Six Advertising Trends CMOs Must Pay Attention To in 2023
In 2023, consumers are smarter than ever. They’re no longer just passive consumers—they are
influencers and content creators who have the power to shape brands. To succeed in a connected world, brands must align their marketing strategies with consumer behaviors.
Here are five trends that CMOs need to
watch this year:
Audio Ads will Continue to Grow Fast
Audio ads will continue to grow fast, especially in the podcast space. And kids are jumping on this hype: In the US, listening to podcasts has increased by 13% since last year amongst Generation Alpha (those born after 2009), while interest in podcasts has increased by 10%. Brands are also increasing their podcast ad spend, with some even launching full-time podcasts.
Audio ads can be listened to at anytime. 44% of fully-office-based or hybrid workers say they listen to music while commuting; of them, 38% browse social media at the same time. This means that audio ads can be enjoyed alongside other media – and quite often I’m
sure you’ve listened through an ad break! Audio ads are much easier to ignore than video.
Although the average attention span has dropped over the years, it’s still possible for people to listen to your ad without
being distracted by other things.
There is also a huge opportunity here because audio ads don’t just have all targeting points that you'd want with display advertising; they also have programmatic built into them too
which means using data about what listeners like and dislike can really help marketers get their messages across effectively -- something that was difficult before now due to issues around attribution metrics around podcasting being so poor until recently.
The bottom line is this: Audio ads are really good at getting people’s attention. This means that you can tell your brand story in a way that people will actually listen to and remember, which is something that other forms of advertising just don’t have.
Everyone will be talking about Television Convergence
Convergence can be understood as the progressive
merging of traditional broadcast and internet content. “Finally, we’re seeing streaming and linear TV and gaming and other video coming together,” Dave Morgan, founder and chief executive of ad-tech firm Simulmedia said in a recent interview. "There’s 110 million people that cannot get your message if you stream it." And for many companies, they are the consumers of the future that everybody needs to develop relationships with today.
One of the most important aspects of convergence is that advertisers can now reach people on their televisions and computers at the same time. And many brands are already taking advantage of this technology to reach consumers in new ways. For example, PepsiCo’s
recent campaign for Mountain Dew “Game Fuel” was one of the first times a brand has used live streaming on Twitch as part of their marketing strategy.
There’s no question that we are now seeing a convergence between what’s
happening in video games and what happens in movies and TV and entertainment programming. And we’re seeing a divergence of younger audiences away from straight linear TV programming.
Also, we need to invert the pyramid so
that designers are listening and really want to learn what their customers really want, instead of focusing on "experts." We’re seeing an incredible opportunity for brands to really listen to the customer base and learn what they want. And we’re seeing a lot of companies that are still relying on old methods, which are not as effective.
In-Game Advertising will Become Accessible
The year 2023 will mark a major milestone for the global games
market. That year, the global number of players will surpass the three-billion mark. If you want to reach the world’s largest audience of gamers, in-game advertising is becoming more accessible than ever before.
Games account for roughly 43% of all smartphone use. Until recently, though, there was a common
misconception that mobile gaming audiences were either too small or too niche to be of much interest to big brands. That perception has changed.
Around the world, console gamers are 22% more likely to buy brands they’ve seen
advertised compared to the average consumer.
And unlike other media forms, you’ve got to be paying full attention—so in the attention-recession, consumer engagement is high. Seventy-eight percent of gamers identify as
Android users and budgets are shifting accordingly: Android represents over half (54%) of total digital ad spend on games globally and is projected by some forecasters such as Juniper Research forecasted it would increase by 10% annually through 2023; while iOS (Apple) will fall from 26% share this year down 15% over 2020–2023 period according to Strategy Analytics research firm.
Death of Cookies will Change Everything
The death of cookies will change everything.
(And this isn't just a fun phrase we made up—we're talking about a real problem here.)
That's according to 71% of agency and brand executives in a recent survey, and they should know. These people are responsible for marketing strategy at Fortune 1000 companies across all industries (including finance, technology and retail).
The interesting thing is that if you
look at the overall trend in consumer behavior over time—from 2012 to present day—you see that it's been steadily evolving, even as Google has gotten better at tracking us as we move through cyberspace.
A whopping 42% of consumers regularly clear their browsing histories on purpose; 25% use private browsing; 22% routinely decline cookies (when combined, these three practices describe nearly 80 % of respondents).
Meanwhile, 20% regularly use a VPN to avoid being tracked by third parties when shopping online; 32% worry about how companies use their personal data online. Clearly these consumers have privacy concerns—which means they’ve already started taking action on them!
So while cookies may be an effective way to target specific audiences today due to their simplicity and ease-of-use (you can just upload your list), there
are growing concerns about what happens when those cookies disappear—and those concerns are likely going to prompt some changes with any new systems put into place after this transition takes place.
Influencers will Keep Killing Traditional
Ads
If you haven't noticed yet, millennials are killing advertising as we know it. As influencers continue to grow in popularity, it's no surprise that brands will continue to invest more into this type of marketing. But what does this mean for traditional ads? Well, if recent trends are any indication,
they're going the way of the dinosaur (and we don't mean extinct).
Here's the thing about advertising: It works. It always has and it always will. Companies pay their bills with the revenue generated from advertising,
so it's no wonder that they continue to invest in this type of marketing. But brands haven't been able to keep up with changes in consumer behavior, which has led to a decline in effectiveness—and this is where influencer marketing comes in.
The rise of influencer marketing is a direct response to this shift in consumer behavior. In fact, brands that have been successful with this approach have seen their ad spend decrease by as much as 50%. This means that marketers are getting more bang for their buck when they invest in influencers rather than traditional advertising.
“Marketing agencies play a vital role in the influencer industry. Their development is really what pushed the space forward from bloggers and brands figuring out how to collaborate 15 years ago into the complicated and valuable industry that now exists,”
Says Emily Hund, author of “The Influencer Industry,” They have hands in everything: seeking out deals, negotiating rates and deliverables, helping influencers manage careers, setting standards (for better or worse) about authenticity, credibility, and brand safety, variously encouraging and inhibiting influencers’ creative production…they just do SO much, and they are probably the least publicly visible player in this industry.”
Metaverse. Metaverse, Metaverse
When you think about the future, do you picture a world where people are wearing VR goggles and living in a giant digital environment? Or do you imagine something more like augmented reality—where
digital content is superimposed onto the real world?
A lot of companies want to know what consumers think about these new technologies, so they can figure out if they should use them (once they arrive).
Augmented reality will be a significant part of the metaverse—for now. There's an AR revolution going on right now, and it’s changing how people interact with the world. By 2025, more than three-quarters of the world's population will regularly use augmented
reality apps
SNAP will rule this market if they continue to focus on it, and ignore the newest shiny object in Meta. Since theyy are Investing in augmented reality and developing leadership positions it help Snap benefit
from the next major platform shift, where we will move from mobile to wearables. The company aims to have revenues from its AR-based advertising business account for 10% of its total ad revenues in 2023, and as much as 40% in 2024. That's a huge difference and enormous expected growth.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel slammed Mark Zuckerberg’s $15-billion metaverse initiative as ‘last thing’ he wants to do after a day at work.
Last
year, Snap unveiled its first pair of augmented reality glasses. Because founder Evan Spiegel believes that augmented reality is the way of the future, he has decided to focus his company's efforts on creating apps that overlay digital features onto a user's immediate environment
As more and more brands take on the technology, people are being exposed to it
through ads. M&M’s, Burberry, Gucci and Jack Daniels are among some of the brands that have already jumped into the AR marketing fray. This means consumers will likely adopt this way before "Virtual Reality" becomes mainstream.
People will express their individuality through the products they buy. Whether you're a fashion, music, sports or entertainment event—merchandise is central to your positioning, according to Catherine D. Henry
the SVP of Media.Monks. Almost half of gamers buy merchandise associated with their favorite games and 70% think it’s important that fans love the way you present yourself.
Businesses that create immersive, entertaining AR experiences for their customers see a boost in awareness and performance. After all, if an experience is fun and engaging, it’s more likely to be remembered. When you add AR to your marketing mix, people will take notice
because it's new and exciting. They'll also feel like they are part of the action instead of just watching a video or reading an article.
Despite all the doom and gloom predictions concerning the future of advertising, the industry has never been more exciting. The five trends we’ve covered here are only a
few of those that will shape this new era. Companies that embrace these changes will be able to reach their audience in ways they never could before—and those who don’t keep up will surely fall behind!
Pesach Lattin
Pesach@lattin.us
Connect with me on LinkedIn.
