What is the difference?

Ad Spend vs Advertising Costs

Ad Spend

Advertising Costs

What is it?

Ad Spend is the amount of money spent on specific ad variations within a specific campaign or ad set. This metric helps regulate ad performance.

Advertising Costs is a broad expense category, which typically includes online, broadcast, print, outdoor, and direct mail efforts. Advertising can be used at various stages of the customer journey, from brand awareness and brand shaping, to highly targeted campaigns that are meant to engage existing customers.

Who is it for?

Marketing Manager

Advertising Manager

Marketing Manager

Formula

ƒ Sum(Ad Spend)

ƒ Sum(Advertising Costs)

Example

Imagine you have a certain ad set with a daily budget of $200 and you have one or more different ads within that ad set. While it is possible that each of the ads within the ad set has spent the same amount of money, it is rare. Unless you specify otherwise, Ad networks tend to automatically spend more money on the most relevant ads, and less money on the least relevant ads. Ad Set Budget = $200 Ad 1 = $100 Ad 2 = $50 Ad 3 = $25 Ad 4 = $20 Ad 5 = $5

A company spends $15,000 on print and outdoor promotions, $50,000 on online search and display campaigns, and an additional $5,000 on marketplace listings each month. Total Advertising Costs each month are $70,000.