BrandTotal analyzed nearly 1,000 paid social media ads from six top secondhand startup brands
NEW YORK, Feb. 24, 2022 — BrandTotal, a leading social competitive intelligence and brand analytics platform, today released new data examining social media advertising in the secondhand startup industry. 45% of millennials and Generation Z have expressed opposition to buying from non-sustainable brands.
To understand how leading secondhand startup brands are taking advantage of demand during this period, BrandTotal analyzed paid social media ad campaigns for top six brands — TheRealReal, thredUP, Poshmark, Depop, Vestiaire Collective and letgo. In total, 1123 paid social ads were analyzed over a 90-day period, November 11th, 2021 to February 8th, 2022. Key findings are as follows.
TheRealReal Wins on Paid Share of Voice
In an analysis of paid Share-of-Voice (SOV), which is defined by percentage of sponsored impressions, TheRealReal won, with 81% paid SOV, compared to 14% for thredUP, 2% for Poshmark and Depop, and 1% for Vestiaire Collective.
“TheRealReal is using digital advertising to boost its position and awareness in the secondhand startup space,” said Alon Leibovich, CEO and Co-Founder of BrandTotal. “Our data supports what others have seen — they are outspending all other secondhand startup brands as demand increases.”
ThredUP Soars on Engagement
Though thredUP and Poshmark were below TheRealReal on paid SOV, they jump to the top-3 (1 and 3) when it comes to ad engagement. ThredUp nearly doubled TheRealReal’s ad engagement with 11.3k.
Gen Z is the key demographic
Overall, Gen Z (18-24) was a key focus for the secondhand startup brands analyzed, with more than half (65%) of all ad impressions targeting that demographic. Meanwhile, 17% targeted those 25-34, with 9% targeting those 35-44.
Vestiaire Collective, Depop and TheRealReal target Gen Z the most with nearly 75% of all ad impressions. ThredUP targeted 35-44 the most with 27% and Poshmark targeted 45-54 with 27%.
“With the emergence of sustainable fashion trends, we’re seeing younger generations purchase from secondhand and sustainable fashion brands,” said Leibovich. “To win these Gen Z customers, secondhand startup brands are targeting them accordingly across social media, where they spend considerable time.”
YouTube Most Popular Social Ad Platform
The secondhand startup brands focused the majority of their social ad budgets on YouTube (45% of all ad impressions), followed by Facebook (19%), Instagram (15%), Twitter (3%), and LinkedIn (0%).
“YouTube is a popular platform among younger adult audiences, including Gen Zs and millennials,” said Leibovich. “Its adoption across these brands reflects that.”
Top YouTube advertisers included Depop (98%), TheRealReal (97%) and Vestiaire Collective (75%). The secondhand startups brands that did not focus predominantly on YouTube were thredUP (96% on Facebook) and Poshmark (67% on Instagram).
Advertisers and agencies can sign up for a free demo of BrandTotal here: https://www.brandtotal.com/.
About BrandTotal
BrandTotal is a leading social competitive intelligence and brand analytics platform, enabling brand marketers to make decisions based on data, not gut feelings. BrandTotal was founded in 2016 and serves customers in North America, Europe, and Israel. Headquartered in New York, with offices in San Francisco and Israel, BrandTotal’s customers range from well-established
Fortune 500 brands to the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer challenger brands. The company is funded by world-class VC firms INcapital Ventures, Flint Capital, NHN Investment, One Way Ventures, FJ Labs, Glilot Capital Partners, and Keshet Dick Clark Productions along with early support from Microsoft Accelerator and Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator.
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