Evolving economic concerns have wide-ranging implications for the future of digital advertising. After decades of low rises in interest rates and consumer goods prices, The Reserve Bank of Australia advises that high inflation is here to stay, and warns households to prepare for continued cost pressures, and repeated interest rate hikes.
The digital advertising industry finds itself at a similar crossroads, as content consumption habits shape new digital behaviours, while economic uncertainty impacts the size of media budgets. On the other hand, platform updates, the ongoing battle over identity, and increased regulatory scrutiny means we must move faster each year to create a fair and efficient marketplace.
As consumers continue to access digital content on a plethora of devices, the consumption experience is becoming more fragmented. Only heightened by growing inflation, consumers have maxed out the number of subscriptions they’re willing to pay for, from streaming services to gaming apps. This impacts the media owner’s ability to provide a truly connected omnichannel experience in an efficient and effective way – which is especially important when ad budgets are shrinking, and marketers are demanding results.
This was the topic of discussion during our recent webinar featuring Index’s regional managing director of APAC, Adele Wieser, Foxtel Media’s executive director of agency sales, Nev Hasan, and GroupM’s general manager of specialty business, Nick Brignell.
The trio sat down to discuss the challenges that lie ahead with evolving digital consumption habits, and why ad-supported mediums are the digital advertising industry’s bright spots for 2023.
Here are the top three takeaways about the future of digital advertising:
1. Marketers need to be agile
As economic pressure mounts, marketers will be pressed to pivot their media strategies more quickly than ever before. The pandemic helped to accelerate the ability to re-plan and shuffle media buys, particularly across digital channels. In 2023, speed to market and efficiency is going to be key factors for media planners, media buyers, and marketers in their ongoing bid to respond to shifting consumer sentiment, and the insatiable demand for digital content.
“Marketing plan pivoting is something we’re going to have to be across, particularly on the agency side. Like we’ve seen recently with Twitter and over the last couple of years with Covid, marketing budgets have had to remain fluid and move exceptionally quickly -sometimes within 24 hours. Speed to market and efficiency is going to be key. Channels like CTV, in-game ads, digital out of home and digital audio are best positioned to capitalise and help marketers do that. And on a positive note, the ability to switch programmatic campaigns on and off is a huge benefit for media planners and media buyers in the year ahead.”
Nick Brignell, general manager of specialty business
GroupM
2. Content viewing hours are shifting
In the early days of traditional TV, viewers would watch the most popular shows offered by broadcasters, which aired at scheduled times. Today, viewers demand access to their favourite shows whenever, and wherever they want.
In Australia, the standard TV viewing hours of 6-9 pm are shifting based on consumer desire for on-demand access. Consumers no longer need to rush home for the 6pm news hour, they know they can access content from major broadcasters and streaming platforms, later, and on any digital device. It’s up to us as an industry to provide a medium that is in line with the content and the experience consumers crave.
“The standard viewing hours are gone. We look at the success that we’ve had with Formula 1 on Kayo and a majority of the streaming time is done on an iPad. This is the time when a consumer is laying in bed watching a race at 2 am. So it’s all about the convenience of having that content at your fingertips at a time when it suits you. It’s on us to make sure that we place the right ad, at the right time, and keep that experience as fluid as possible.”
Nev Hasan, executive director of agency sales
Foxtel Media
3. Ad-supported models will fuel premium online video growth
Premium online video is the key channel marketers will funnel their ad dollars into in 2023. The reason? It’s where the audiences are. The average Australian household has access to at least two streaming services.
The introduction of ad-supported streaming with the likes of Netflix, and more recently Binge, has made more ad inventory available in the marketplace. This provides marketers with more opportunities to reach audiences that are becoming more difficult to find on traditional mediums like linear TV.
“We’ve done some work with Amplified Intelligence and found that the Kayo audience is 30% [more] engaged in the content compared to watching sports on free-to-air channels. When you’re paying for premium content and presenting the right message, with the right ad load, marketers have the ability to reach a much more receptive audience that results in ROAS.”
Nev Hasan, executive director of agency sales
Foxtel Media
Learn more about how innovation in programmatic will improve efficiency across channels in 2023.
