Less ESG advertising activity in Europe during Q1

The percentage of overall advertising dedicated to ESG and the number of ESG advertisers dropped in Q1, Fundamental Monitor data shows

Key points:

• The percentage of overall advertising dedicated to ESG in Europe has dropped significantly in Q1 2022 compared to a quarter earlier
• The proportions of other key asset classes and strategies also saw a fall in Q1, except for advertising focused on equities
• The advertising of insights hit a high of 41% in Q4 2021, but has since dropped to 13% in Q1 2022, the same proportion as seen in Q1 2021

The number of ESG advertisers and the proportion of overall advertising dedicated to ESG in Europe has dropped in Q1 2022 compared to Q4 2022, according to data by Fundamental Monitor.

The percentage of overall advertising dedicated to ESG in Europe has dropped significantly in Q1 2022 compared to a quarter earlier. Where ESG accounted for 44% of all advertising in Q4 2021, this had dropped to only 18% in Q1, but is still higher than the 10% seen in Q1 2021.

The proportions of other key asset classes and strategies also saw a fall in Q1, except for advertising focused on equities, which grew from 12% in Q4 2021 to 16% in Q1 2022.

The number of asset managers advertising the major asset classes and strategies dropped in Q1 2022, especially for ESG which stood at a record 61 advertisers in Q4 2021 but fell to 43 advertisers in Q1. Despite the percentage of advertising dedicated to equities growing, the number of advertisers promoting the asset class fell to 21 in Q1. On the other hand, the number of asset managers advertising fixed income rose from 17 to 20.

The advertising of insights hit a high of 41% in Q4 2021, but has since dropped to 13% in Q1 2022, the same proportion as seen in Q1 2021. Brand campaigns made up 49% of all advertising campaigns in Q1, while 36% of campaigns focused on fund promotion.

Below are some examples of the type of campaigns that were in market in Europe during Q1 2022:

Franklin Templeton – Brand campaign

Baillie Gifford – Fund promotion

Wellington – ESG campaign

Altana Wealth – Equities