In the year ahead, digital advertisers will be looking to harness AI and new metrics in the evolving digital space. They want to keep budgets down, even as a busy political campaigning season will drive prices up. Above all, they want to make sure they’re connecting with customers in meaningful ways.
Attention metrics will capture marketers’ attention and meaningful engagement
As seen in our 2024 data predictions, the phasing out of third-party cookies is almost certain. Marketers, publishers and adtech partners all will be looking to more meaningful signs of engagement, including attention metrics.
“Marketers are recognizing the significance of meaningful interactions over mere impressions or clicks,” said Angelina Eng, VP of Measurement, Addressability and Data Center at IAB. “Attention metrics offer a more nuanced understanding of how users engage with content, prompting this transition among marketers seeking more impactful and effective advertising strategies.”
Attention metrics are tied to engagement time, focus and quality of interaction. Marketers can use them to complement or replace traditional clicks and views.
In 2024 IAB is partnering with the Media Rating Council to roll out standardized attention measurement guidelines.
“These guidelines will provide clearer consistency and transparency in how attention is measured, allowing for a more uniform approach across the industry,” Eng said. “This will ultimately enable advertisers and publishers to better understand and optimize for user engagement, ensuring that attention metrics become a reliable and integral part of digital advertising strategies.”
“In this new ID-less environment, attention metrics will enable advertisers to go beyond static metrics such as click-through rate,” said Giles Rekruciak, platform director, U.S., for digital media technology company Adlook. “They’ll instead be able gauge how a specific ad placement is able to capture the attention of the users – providing insight into user behavior, preferences and receptiveness to ads.”
Marketers focus on supply path optimization
Marketers won’t just be looking for better measurement on the impact of ads. They’ll be looking at how the ads are delivered, using supply path optimization (SPO) to measure efficient spending.
“SPO has been a huge topic over the past few years, as brands have sought to identify and eliminate unnecessary intermediaries,” said Rekruciak. “This has the effect of reducing the number of hops between the buyer and the seller, minimizing latency, improving the efficiency of ad delivery, and of course saving money.”
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He added: “As third-party IDs become less usable, SPO will take a larger role in ensuring media dollars are spent properly — increasingly with established premium and vetted inventory partners. In addition, the increased need for privacy protections will likely further push brands toward adopting more efficient — and controllable — campaign executions.
Dig deeper: What every marketer needs to know about programmatic advertising
Politics will drive up costs and turn off consumers
Did you know there’s an election in 2024? The digital landscape will be more polarized than ever, and advertisers will have two big headaches: cost and political toxicity.
“Given the increased cost of media during any U.S. presidential election year, brands will get less for their money,” said Reid Carr, CEO and executive creative director of marketing agency Red Door Interactive. “Those that have planned for this are a step ahead, but many haven’t, meaning those brands will need to pull budget from other investments or get creative with what they have.”
Brands that dare to be timely about political issues in their messaging will have to be extra careful not to offend potential customers. If customers are even listening to begin with. Many are likely to change their media habits to avoid the noise.
“Media consumption is going to shift,” Carr said. “People may want to tune out the noise or find respite in different channels and feeds. It will be very difficult to use last year’s metrics to measure performance against 2024.”
He added: “It will be difficult for messaging to break through, especially in late October and November, which could result in media fatigue in early December. This could create a ‘hangover’ effect and negatively impact holiday promotions. Brands must plan to make their 2024 numbers throughout alternative parts of the year.”
More bundling for streaming services
The migration of must-see TV to streaming on-demand services has resulted in fragmentation. Instead of flipping through a thousand channels on a single cable service provider, cord-cutters have to sift through a seemingly endless menu of separate apps. And unless their streaming diet is entirely ad-supported, they’re paying for these apps on separate bills.
2024 could very well be the pivotal year when the streaming industry steps up and offers more bundles.
“Fragmentation across streaming, and especially sports content, has reached an inflection point,” said Dina Roman, SVP, global ad sales, Fubo. “Consumers have grown frustrated with the increasing number of subscriptions required to watch all of their programming, and advertisers are challenged with reaching their strategic target audiences across a growing number of media partners and devices.”
She added: “Now is the time when the power of aggregation will show its value, and we will see a return to bundling across streaming. We have to continue to work as an industry to make life easier for consumers and, by extension, advertisers.”
AI will continue to deliver high-quality ads and lower costs
The power of generative AI and machine learning is disruptive to all areas of marketing, including advertising. Updates to major platforms are still in the process of rolling out. In the new year, as more tools are adopted, AI will make digital campaigns even easier to plan and execute.
“While product retargeting often leverages a large number of customized ads that show particular products, most other types of campaigns typically use just a small number of static ads,” said Frost Prioleau, CEO of digital advertising company Simpli.fi. “The first impact of this current wave of AI advancements has been to lower costs and time required to make high-quality ads’ creative, often with many variations. Going forward, AI will provide a variety of other benefits, including data analysis, simplified user interfaces and media planning, and automated customer service.”
“In 2024, we will see more marketers leverage generative AI for content creation and, particularly, media measurement,” said Laura Manning, SVP, measurement for digital insights company Cint. “The ability to leverage AI to quickly, and accurately, analyze large data sets will be of great advantage to advertisers and marketers in the new year. This will likely see the industry experience some growing pains, and it will be imperative that market players work together to put more processes in place when it comes to the use of AI in marketing and advertising.”
“AI is already impacting audience measurement and we’re going to see more of it in 2024,” said Jonathan Bohm, VP of product for software and data company VideoAmp. “Even in its simplest form, folks in media are treating the ChatGPTs of the world as their own personal libraries and adtech consultants. The real opportunity for AI is in helping identify and streamline repeatable patterns, like identifying post-air schedules, understanding the push-and-pull behavior of viewership and the impact of fragmentation – which is something that has mystified the industry for over a decade, almost entirely due to measurement limitations.”
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As we look ahead to the future of advertising and digital media in 2024, it’s clear that the industry is poised for significant changes. With the rapid advancements in technology and the ever-evolving consumer behavior, the advertising landscape is set to undergo a transformation that will shape the way brands connect with their audiences.
One of the most significant predictions for the future of advertising is the continued rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. These technologies are already being used to personalize ads and target specific audiences, but by 2024, they will be even more advanced. AI will be able to analyze vast amounts of data to predict consumer behavior and preferences, allowing advertisers to create highly targeted and effective campaigns.
Another prediction for the future of advertising is the increasing importance of voice search. With the popularity of smart speakers and virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, more and more consumers are using voice search to find information and make purchases. This means that advertisers will need to optimize their content for voice search to ensure that their brand is easily discoverable.
In addition to AI and voice search, the future of advertising will also see a shift towards more immersive and interactive experiences. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are already being used by some brands to create engaging and memorable ads, but by 2024, these technologies will be even more widespread. Advertisers will use VR and AR to create immersive experiences that allow consumers to interact with products and services in new and exciting ways.
Another prediction for the future of advertising is the continued growth of social media as a key platform for reaching audiences. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have already become essential tools for advertisers, but by 2024, they will be even more important. Brands will need to have a strong presence on social media to connect with their target audiences and stay relevant in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Finally, the future of advertising will see a greater emphasis on transparency and privacy. With the rise of data breaches and concerns over how personal information is used, consumers are becoming more aware of their privacy rights. Advertisers will need to be transparent about how they collect and use data, and they will need to ensure that their practices are in line with privacy regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In conclusion, the future of advertising and digital media in 2024 will be shaped by advancements in technology, changes in consumer behavior, and a greater focus on privacy and transparency. Advertisers who can adapt to these changes and embrace new technologies will be well-positioned to succeed in an increasingly competitive landscape.
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