A global study released today analyzed thousands of paid social media ad campaigns from Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm over the last 90 days. Brand Total’s research report analyzed all paid social campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn from the three leading BNPL solutions over a 90-day period, from June 13th to September 10th.

Key findings are as follows. 

Klarna Wins on Paid Share-of-Voice

In an analysis of paid Share-of-Voice (SOV), which is defined by percentage of sponsored impressions, Klarna dominated, with 51% paid SOV, compared to 35% for Affirm and 14% for Afterpay. 

Klarna Most Aggressive in Courting Gen Z

Klarna was the most likely to advertise to Gen Z (18-24) on social, as half of its ad impressions (50%) targeted that demographic. For comparison, 41% of percent of Affirm’s impressions and just 8% of Afterpay’s impressions targeted Gen Z. 

Seventy-two percent of their impressions were served to people between 18-35. Only 62% of Affirm impressions reached that group, with just 22% for Afterpay.

Klarna: Demographic Mix

Affirm: Demographic Mix

Afterpay: Demographic Mix

Interestingly, 83% of all ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ social media ads targeted women, with just 17% targeting men. 

Most Popular Social Channels

Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm split their social ad budgets on the following channels:

Klarna and Affirm have very similar social ad strategies, allocating most of their social media mix on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Afterpay has opted for a very different strategy, focusing heavily on Facebook and Instagram, while investing nothing on YouTube.