Last year saw a significant increase in the dollars spent on digital versus traditional media advertising and this has prompted marketers to spend more money online. 2014 has also been an exciting year for mobile advertising as more and more agencies are trying to create a niche for themselves through evolving standards, benchmarks, and best practices. And, as the line between mobile and the desktop continues to blur, we will likely see more dollars being spent in the mobile ad space as mobile content continues to be consumed in an app-centric environment.
Customer Content Consumption Continues to Evolve
As a result of this shift from classic to online media, the role of the consumer has changed from that of a spectator to an active participant putting customers in control. To add complexity, customers are shifting between devices to experience the best digital experience available. Thus, programmatic buying is the new norm as it delivers messages to end-users with relevant impressions one-at-a-time thereby providing the desired brand experience. However, advertisers need far more insights on how ad tech companies go about spending the ad money and delivering value, even as concerns are raised on how digital data is being used to target customers.
Convergence will define success for ad campaigns
In a nutshell, the online ad spend will only continue to increase, but as competition grows, ad agencies and advertisers will put greater emphasis on hyper-segmentation to micro-target the right audience. In this scenario, the key to successful campaigns will be linked to content personalization. To achieve this, digital channels, technology, and the growing amount of data need to convulse to provide insights to better target ads. Hence, the goal for all agencies is to use technology and industry knowledge to identify the right data to provide the ideal ROI for advertisers.
Thus, the fact to be remembered is that data is not an end in itself but a channel to push the right message using the right media channel at the right time to ensure successful campaigns. The major challenge in this regard is for traditional media companies to be prepared to adapt to the changing ways in which data is being consumed by end-users. Not many media companies are ready for this change though they have sufficient inventory value. What is needed is for these organizations to add value to the inventory rather than depend on the site master-head data to generate ad revenue. At the same time, for organizations ready for the change, their legacy infrastructure might become an obstacle.
To summarize, in the complex world of ad technology, more clarity is evolving as time goes by. and as the world changes to a new order for accessing content anywhere, anytime, and on any device, the need now is for an always-on marketing strategy rather than those defined by start and end dates. To ensure success in this new order, advertisers need to have the right mix of channels, technology, and data to ensure a far greater success from ad money spend.
