Digital acceleration, the metaverse, NFTs, social commerce, the explosion of connected TV and streaming, the ultimate cookie screen call, the growing importance of first-party data, and increasingly AI-driven automation are all trends that have been growing throughout 2021. And they will be instrumental in driving digital marketing and advertising to new heights in 2022.
As the industry enters its second year of adapting to global pandemic conditions and consumers become more digitally savvy and socially aware, it is clear that digital marketing faces another evolution in 2022. Agility, a willingness to embrace new technologies and channels, and robust data-driven consumer approaches will be key to driving the digital marketing wave in the year ahead.
CMO looked at a range of predictions from across the industry to find out what's on the cards for digital marketing in 2022.
1. Marketing activities adjust to fit the Covid hangover
From supply chain issues to more socially conscious and connected consumers, the long shadow of Covid-19 continues to stretch into 2022. Kantar is one of many outfits recommending that brand offerings be reshaped to suit the changing realities of consumer behavior.
GoDaddy Australia senior marketing manager Suzanne Mitchell says the global pandemic has certainly been a time of reflection.
Tecala senior marketing specialist Jemma Healy agrees that marketers need to appreciate the modern value exchange between brands and consumers. She describes this as a shift away from incentives and discounts and towards alignment of values and beliefs.
2. Generation Z has more purchasing power
Adding to the short-term impact of the pandemic-induced shift in consumer behavior is the coming of age of Generation Z consumers. InMobi Marketing Solutions co-founder and CEO Abhay Singhal points out that this digitally and socially native demographic has more influence on the economy and media landscape right now than many might expect.
3. Everyone is using cookies less
Google may have delayed its cookie phaseout until 2023, but it certainly needs to figure out how to eliminate cookies for digital ad serving by 2022.
33Across CEO and co-founder Eric Wheeler suggests that publishers are seeing up to 80% of their revenue threatened by cookie-based monetization. He sees a huge amount of innovation in first-party, contextual, deterministic, and probabilistic solutions from both the buy-side and sell-side to close the massive revenue gap that lies ahead.
For Catherine Smith, head of operations at independent media outlet Half Dome, the loss of cookies and third-party device IDs, coupled with changing approaches to privacy by governments and the private sector, has compromised many of its analytics and targeting capabilities.
Smith points out that companies like Google are looking to plug the gaps in the attribution landscape through machine learning (ML)-based attribution models.
4. Programmatic advertising connects to new data sets
Improving industry inefficiencies is a key part of this transformation for Wheeler. “Almost everything we know and love about programmatic advertising infrastructure today is tied to cookies. That includes measurement, tracking, retargeting, frequency capping, and more, many of which accrue costs that impact publishers’ bottom lines,” he explains.
“It will take some serious effort for the industry to redesign cookie-dependent systems to be cookie-agnostic. But in the long run, applying our learnings will improve operating margins. In addition to addressing cookie-less infrastructure, we need to automate customer service and workflow processes to free up human resources. It is equally important to do this in a way that does not add incremental advertising taxes to the equation, as cookie-less inventory is already undervalued and undersold.”
That's why Wheeler advises marketers: “Don't bet against the market.”
5. First-party data is really the name of the game
The shift toward third-party cookies is certainly a major driver behind many brands investing in first-party data, though it’s not the only one. Adobe’s APAC vice president of marketing, Duncan Egan, sees many companies focusing on first-party data that’s unique to their company that can be used to create long-term value and sustainable competitive advantage.
The move to omnichannel management, fueled by accelerated digitalization and the growth of new channels like digital wallets, has shed light on issues around first-party data architecture, according to Egan.
6. Brands prioritize loyalty and experience
For AKQA APAC managing partner Brian Vella, the benefits of having your brand online are overshadowed by the value of owning the experience and data.
Cheetah Digital APAC VP of go-to-market Billy Loizou believes that cookie-free marketing will lead to new loyalty-based initiatives from 2022.
For example, Loizou sees companies rewarding in-store and online customers on multiple transactions, while also coming up with new and innovative ways to get customers to share and promote their content.
7. Hyper-personalization becomes important
With the maturity of owned data and rising consumer expectations, personalization is even more important. Businesses competing with less face time with customers need to show they truly understand who they are, what they need, and that they are there to help, says Sana Commerce chief marketing officer Jeroen Kuppens.
Marybeth Sheppard, SVP of marketing at SevenRooms, is another who is putting more emphasis on personalized content in 2022. “This trend has accelerated during the pandemic as more people have come online and more businesses have leveraged the power of data through their technology,” she says.
Acoustic APJ SVP of Sales Jeremy Smart also pointed to the need to collect and leverage first- and zero-party data to optimize personalized communications strategies in 2022.
8. More automated marketing
Making this type of marketing possible – and scalable – is more sophisticated automation. “With so many industries facing staff shortages, automation allows marketers to do more with less. By leveraging the power of customer data, marketers will be able to increase personalization through digital marketing,” Sheppard continues.
“In turn, this will establish more meaningful connections that help businesses acquire, engage and retain customers.”
Circles.Life chief marketing officer Emilie Chell recommends that all marketers build an intelligent creative engine in 2022. “Marketing automation has been hyped for a few years now, but for many time-poor marketing teams, it’s not a quick win so it often falls down the priority list,” she says.
9. A strong culture of analytics
As organizations tap into tools and AI to drive revenue growth and improve efficiency, marketers will need to embrace what Kramer labels a “culture of analytics.”
“In 2022, organizations will redefine what it means to build an ‘analytics culture’ and change the paradigm by delivering insights in a more digestible way, moving to methods and solutions like embedded analytics that don’t require them to learn new skills or invest additional time,” he said.
EmploymentHero CMO, Tasman Page, points to enhanced insights into marketing as part of this analytics approach.
“Insights enable marketing to empathize with customers and create more relevant experiences and content that demonstrate that we know what we’re talking about,” he said. “It allows us to drive business strategy when combined with performance results. Instead of just looking at consumer behavior, we can understand which customers are not buying and throw away some real meat.
10. Privacy and security regulations heat up
As the use of first-party data continues to rise, privacy concerns are also escalating. Security Centric’s director of marketing and sales operations, Jill Taylor, is calling 2022 the “Age of Privacy” for digital marketing.
In Adobe’s study, 45% marketers said recent changes in data protection and privacy laws have prompted their organisations to consider creating long-term value from the data they own. On top of that, sweeping privacy reforms are underway in Australia, including the introduction of a statutory privacy tort and increased adtech regulation to bring Australia closer to GDPR.
Index Exchange APAC Regional Managing Director Adele Wieser sees tighter government regulations to define and reinforce user data rights, enabling new technology solutions that put user privacy and trust at the core.
Original post: https://www.cmo.com.au/article/693898/19-digital-marketing-predictions-2022/
Translated by: Phan Cong Duy
