With the 2024 U.S. election cycle now behind us, digital marketers on Meta are seeing a shift in the competitive landscape. The intense competition that characterized ad placements leading up to Election Day—driving CPMs up by 10-15%—is finally subsiding. Here’s what this means for your campaigns and how Meta’s evolving ad features can help you stay agile.
Easing of Election-Driven CPM Spikes
As anyone advertising during this election season knows, political campaigns created a spike in Meta’s CPMs. Political advertisers vied for limited ad space, particularly in sensitive content areas and swing states, pushing CPMs to levels reminiscent of peak holiday shopping periods. But with Election Day now in the past, this wave of competitive pressure is expected to ease, providing brands with a brief opportunity for steadier and possibly lower CPMs.
Of course, it’s a short reprieve before the holiday season ramps up. Retailers are already gearing up, and demand from consumer brands will be rising soon. This means that, while election-driven spikes are tapering off, year-end demand will keep CPMs higher than off-season averages. Look for CPM stabilization in early Q1, when post-holiday activity typically brings temporary relief.
New Ad Inventory on Meta: Reels and Instagram Search
Meta’s commitment to expanding ad inventory across formats continues to benefit advertisers, especially through Instagram Reels and the newly introduced Instagram Search ads. This expanded inventory is helping Meta balance out impression volume across placements, potentially contributing to greater CPM stability. You might notice this particularly in Stories and Reels placements, where competition remains lower than in the more saturated News Feed.
For advertisers, this growth in inventory is worth watching, especially if your audience engages heavily with short-form video. The added supply in Reels and Stories may provide strategic opportunities for more stable costs, particularly as you plan campaigns for 2025.
Year-End Retail Demand and CPM Impact
Retail remains a dominant force on Meta, and Q4’s holiday shopping season is likely to create ongoing upward pressure on CPMs. As political advertisers bow out, retail will step in as the primary CPM driver, particularly in consumer-focused ad verticals. While this is typical of year-end demand, it underscores the importance of optimizing ad budgets and placements carefully, especially when aiming to reach holiday shoppers without losing efficiency.
Marketers should be prepared for CPMs to remain high in the coming weeks, particularly across placements that perform well in retail campaigns, such as carousel ads and Stories. However, there is some relief on the horizon; January often sees a pullback in consumer ad spend, allowing for more cost-effective experimentation as brands recalibrate.
Leveraging Advantage+ and AI Optimization Tools
Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns and other AI-driven ad tools have been game-changers for marketers seeking efficiency. These tools offer significant advantages by automatically optimizing campaigns across placements and ad types, allowing for performance improvements while controlling CPM fluctuations. With the help of Advantage+ tools, brands can optimize ad spend dynamically, aiming to keep ROAS high even amid shifting CPMs.
As Meta prioritizes AI-driven solutions, Advantage+ will continue to play a key role in campaign management. If your brand hasn’t yet tapped into these tools, now is an ideal time to do so, especially as CPM volatility can be difficult to navigate manually. By automating bid and placement adjustments, you can help insulate your campaigns from sudden cost increases and make your ad budget work harder for you.
Platform Loyalty and the Meta Advantage
Despite competition from other platforms, Meta continues to be a central pillar of digital marketing strategies. Marketers remain loyal to Meta, drawn by its unparalleled targeting capabilities and advanced ad features. Platforms like TikTok and Snapchat may be gaining popularity, but Meta’s long-standing infrastructure, particularly its mature ad tools and expansive audience data, make it indispensable for brands aiming to reach key demographics effectively.
With such a wide variety of ad formats and data-driven tools, Meta offers brands flexibility and reach that can be hard to find elsewhere. For those looking to balance experimentation with effectiveness, Meta’s infrastructure remains unmatched in driving results that matter for business growth.
Key Takeaways and Next Steps for Meta Advertisers
As we look beyond the 2024 election season, advertisers on Meta can breathe a bit easier with CPMs likely to stabilize, at least temporarily. This easing of competition, coupled with Meta’s increasing ad inventory on platforms like Instagram Reels, provides new opportunities for brands to engage audiences at a manageable cost—especially as retail demand ramps up for the holidays.
To make the most of this evolving environment, here’s what we recommend:
- Monitor CPM Trends by Placement: Reels and Stories are likely to offer more stable costs compared to News Feed, so experiment with these placements if they align with your audience’s behavior.
- Leverage AI Tools Like Advantage+: Meta’s AI-driven solutions can help you control costs and maximize ROAS, a valuable asset as CPMs fluctuate.
- Stay Agile with Format Choices: As competition continues to shift from political to retail demand, take advantage of Meta’s new formats and growing inventory to optimize campaign costs.
By keeping these strategies in mind, your brand can navigate Meta’s shifting ad landscape confidently, positioning your campaigns for success in Q4 and beyond.
