Thoughts On The Future Of Advertising

Marketing has always leaned significantly on advertising, yet the dawn of the digital era has ushered in changes that were once beyond prediction. In today’s platform-centric economy, embracing omnichannel marketing and digital infrastructure has transitioned from optional to crucial. 

To remain relevant in the current economic landscape, advertisers must adapt to these shifts, embodying the future of advertising. The digital advertising trends now lean heavily towards programmatic advertising and the integration of AI in advertising, offering a glimpse into an evolving advertising realm rich with opportunities for those ready to navigate its expanse.

Navigating Growth Strategies in Digital Advertising

With these shifts prominently in the frame, it’s tempting for brands to hone in on growth strategies that naturally veer towards the bottom of the funnel, given that ROI is more straightforward to demonstrate, thus justifying the investment. 

While brand advertising might not directly influence underlying sales, as experts like Byron Sharp pointed out, it’s pivotal in fostering awareness and sparking interest in a product or service, aligning well with the evolving digital advertising trends.

Despite the sustained downturn of print and broadcast media, their enduring relevance is upheld by escalating digitalisation. This transformation grants advertisers a more lively and engaging avenue to connect with consumers, courtesy of scalable investment models ushered in by the emergence of programmatic advertising in outdoor and TV. Such developments are reflective of the broader movement towards a futuristic advertising landscape.

Programmatic outdoor advertising, a fresh facet of the broader programmatic advertising sphere, harnesses technology and data for real-time audience engagement. This innovation facilitates dynamic message alterations, presenting an alluring pathway for brands eager to fine-tune their advertising pursuits amidst the evolving future of advertising. 

As AI in advertising gains traction, the synergy of data-driven strategies and omnichannel marketing becomes increasingly central to adeptly steering through the digital advertising currents.

Programmatic TV buying has grown significantly, notably Broadcast Video on Demand (BVOD). The shift in viewer preference from traditional linear broadcast TV to on-demand streaming options fuels this trend:

Enhanced Targeting

Allows advertisers to focus on specific demographics and regions.

Tailored Messaging

Advertisements can be personalised based on viewers’ behaviours and interests.

Improved Efficiency

Ensures a better viewing experience while optimising ad effectiveness.

The media platforms in this domain empower marketers to focus on specific demographics and geographic regions accurately, mirroring the digital advertising trends that underscore precision. Advertisers can tailor their messages based on interests, demographics, and other parameters by scrutinising viewers’ watching behaviours. This amplifies the efficacy of commercials and furnishes viewers with a more personalised experience.

With gradual digitalisation, conventional media have paced up with the evolving advertising milieu. Once deemed outdated, these platforms have morphed into robust resources for marketers aspiring to broaden their reach and ignite customer interest in innovative manners. This transition is a snippet of the broader future of advertising, where old meets new to create a potent marketing mix.

The success of any advertising campaign hinges on adept omnichannel marketing, encapsulating numerous digital channels to showcase a company’s entire suite of offerings to consumers. An integrated customer experience mandates businesses to exhibit their capability in synchronising various features and functions. 

In this platform-centric era, the quest for agencies and significant ad firms lies in retaining their audience and content within their grasp, blending programmatic advertising and AI in advertising to steer through the digital waves proficiently.

Embracing AI: The Uncharted Territory of Advertising

The ascent of AI in recent months underscores its potential as a revolutionary force in advertising and across the spectrum of creative development, media, marketing, and research. This trend is a hallmark of the digital advertising trends that are shaping the future of advertising.

While AI is poised to leave a significant imprint on the advertising sector, it’s not a panacea for all challenges nor a harbinger of its total collapse, as some narratives suggest. The barrier to entry remains substantial for businesses keen on deploying artificial intelligence on their private datasets, chiefly due to the steep costs associated with procuring the requisite hardware, software, and human expertise required.

Nonetheless, the burgeoning domain of AI-as-a-service (AIAAS) — projected to soar to USD 43.29 billion, escalating at a compound annual growth rate of 25.8% by 2030 — over just a short span, bears testimony to the remarkable strides in AI in advertising. This growth heralds promising enhancements in operational efficiencies for businesses that assimilate or dovetail this novel technology into their prevailing workflows. 

Our experimentation at REBORN has illuminated that enriching our established ideation and creative paradigms with AI propels our output capacity into novel realms. This synergy accelerates our iterative processes, fostering a more fertile ground for idea generation, which, upon refinement, translates into a nuanced output. 

While the notion of machines supplanting humans is far-fetched, the fusion of human and machine intelligence is poised to be a formidable force in navigating the evolving landscape of programmatic advertising and omnichannel marketing.

The Revolutionary Impact of AI on Advertising

Unlocking New Creative Potentials

AI’s integration into advertising is unlocking unprecedented creative potential. By analysing vast datasets to glean insights about consumer preferences and behaviours, AI enables advertisers to craft messages that resonate on a profoundly personal level. 

This data-driven creativity enhances the relevance of advertising content and fosters a more engaging and compelling narrative that speaks directly to the individual consumer.

Streamlining Operational Efficiencies

The application of AI in advertising extends beyond creative development, significantly streamlining operational efficiencies. AI simplifies complex decision-making processes through automation and predictive analytics, optimising ad placements and real-time targeting. 

This efficiency reduces wasteful spending and maximises return on investment (ROI), allowing brands to allocate resources more effectively and focus on strategic growth initiatives.

Overcoming the Barriers to AI Adoption in Advertising

Navigating the High Costs of AI Implementation

The primary barrier to AI adoption in advertising is the high cost of implementing this technology. Acquiring the necessary hardware, software, and expertise can be prohibitive for many businesses. 

However, the emergence of AI-as-a-Service (AIAAS) platforms is beginning to democratise access to AI technologies, offering scalable and cost-effective solutions that enable businesses of all sizes to leverage the power of AI without significant upfront investments.

Fostering AI Literacy and Expertise

Beyond financial constraints, another challenge lies in fostering AI literacy and expertise within organisations. To fully harness AI’s potential in advertising, businesses must cultivate a workforce skilled in navigating AI tools and interpreting their outputs. 

Investing in training and development and partnering with AI experts and service providers can bridge this knowledge gap, ensuring that teams are equipped to integrate AI into their advertising workflows effectively.

The Synergy of Human and Machine Intelligence

Enhancing Creative Ideation with AI

At REBORN, our experimentation with integrating AI into our creative processes has revealed its potential to enhance our creativity and output significantly. By augmenting human creativity with AI’s analytical capabilities, we can explore a broader range of ideas and concepts, accelerating the iterative process and yielding more nuanced and innovative creative solutions. 

This synergy between human and machine intelligence enriches the creative landscape, enabling us to push the boundaries of what’s possible in advertising.

Navigating Programmatic Advertising and Omnichannel Marketing

The fusion of human and machine intelligence is particularly impactful in programmatic advertising and omnichannel marketing. AI’s real-time ability to analyse and act on data allows for more precise targeting and personalisation across multiple channels and platforms. 

By blending AI’s analytical prowess with human insight and intuition, advertisers can craft more coherent and effective campaigns that seamlessly bridge the gap between consumer touchpoints, ensuring a unified and engaging brand experience.

Transitioning to Platform-Driven Models: A Paradigm Shift

Another challenge surfacing in the advertising domain is the migration towards platform-driven models, reflecting a broader narrative in the future of advertising. This transition to outcome-oriented or platform-driven frameworks presents a fresh set of challenges for the advertising sector. 

Agencies are poised to witness reductions in managerial, organisational, and startup expenses. In light of digital advertising trends, advertisement campaigns have transcended the bounds of a single medium, necessitating a reimagining of strategies to maintain access to target demographics and editorial oversight across diverse channels.

Integrating programmatic and AI advertising is a testament to this shift, empowering advertisers to fine-tune campaigns in real-time, elevating engagement and ROI. As omnichannel marketing becomes the norm, agencies must evolve, ensuring a seamless brand experience across all consumer touchpoints.

“Not many agencies can aim to be the LeBron James of their field; inherently, more and more agencies will aim to find a ‘uniqueness’ that can come from offering more and more combined services that give them a broader footprint to offer their clients.”

– David Easton

Fees remain a contentious aspect of advertising, with clients often pressuring for reductions. Diverse operations exist within the advertising industry. Digital-centric businesses capitalise on economies of scale driven by systems and platforms instead of a people-driven model, aligning with digital advertising trends. 

In contrast, creative powerhouses like Ogilvy and Grey hinge more heavily on the expertise of highly qualified, highly-skilled personnel. WPP and similar entities require a premium over other organisations due to the investment imperative for covering operational costs and supporting their workforce.

Two contrasting viewpoints exist concerning fee structures in the advertising sphere. The traditional model, rooted in rate cards, is viable where human expertise is the driving force. Conversely, in a platform-driven model, where efficiency is paramount, a shift towards an output-based fee structure—on a per-advert, per-campaign, or per-result basis—replaces the outdated rate card system, embodying the future of advertising.

Transitioning to this output-centric model proves challenging as many individuals’ marketing campaigns and contracts remain tethered to a rate-card-driven mindset. Nonetheless, the industry must adopt this shift to retain relevance and competitive edge, showcasing a facet of digital advertising trends.

Undoubtedly, the digital realm is where the future of advertising lies, with omnichannel marketing being a linchpin for success. The migration towards platform-driven and output-driven payment models poses challenges for the industry yet is indispensable for competitive sustainability. 

Ultimately, the triumph of an advertising campaign is contingent upon the ability to orchestrate an integrated experience across all platforms, harnessing the prowess of technology, including programmatic advertising and AI in advertising, to meet business objectives.

Discover the full spectrum of advertising possibilities with REBORN. Get in touch with our experts to navigate the digital advertising landscape effectively.