In today’s fast-moving world of sales and marketing, keeping ahead of the competition often comes down to one thing: understanding your audience.

I know, I’m not reinventing the wheel with that statement.

But what if you could go beyond just knowing who your audience is and gain an idea into what they’re investing in and why?

See, advertising spend is more than just a number - it’s a story. It tells you where a company is headed, what they value, and how they plan to grow. When brands ramp up their advertising budgets, it’s often a sign they’re in growth mode. They might be rolling out new products, breaking into fresh markets, or doubling down on efforts to attract customers. On the flip side, a noticeable dip in ad spend could hint at tighter budgets, a change in direction, or even the possibility of switching agencies.

With these figures, you can predict a company’s future - and your part in it.

By using a sales intelligence platform to leverage advertising spend insights, you can gain a deeper understanding of how to connect with potential clients and boost your B2B lead generation efforts.

So, let’s look into how getting a clearer picture of ad spend can open new doors, fine-tune your sales and marketing approach, and set your business up for real growth - and how ALF Insight is here to help you every step of the way.

Why advertising spend insights matter: The human side of data

Advertising spend isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet, it’s about the choices, goals, and the people behind them. When a company decides to pump more money into ads, it’s a clear statement of intent. For example, if a retail brand suddenly increases its digital ad spend, it might signal a shift towards e-commerce or a new product launch. Or if a tech company ramps up its TV advertising, it could mean they’re targeting a broader audience or entering a new market.

But let’s not forget: behind every budget change are real people - marketing directors, agency teams, and media buyers - juggling challenges, setting priorities, and figuring out the best way forward. If you can get a handle on what’s driving their decisions, you’re in a much better position to have meaningful conversations, offer solutions that actually make sense for them, and reach out when it really matters.

Here’s how different professionals can turn ad spend insights into real opportunities for growth…

Media Buyers: Pinpoint brands ready to scale up

For media buyers, the ability to track which brands are increasing their ad spend is essential. If a brand is significantly boosting its budget, it’s likely planning to invest in more media placements across TV, digital, print, OOH advertising, etc.

With ALF Insight, media buyers can:

• Identify high-spending brands that align with their ad space, ensuring they’re pitching to companies with the budget and intent to invest.
• Reach out to the right decision-makers at the right time. Whether it’s a marketing director or a media planner, ALF has up-to-date contact information for everyone they might need to reach.
• Stay ahead of competitor moves by tracking shifts in ad spend, allowing them to anticipate market trends and adjust their strategies accordingly.
• See where brands are focusing their advertising efforts and which mediums they’re allocating their budget to - digital ads, press spend, door drops, etc. - so media buyers can be sure they’re the right candidate to support them before building a pitch.

Here’s an example: imagine you’re working for a major broadcaster like ITV. By using ALF Insight, you discover that a retail brand has significantly increased its TV ad spend. If you reach out to their marketing team at the pivotal moment with a tailored package that aligns with their campaign goals, you’re so much more likely to secure a lucrative deal.

Marketing Service Providers: Target growing brands

For businesses offering marketing solutions, SaaS platforms, or branded merchandise, tracking ad spend helps them identify companies investing in their brand presence and potentially looking for marketing services.

There’s a few different ways MSP’s can utilise ALF:

• SaaS & marketing tech companies can use ad spend data to find brands increasing digital ad spend, making them prime candidates for advertising automation tools or analytics platforms.
• Branded merchandise suppliers can pitch promotional items to brands increasing their marketing budgets. For example, if a brand is launching a new product line, it might need branded merchandise to support the campaign.
• Data and analytics firms can pinpoint businesses that are ramping up advertising and might need performance-tracking solutions to measure ROI.

For example, if a hospitality brand starts spending more on out-of-home advertising - something you can spot with ALF - a digital signage provider could step in with a well-timed pitch, showing how their displays can make the brand’s campaign even more impactful. It all comes down to matching your offering with their advertising goals and positioning yourself as a partner in their growth plan.

Agencies: Spot brands looking for new creative partners

For advertising and marketing agencies, tracking ad spend can let them know when brands are ready to change agencies. If a company has been with the same agency for years but begins changing its budget allocations, it might be thinking about exploring a new partnership.

This is where ALF comes in. ALF Insight helps agencies:

• Identify brands increasing their ad spend and position themselves as potential partners. A surge in budget often indicates a desire for fresh ideas and new campaigns.
• Spot companies working with the same agency for a long time. Long-standing relationships can sometimes lead to stagnation, creating an opportunity for new agencies to step in.
• Find contact details for CMOs and brand managers to initiate conversations. Knowing who to talk to and when to reach out can make all the difference in winning new business.

To put that into practice, if a beauty brand significantly reduces its ad spend with a current agency, it might be dissatisfied with its performance and open to pitches from competitors. By using ALF, agencies can find the right person to contact and proactively approach this brand with bespoke solutions that address its needs.

• Pro-tip: If you want to learn the best ways to generate leads for agency growth, check out our blog on the subject.

Partnerships: A mutually beneficial relationship

Companies often seek partnerships with organisations like sports teams and charities for various reasons, but ultimately, it’s all about exposure. At the same time, these teams and charities can research a company by tracking its existing partnerships (particularly renewal dates) and ad spend, making sure they reach out when the company is likely to be open to new partnerships.

For this, they need ALF.

• Sports teams can target brands investing in brand awareness campaigns for jersey sponsorships. For example, if a sportwear company is increasing its ad spend, it might be looking for high-profile sports partnerships to increase its exposure with that audience, so a team couuld reach out and pitch jersey space. Likewise, a company could target a sports team with the offer of a mutually beneficial partnership to boost its brand visibility.
• Charities can connect with businesses looking to improve their corporate social responsibility by offering a partnership. If a company is increasing ad spend, it might have more disposable income and thus may be willing to increase its CSR spend. At the same time, brands with a strong CSR focus are often eager to partner with charities to enhance their reputation.
• Organisations can identify expiring partnerships on ALF, enabling them to track when existing partnerships between brands and organisations are set to end. This gives them a clear window of opportunity to pitch their own partnership proposal. Like we said before, long-standing relationships can sometimes lead to stagnation - a change is as good as a rest - and new partnerships can revitalise visibility and marketing efforts on all sides.

One use case is that if a retail brand’s sponsorship deal with a charity is nearing its end, a new charity can approach it with a fresh idea that aligns with its CSR goals. By leveraging ALF Insight, you can identify these opportunities early and pitch your partnership proposal at the perfect time.

Conclusion: How ALF Insight makes it easy

Advertising spend insights are more than just numbers - they’re a growth roadmap. A forecast into a brand’s future. An insight into their next steps. By understanding where companies are investing you can uncover new business opportunities. That’s what we’re all about at ALF, so we’re here to provide the tools and data you need to grow your business.

To recap, here’s how ALF helps you turn advertising spend insights into growth opportunities:

• Real-time data: Stay up-to-date with advertising spend trends so you’re always working with the latest insights. Whether it’s a brand increasing its digital ad spend or a media owner exploring new channels, you’ll know about it first.
• Access to decision-makers: Connect directly with the people driving those ad spend decisions.
• Tailored insights for your industry: Get data relevant to your niche. For example, if you’re a SaaS company, you can identify growing businesses that would benefit from your platform.
• Spotting partnership opportunities: Identify brands with a history of collaboration, making it easier to pitch ideas and build mutually beneficial relationships.
• Stay ahead with the latest news: ALF’s daily news feature keeps you updated on the most relevant brand developments. With quick access to timely, industry-specific updates, you can make smarter, faster decisions that help you stay ahead.

As you can see, there are a lot of benefits in leveraging ad spend data, and ALF Insight is the perfect platform to help with that. If I couldn’t convince you in this blog, why not book a demo with us? It’s free, easy, and might help you realise just how much you can benefit from a platform like ours.

But don’t just take my word for it - here’s a few kind words from our users…