The digitalization of advertising and marketing does not show any signs of slowing down as U.S. digital ad spend is projected to grow 15.9 percent in 2017—which will total $83 billion in revenue. Roughly 60 percent of that ad revenue will go to the duopoly of Google and Facebook, where Facebook is expected to increase its ad revenue by 32.1 percent and Google will see a 14.8 percent jump.
Google will continue to dominate the search market, as they will rake in a staggering 77.8 percent of the total search revenue. Facebook expects to own 39.1 percent of display ad spend in the U.S. at a number of $16.3 billion.
Consumers opt-in for better ad experiences
Online consumers are getting increasingly more involved in their digital experiences and are now also immersing themselves in how ads are being served to them. With ad blocking and relevancy feedback functions, consumers are used to having a say in what, when, where and how they want to be exposed to ads.
Shine Technologies has rolled out a service called Rainbow where consumers will be able to opt-in to an offering of cleaner, safer and more relevant advertising. These ads will adhere to the IAB’s LEAN principles as well as the Coalition for Better Ads.
Anticipated personalization
Customers are now anticipating personalized marketing experiences online. Marketers worldwide seem to be equipping themselves in order to handle these expectations, as reports indicate that 84 percent of marketers are either in the process or starting out to implement digital personalization strategies. It seems to do the trick as 79 percent of marketers who reported exceeding revenue goals were all documenting their personalization strategies.
Music-streaming platform Pandora recently introduced dynamic personalized ads together with sequential messaging and targeting. This will allow marketers to craft audio ads designed for listeners based on a whole heave of real-time data like location, weather, and listening habits.
AI Is becoming more apparent
Artificial Intelligence is quickly becoming increasingly prevalent in the ad tech industry. Leading players like Facebook have already launched their M feature via their messenger app in order to broaden the connection and conversation between users and marketers.
AI is not only being used to solidify direct messaging efforts but it can also be used to help improve brand safety. YouTube is working with third-party companies in order to deploy advanced machine learning to better identify offensive and inappropriate content. Google is ensuring that all the technology behind this initiative is accredited by the Media Rating Council.
Brand safety issue is more crucial than ever
The issue of brand safety has claimed more victims and larger budgets. Big brands like McDonalds and Mercedes-Benz have discovered controversial content next to their ads on Google properties like YouTube.
This has been a setback for the reputation of programmatic advertising—MediaMath is one player who has responded by refunding brands if their ads “run next to previously determined unsafe inventory”. According to MediaMath this method can provide a cleaner sense of transparency and accountability for everyone in the digital landscape.
Release the numbers
Everyone who stands outside the walled gardens seem to be tired of the duopoly’s moderate and limited data-sharing. More and more brands are taking a tougher stance against the metrics that Facebook and Google have established.
Automaker mogul Fiat Chrysler has created its own set of measurement standards for all their digital video output. Since video is not cheap, they believe it is vital that all the metrics they deem are key is evaluated in order to effectively determine whether efforts are successful or not.
