiatives – Story from Datonics Team Member Chana Katri

At Datonics, we support a variety of charity initiatives and love when our team members share their personal volunteer commitments. Today we highlight a story from one of our team members Chana Katri, who works in our Israeli office, on her rewarding and moving work with Holocaust survivors.

 My name is Chana Katri. I am 22 years old and was born and raised in Milan, Italy. I moved to Israel directly after high school, graduated in Psychology at Reichman University and am currently pursuing a Masters in Organizational Behavior and Development. I joined the Datonics team almost two years ago, working on the Operations team with Custom Segments requests and expanding to additional content-related projects.

 Last year, I started to volunteer in an organization called Nizoley Shoah ( ניצולי שואה ), which provides general help and support for Holocaust survivors in Israel, as well as elderly refugees living alone.

 The person I am taking care of is Tikva. Tikva is originally from Iraq and is 90 years old with a happy and faithful soul. We usually sit together drinking tea and talking about her family and her past. We go together to her doctors’ appointments and to visit her family.

 Since I am far away from my family in Italy, Tikva has become my new family in Israel.

It is always nice to get advice from a strong woman like her, and I bring all her wise words with me everywhere. Spending time with her makes me feel grateful and fulfilled, but most of all, it has made me understand how such small actions are able to change a person’s day and improve their overall life.

 Doing good is one of the only free things in the world, and I believe if we would all take a small responsibility on ourselves, we would definitely live in a better world with better people.

Datonics Launches New Political Data

With the 2022 midterm elections heating up, Datonics has launched new political data to help marketers reach desired audiences.

Datonics’ recently added segments include data correlating to electoral (congressional) districts and legislative chambers (upper and lower house) for every state. Congressional and state legislative district boundaries are based on data collected by U.S. Census Bureau and are representative of the following functions:

  • Congressional Districts – Electoral districts, divisions of a larger administration region that represent a regional population.

  • State Upper House Districts – Upper House relates to the Senate. Has power to confirm appointments made by the governor and try articles of impeachment. Represent geographic units and approve budgets.

  • State Lower House Districts – House of Representatives, Assembly, or House of Delegates. Represents citizens and serve for a longer term. Represent population. All branches preform checks and balances.

Audiences recommended for elections include:

  • Regional Data: Enables campaigns to be served for ballot initiatives in the districts that could be affected. Ad campaigns intended for citizens living in specific districts.

  • Political Audiences within Regions: Campaigns served to citizens who lean and/or are registered with a specific party. Citizens within specific electoral and state legislative districts provide the most accurate audience with significant volume. 

Datonics’ new political data is complementary to existing demographic data. For more information on how such data corelates to the election season, check out our previous post on audiences for the midterms

Datonics also offers the opportunity to compile custom segments that can be highly relevant to the elections season.

Please reach out to us here for more information.

What are Custom Audiences?

Custom Audiences allow marketing teams to reach users by keywords, business profiles, location visits and brand affinities. The Datonics data inventory empowers DSPs and DMPs with 1,300 segments for immediate activation along with 10k+ additional segments that can be requested on an ad hoc basis. Datonics also offers an additional unlimited number of personalized keyword and POI (location visitor) segments that advertisers can use for their marketing needs. This data allows marketers to incorporate multiple targeting parameters of these highly granular segments to achieve the lowest acquisition costs possible. This gives the most flexibility for a marketing team and allows various avenues and strategy points to segment their desired market using the relevant data. 

Keeping up with Changing Consumer Behavior 

Being able to identify data-backed evidence of changing consumer preferences on a constant basis enables marketers to keep up with the trends. When served an ad that complements consumer interests, shoppers are more likely to proceed with a purchase. (HUB

A 2022 study done by GWI Commerce report showed a shift in consumer preferences with 36% shifting to online shopping for household goods and groceries. (HUB) Understanding the reasoning behind the consumer shift and being able to play to this new preference is possible through consumer audiences and being able to pool user data. 

Another example is the consumer preference of BNPL (buy now pay later). In a CNBC study done in December of 2021, only 7% of holiday shoppers preferred using a BNPL method to make their holiday purchases. (CNBC) However as consumer preferences are shifting, experts predict that number to double or triple in 2022 shopping expenditures. (BNPL

Staying on top of these shifting consumer preferences and having the data from custom audiences allows marketers to perfectly mold a relevant campaign strategy to the right audience. 

Data Leads to Campaign Success

There are a myriad of situations in which utilizing custom audiences can directly contribute to a marketing campaign's productivity. Some examples include reaching customers who have previously interacted with a specific campaign, with retargeting helping to arrive at the next step of a sale. Another example is using a user's keyword searches to identify that a user is consistently searching for a specific item or is in the market for a class of items. For example, a mother searching for baby toys may also be interested to learn about a new baby formula. Having the custom audience linked to the keyword “baby” would segment this audience, and allow for the right market to be reached at the right time. 

Using Datonics custom audiences with the highest quality data, customers receive relevant  messages for products that might be of interest to them. This win - win scenario allows both the customer to get what they need and the brand to gain more customers. 

What are Social Audiences? 

Social Media is pervasive. Recent studies on the average time spent on various platforms show that people spend 145 minutes a day scrolling. (statista) While various platforms hold the limelight of user attention at different points in time, recent studies indicate that TikTok is skyrocketing among young users with 67% of teens today on the platform and 16% of teens admitting the usage is constant throughout their day. 

As trends shift, the platforms with the highest number of user consistency are the best platforms to initiate marketing campaigns. (Pew

The potential for marketers to capitalize on niche audiences is unparalleled. Markets can create specific campaigns and filter those to the right channels to ensure audiences are seeing the most relevant messaging. The results are astounding when seeing how successful social media campaigns are for customer acquisition and sales.  

With the update to iOS 14, there have been some limitations placed on the ability to measure the effectiveness of certain social media campaigns. This trend can contribute to less relevant advertising and the loss in potential for advertisers to successfully segment their audiences.

Datonics has developed social audiences that allow for this issue to be resolved while ensuring the privacy of data is strictly upheld. With Datonics data available for activation within social media platforms, advertisers can continue targeting their audience and attribute campaigns successfully. 

With options for pre-packaged segments or customizable segments, advertisers can use keywords, locations, and more to ensure they are unlocking the full potential of their campaigns. Datonics also offers comprehensive attribution reporting and robust audience analytics on advertisers’ specific website visitor traffic. 

These tools can take your targeted campaigns and bring them to the next level.

Datonics Research – Families

Families drive consumer spending in numerous categories, especially during back-to-school season which peaks in August. According to Deloitte, the back-to-school shopping season is the second highest spending season for parents after the holidays.

The various phases of parenthood drive different consumer habits. We explore several key stages in our analysis below. For information on these family groups and more, please reach out to Datonics here.

Datonics Research – Hotel Travelers

According to McKinsey, summer 2022 leisure travel is booming. Despite concern about macro-economic factors, such as inflation, almost 70 percent of US residents said they are going to take their vacation “no matter what.”  

Hotels are central to travel and when it comes to traveler types, there are a plethora of hotel options. Below is an interesting breakdown according to popular traveler types.  

For more information on the hotel travel category, please reach out to Datonics here.  

  • Recently Retired: This audience is likely to have planned activities during their vacations. Access to a tour guide and sightseeing locations. Focused on hotel comfort and amenities. 

  • Families: 80% of families typically travel over the summer months and holidays. 

  • Business Travelers: Make up 12% of airline travel yet 40% of hotel guests. 66% of business travelers are college graduates with yearly income at least $80,000. 55% male with age range 30-49.  

  • Adventure Travel: Climate and nature enthusiasts. Staying in hotels for short periods of time, are outside most of the day. Minimal accommodations needed in the room. Audiences are interested in reduced fuel costs, environmental conscious, interested in improved technology and solutions, nature seeking and aware of rising pollution issues. 

  • Luxury Travel: Upper-class, looking for best rooms available, culture, cuisine, community, content, and customization. Also enjoy wine, art, fine dining, and fashion.

What Are CTV Audiences?

Connected TV (CTV) is growing in popularity and becoming standard. Over 80% of households with TVs now have a CTV viewing option, raising the average of screen time across the board. While 39% of adults are watching from a CTV daily, 60% are watching weekly providing marketers with new and exciting ways to engage these audiences. ( metrics) Marketers can use the CTV medium in a plethora of ways. Examples include in-stream video ads, interactive ads with users, and ads shown alongside streaming channels. After all, it’s quite entertaining to answer questions about cat food preferences while watching the latest true crime documentary.

CTV ad formats offer many unique benefits. Check out this piece in Forbes by our CEO for more details on the units and their particular offerings.

Datonics is a pioneer in allowing marketers to action on audience data in programmatic environments such as CTV. Datonics data is built on 300+ million monthly users, aggregated from a network of online websites and best-in-class specialty data partners, including 1,300 segments of search, intent, life-stage, behavioral, B2B, demographic, point-of-interest and past purchase segments, as well as an unlimited number of custom segments.

With this proprietary intelligence, advertisers can take CTV advertising to the next level.

Over the past year, Datonics has announced multiple CTV integrations with industry-leading platforms including TruAudience, Simpli.fi, Madhive, Atedra and Xandr’s CTV data marketplace. (Datonics

With all this data, Datoincs can help advertisers reach their fitting audiences. For more information on our CTV offerings, go to our Audience Data page and reach out to us.

Datonics Research - Cannabis Home Grower Personas

Cannabis home-based growers find passion and purpose in planting and nurturing their individual sources of cannabis. These growers develop a close relationship to cannabis and foster this by planting in personal spaces in proximity to themselves and their inner circle of friends.  

While home growers may have a myriad of personal reasons for choosing this avenue, 14% of home growers cite lack of other sources as their primary impetus for growing. Another 35% say it is to grow strains of marijuana which they otherwise could not find to purchase and 35% say to avoid contaminants such as pesticides. The connoisseurs of marijuana, or 44% of home growers boast that their product simply yields a better-quality flower. Other technical reasons for home growth include 52% citing simple convenience and 46% attributing it to the lessened expense. With all this reasoning aside, 70% of home growers report growing cannabis as a pure hobby and for personal enjoyment. 

Home growers scale their cannabis across the board in terms of quantity of plants. However, the normal range is centered around less than two dozen cannabis plants. The community of cannabis home-based growers connects over websites and forums that highlight education, enhanced techniques, growth journals and new products geared towards growing cannabis. While this home-based grower population is gaining steam, it is not the same population segment as commercial growers of cannabis.  

Below is a snapshot of data on this audience set. For more information on the Cannabis Home Grower segment, please reach out to Datonics here

  • Cannabis Consumers as Growers - Looking at the wide range of cannabis on a consumer level, 6% of consumers have turned to home growing their own flowers.

  • Demographics of Growers – Home growers come in three distinct groups: 1) Growers who are focused on cannabis for medical purposes are above the age of 18. 2) Social growers, who are focused on the primary desire to supply good quality and affordable cannabis for themselves and friends. 3) Employees of larger corporations that mass produce cannabis for purchase.

Datonics Research - Audiences: US Midterms

Elections are broken down mainly into Republican or Democratic party alignment. Therefore, politicians running for election are forced to simultaneously target values from both parties. While speaking primarily to people that currently believe in their views, candidates also try to swing people to the other side.

Below is a snapshot of data compiled on voting history that is related to Datonics senate elections audiences. For more information on these segments, please reach out to Datonics here

  • Age Demographics of Voters - Age is a huge component in understanding the split between Republicans and Democrats. There are wide discrepancies between the younger demographics and older demographics when it comes to being declared Democrat, Republican or Independent. 

  • Ethnicity of Voters Demographics - Research shows that white voters are at 81% registered Republican and 59% registered Democratic. (Pew) This is a huge contrast to African American voters who are widely registered Democratic at 84% and only 8% registered Republican. Hispanic voters tend to lie in between, with 63% being registered Democrats and 28% registered Republicans. Lastly, 65% of Asian Americans are registered Democrats with the other 27% registered as Republicans. 

  • Gender of Voters Demographics - Gender has historically played a role in elections and may have more of a pull this year following such events as Roe vs Wade being overturned. 

What Are Programmatic Audiences?

Programmatic audiences are a targeted group of users connected through similar online behavior patterns. These online behaviors can be tracked based on user purchases, website visits, time spent on specific searches, and more. 

By utilizing features of programmatic audiences, brands can directly target groups of people that share similar interests. The huge advantage to marketers to access data and target their campaigns to the most relevant consumers presents the future of the digital advertising reality. Segmenting a specific campaign and directing it to those interested is a way to step up ensuring the success of a carefully crafted marketing campaign. 

There are examples galore. Giving people who buy yogurt, targeted yogurt ads. Sending flight deals to those who have open flight history browsers. Emailing information to users who have expressed interest in sample sales in the neighborhood. 

These targeted moments, and little directional shifts  of specific campaigns are the way to capture potential sales. Utilizing programmatic audience data  helps companies invest their money, time, and resources into campaigns that will provide the biggest ROI for their marketing strategies. 

Datonics has offered programmatic audience data for over a decade and is  a pioneer of this novel approach. We now have a breadth of datasets linked to 110M household IP addresses in North America and specifically designed for highly desirable channels such as CTV, social, display and more. 

Datonics uses proprietary technology that is tested daily to identify the most recent IP addresses and avoids inaccurate targeting. By having this extra protection and by giving each household a unique identifier, marketing agencies can accurately direct their campaigns to their prime audience. 

Datonics Research - Cannabis Industry Audiences

The Cannabis industry is growing in the US and Canada, with more states legalizing the substance for recreational use. Since the start of the pandemic, 50% of cannabis consumers have increased their consumption. This increase has pushed nationwide Cannabis sales in 2021 up 40%. (flowhub) The marketing industry in this sector is growing as well, and the need for marketers to understand their audience is becoming more important.

To help cannabis marketers learn about their audience, Datonics took a deep look into its data to investigate the attributes of cannabis product buyers by looking at specific categories such as Cannabis Dispensary Visitors and CBD shoppers. Both groups encompass those interested in cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes.

Below is a snapshot of our findings. To learn more, reach out to Datonics data team here.

  • Audience Profile is Changing - Contrary to how many may view a cannabis buyer - unmotivated and not interested in personal health - Datonics research reveals a more sophisticated customer profile. Cannabis users are interested to use the substance in its various forms for intentional, health and wellness purposes.

  • Parents - This segment of the population tends to be more experimental and open to trying different types of cannabis and methods of consumption.

  • Professional World - The mental health benefits of cannabis are taking off among the professional corporate world. Young professionals that are in artist and creative fields turn to marijuana to enhance their creativity and concentration in their workspace.

Cannes 2022 – Industry Events Continue to Play an Important Role

After a two-year hiatus, Cannes 2022 came back with a force. The event was what many hoped it would be – well attended, lavish and productive.

There were several key themes that resonated, including brand purpose, which many Cannes award winners integrated into their campaigns. The notion of including mission-oriented messages and a strong stance on social topics allowed brands like Dove, Decathalon, Sheba Pet and many more to secure wins.

Other themes included a focus on technology. The Metaverse and Web3 were both discussed on many panels, and the lack of consensus around what these terms mean and how brands can experiment with them left many questions.

Another big theme was climate change. The demonstration by Greenpeace acted as a reminder that this is a topic that matters to global consumers and that brands need to consider it more seriously going forward. Sustainability in the supply chain and product development should be a priority along with corporate giving to key causes.

For digital marketers, climate change is also becoming a top priority. The IAB and other advertising leaders pledged to join the Ad Net Zero initiative, which is focused on reducing carbon emissions associated with advertising.

For the Datonics team on the ground, Cannes was an opportunity to connect with partners and clients and participate in conversations about these important trends shaping the advertising industry.

Though it was a bit jarring to re-enter a face-to-face environment full of nonstop meetings over a weeklong stretch, it was a testament to the value of getting together in person with peers. A 15-minute casual chat on the Palais can go a long way.

We look forward to Cannes 2023.