In today’s ever-changing world, marketers must quickly grasp and adapt to new trends to exploit new opportunities. These trends reflect consumer preferences and provide quick insights into market needs and consumer tastes. While forecasting the fast-paced digital industry is not easy, analyzing data from the past year can help Marketers identify advertising trends to watch in 2024.
Short Films, Connected TV, Streaming Services… It's All About Video
'Short Form Video' is a buzzword that has been bandied about and discussed the most in the media industry in recent years. It reflects the growing preferences of busy modern people. The trend of watching short form videos under a minute is increasing and becoming popular. This trend also coincides with the shift of users from traditional television to digital platforms such as smartphones, tablets and PCs.
The emergence of OTT (over-the-top) streaming platforms and Connected TV (CTV) has created a revolution that has changed the media landscape. Unlike traditional broadcasting, which is limited by the broadcast schedule of the TV station or telecommunications service provider.
OTT services give viewers the freedom to access content anytime, anywhere, via an app or website. These services, which can be accessed on any Internet-connected device such as smart TVs, set-top boxes, and gaming consoles, have become an essential part of our daily lives.
Furthermore, the industry is focusing heavily on Free Ad-Supported Streaming (FFS) provided by TV manufacturers. These platforms allow content to be streamed for free, without the need for a subscription or subscription to watch the content. In return, users are required to watch ads. This form of streaming is especially popular in North America. Recently, Samsung and LG have announced investments in personalized content and services to increase their competitive advantage in the FAST market.
The emergence of new services and platforms provides marketers with a great opportunity to explore and exploit different forms and strategies of advertising and marketing. Unlike traditional television that broadcasts the same advertisement to all viewers, advertising on OTT platforms allows for precise targeting of users and analysis of the collected data. Therefore, OTT advertising is increasingly popular among marketers and the competition for OTT advertising space is expected to be fiercer by 2024.
#User generated content.
Honest reviews accompanied by real photos from users often resonate more deeply than a brand’s glossy ad copy. This is why user-generated content like restaurant reviews, movie ratings, and purchase testimonials tend to be more effective than any other marketing strategy. Even in 2024, marketing that leverages user-generated text, images, and videos is still very active.
Whoyaho is a South Korean gaming company that has implemented a marketing strategy that encourages users to create and share their own gameplay videos to drive organic user acquisition. This strategy is aimed at the alpha generation, who actively seek out activities or platforms that allow them to express their voices or opinions rather than just consuming branded content.
By facilitating video sharing by users, users can easily engage and interact with each other naturally. This strategy has helped Whoyaho successfully attract new users, reduce marketing costs and build a global reputation.
Whoyaho is a mobile game and content company that specifically targets Generation Alpha. They previously achieved high rankings with Fidget Town and more recently, their latest release, Tanghulu Master, quickly reached the number 1 popular game on Google Play in Korea just a week after its launch.
AI-Generated Advertising? The New Industry Trend
There has been a lot of discussion around ChatGPT over the past year. Generative AI is being explored and exploited in the creative and artistic fields, areas that we previously asserted that AI is difficult to replace. Take for example a campaign by Samsung Life, Cheil worldwide successfully used AI to create advertising elements including design, images and background music. An insurance company that is quite cautious in using brand image daring to make a breakthrough in using technology for its advertising campaign has created a positive resonance.
Furthermore, the industry is witnessing the emergence of services that allow users to engage with a product via a URL and automatically generate different ads, banners, videos, or can be edited or copied and adjusted to make them more appealing to users. Advertisers are also moving to real-time bidding based on machine learning, replacing the previous manual bidding process. The influence and impact of AI on the advertising ecosystem is likely to grow even stronger this year.
Privacy, no longer an option but a necessity
As privacy laws have been strengthened around the world, companies like Google and Apple have introduced privacy regulations like Privacy Sandbox and App Tracking Transparency (ATT) to ensure compliance. These regulations will limit the use of third-party data that businesses have previously been free to use and exploit.
And now, businesses will need to focus on first-party data (i.e. their own customer data) on digital platforms such as mobile apps or websites, landing pages of businesses. Solutions and services that provide retailers with advertising space and infrastructure on digital platforms such as websites or apps have attracted a lot of attention from businesses because these solutions allow advertisers to target specific targets with high conversion rates.
Publishers are also working to reduce their reliance on third-party data. For example, Amazon DSPs recently launched a service called Signal Based Ads, which uses machine learning to bid and serve ads based on a combination of first-party data and publisher signals. This year, the media & advertising industry will continue to look for ways to optimize advertising performance while protecting user privacy.
Conclude
2024 is sure to bring disruptive changes to the industry, new platforms, new content formats and the active adoption of AI will be major breakthroughs for marketers. As a marketer, our ultimate goal is to win the trust of our customers and grow our services. Stay ahead of the curve and embrace emerging trends so that your strategy can win the hearts and minds of your customers this year.
