Mumbai: Ad spend on kids content in the US has risen by 50 per cent according to MediaRadar. It is an ad intelligence and sales enablement platform. Ad spend promoting children’s products and services grew to over $1.6 billion last year. Half the spend went on promoting toys and games.

The usage of digital has grown. 70 per cent of the spend went to digital channels, including streaming, 29 per cent went to traditional TV and one per cent went to print. In 2021 over $1.1 billion was invested. 54 per cent went to digital, 41 per cent was spent on TV and five per cent on print.

“This is a growth category. Even as other verticals have seen a pullback in spend, investments in children’s content and from children’s brands have grown substantially year-over-year—particularly in digital. Our data reveals that a wider variety of brands are investing in this space. It’s not just toys and games. Savvier advertisers understand that many parents are watching programmes or engaging content with their kids, creating an opportunity to reach a wider audience,” said MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman.

AVod service HappyKids co-founder Vikrant Mathur said, “Because children’s content is subject to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), brands buy kids’ inventory directly, so they know exactly where their ads run, on what shows, what times, even what position in the ad pods. Kids’ content also offers a brand-safe and suitable environment for messaging, making it great for top advertisers.”