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As the New Year approaches, the excitement for the coming year fills the air as we race to the finish line of 2019. But, in the advertising world, this anticipation can feel more like a race to the starting line as marketers hustle to glean as many insights as possible from the closing year in order to prepare for the one up ahead.
Of all the marketing insights unearthed in 2019, there were a few we found particularly compelling. So, on your mark… get set… here are our top five marketing insights of the year… go!
New media channels are developing
The landscape of media is constantly evolving– now faster than ever. Podcasts are growing in popularity by the second, as are online video mediums, while newer technologies (such as augmented reality and voice search) are popping up everywhere. The world can’t seem to get enough new media channels from which to choose, and this may only be the beginning.
- More than 27% of people online, globally, say they use mobile voice search
- YouTube watch time now exceeds 250M hours per day, on TV screens globally
- In the last two years, mobile searches for “podcast(s)” has increased by more than 80%
In addition to that, other new media channels (such as radio ads, Pandora, Spotify, etc) have become part of the purchase journey via programmatic ads. Programmatic voice search ads are still relatively new, but expansion into these kinds of sensory media could have a profound impact on marketing tactics in the future.
Customer journeys are growing more complex
As digital touchpoints, platforms and options continue to grow, customer journeys are becoming more complex and unpredictable. Conversions now commonly take more than 90 days and include over 45 brand interactions before coming to fruition. In addition, advertisers are finding they can shorten or extend these ranges by adding additional mediums, such as OTT, into the mix. The data is almost overwhelming!
That’s why clear branding and proper attribution tracking have become so important– perhaps even critical– to the overall success of ad campaigns. But all the data in the world means nothing if it can’t be traced back to its origin.
Satisfying customer immediacy takes priority
Consumers today are becoming increasingly digital and wholly averse to unsolicited sales, paid ads, and information dumping. The modern customer wants things streamlined to the max. They know what they want– and when they want it. And, if their needs aren’t met in a timely manner, they’re swift to move on to the next opportunity.
In fact, 75% of people expect to get immediate information when using their smartphone. Time is a valuable commodity. And in a highly-personalized consumer market such as ours, there are plenty of other consumer opportunities right around the corner. And they know it.
That’s why it’s so important to have display ads running on high repetition as often as possible. You need to stay in front of buyers so your ad is readily accessible once they’re ready to buy.
Programmatic advertising is growing fast
Programming ads are one of the fastest-growing sectors in the digital marketing arena. By the end of 2019, US advertisers are expected to spend close to $60 billion on programmatic display. By 2021, that number is expected to jump to more than $81.00 billion, making 88% of all US digital display ad dollars will be transacted programmatically.
A big contributor to these stats is programmatic video ads. Approximately 45% of people watch at least one hour (or more) of online video content each day. This means if you want access to the ever-growing video audience around the globe, programmatic might be your best bet.
The omnichannel trend is on the rise
As programmatic charged full-speed ahead, it came as no surprise that the omnichannel trend continued to gain traction, as well. 83% of U.S. shoppers who visited a store in the last week say they used online search before going into a store and about 45% of global shoppers buy online and then pick up in-store, which offers them a more flexible way to purchase and receive their items.
Over-the-top (OTT) placement ads are readily available to programmatic buyers, allowing advertisers to place TV commercial media in a more targeted fashion. More than 55% of shoppers say they used online video while actually shopping in a store.
Running Ahead: What’s In Store for 2020
Things have certainly shifted in 2019, and we can probably expect even more changes in 2020. So, in this wild new world of customer-driven journeys down new omnichannel avenues, it looks like gathering as many insights and granular metrics as possible might be your best bet for staying on track in the coming year. So, on your mark… get set… go!
