Prepare for the Future: Digital Marketing Trends in 2024

We all acknowledge that measuring the effectiveness of digital advertising campaigns is crucial for business success. Apart from the many various factors that can influence the flow of the campaign, let’s talk about the importance of staying up-to-date and adaptive.

The world is changing, society is changing, and so are our behaviors, needs, and demands; hence, marketing is transforming as well. Many organizations still rely on outdated strategies tailored to past consumer preferences, resulting in misplaced messages, timing, and media channels. To overcome these challenges, brands should possess the capability to identify real-time consumer trends and adjust their media mixes accordingly. By adopting a flexible media planning strategy based on quality consumer insights, marketers can swiftly respond to changing market dynamics, optimize marketing ROI, and address any obstacles hindering their efforts. Briefly, businesses must be on guard following what’s new on the market, what the current audience demand is, and what the novelties in the industry are.

The end of the year is a perfect time to evaluate what marketing methods are getting trendy, what is outdated and no longer effective, and what trends are here to stay with us for the next year. So, as 2023 is coming to a close, let's take a look ahead and see what 2024 will bring us.

Contextual Video Ads

At the moment, video is the most popular form of online content, reaching around 92% of internet users worldwide. The reason behind this shift is straightforward: its dynamic nature effortlessly captures our attention, surpassing the capabilities of static images. A special place in the video race is taking contextual video ads. A contextual video ad is a type of advertisement that is shown to viewers based on the content they are currently watching or the context of the webpage they are visiting. It's like showing an ad that relates to what you're interested in or the topic of the video you're watching.

However, the contextual ad has its own pitstones. The Internet has tons of different content, and without advanced AI systems, it is hard to place suitable advertising at the right place at the right time. There is definitely a need for advanced technologies that will define relevant context based on dialogue analysis, object detection, and deep meta-data filters in the video. Luckily, this is possible with the new Adello product, GP, which provides state-of-the-art contextual ad placement in the video.

Interactive Geotargeted Mobile Ads

Mobile ads remain one of the most popular and efficient marketing methods in the industry. Just remember that in 2027, in the digital advertising market, 69% of total ad spending will be generated through mobile.

If you want to improve the efficiency of your mobile ad campaign and increase its reach, simply add geotargeting. Geotargeted ad, as the name suggests, allows advertisers to show their ads to people in specific locations. This means the ads are more relevant to the audience, increasing the chances that people in that area will be interested and more likely to respond to the ad.

Also, there are many ways to add variety to the geotargeted mobile ads and make them more interactive. Couponing ads, AI Agent, VR videos, and many other formats will help attract more customers to your product.

Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH)

As one of the fastest-growing media channels, DOOH is projected to reach a staggering $45 billion in ad spending by the end of 2024. It's transforming this age-old medium through precision and location-based targeting, enhanced traffic data, and the ability to reach audiences in a highly targeted manner.?

There’s a successful example, when the beverage company AB Inbev used hyper-local targeting to promote its new Romola beer. The campaign featured multiple creatives, each one calling out the closest venue serving Romola, with the closest venue being just 167 meters from the ad. The campaign combined the power of location as context and programmatic buying techniques to maximize efficiency.

By combining programmatic advertising with DOOH, marketers can make efficient and strategic out-of-home media purchases, seamlessly integrating them into a multichannel marketing strategy. To get started, consider where your ads will resonate best and which DOOH format aligns with your campaign objectives.

Connected TV (CTV)

Among the many ways to stream video, CTV is one of the fastest-growing segments, with an expected increase of 12.1% in 2024, reaching $33 billion in global ad spending. CTV allows advertisers to reach specific households based on their viewing habits and other behaviors, both online and offline. For instance, a car brand could use CTV to show ads to potential buyers who have visited their website or searched for similar models.?

By combining CTV with mobile ads for retargeting and conversion purposes, they could access new and relevant audiences that were not available before. CTV also enables advertisers to leverage programmatic media for dynamic targeting and creative optimization, blending the accuracy and accountability of digital advertising with the immersive and engaging experience of TV viewing. To take advantage of CTV, advertisers should consider shifting some of their linear TV budgets to CTV and creating a seamless cross-channel strategy.

By the way, you can soon order ATV and CTV campaigns through Adello's GP, ensuring precise contextual placements through patented AI.?

E-commerce and Social Media

Online shopping is a huge opportunity for shoppers, and combined with the right channel, like social media platforms, it can help attract more consumers and boost sales.?

Beardbrand, a company that sells beard grooming products, grew its community through engaging content and generated $20,000 in sales every day.?

As Mark Forster, Founder of Adello, emphasized at the last event: "The world of video and social is on a fast track toward e-commerce, while e-commerce is increasingly embracing the social environment. [...] The key to success lies in harnessing the power of better data and AI."

To succeed online, you need to know how your customers shop, plan with forecasting, and use rich-media ads and dynamic retargeting to optimize your campaign. Dollar Shave Club, a company that delivers razors and grooming products for a monthly fee, used a viral video to market their service and attracted 12,000 customers in two days.?

You also need to create a unique brand identity and a loyal fan base, as Glossier, a beauty brand, did. It started as a blog and became a $1.2 billion company, using social media and user-generated content to achieve this.

In-Game Ads

Gaming is a huge and growing market, and as reported by Statista, in-game ads will reach $130 billion in 2025, compared to $46 billion in 2021. In-game ads, now also extended to Metaverses like Roblox and Fortnite, are a great way to reach a diverse and influential audience, especially young people.?

Marketers can try new and creative ways to advertise in games, such as blended in-game advertising, which integrates ads into the game world. For example, in the game Fortnite, players can see ads for movies, music, and brands on billboards, posters, and screens. By making sure the ads fit the game and have a clear and catchy call to action, brands can increase their awareness and loyalty among gamers.

AI-powered marketing

AI is set to continue its upward trajectory in 2024, transforming the industry in profound ways. Marketers can leverage AI to personalize content, optimize ad targeting, and automate repetitive tasks.?

Nutella used AI to create 7 million unique packaging designs for its jars based on patterns and colors from previous designs. The campaign, called "Nutella Unica," was a huge success in Italy, where the jars sold out in a month.

Adello uses AI for ad creation and optimization, using an AI-driven platform - Hyperdrive (soon available in Switzerland), that can design, execute, and optimize digital campaigns across channels. The platform helps brands increase their ROI and reduce their ad spend by at least 12%.

We're living in a world where ads are everywhere, but people get distracted easily and are exposed all day to multiple ads across different channels simultaneously. That's why marketers need to focus on strategies that quickly engage their audience, build loyalty and trust, and foster interaction. With contextual video ads, geotargeted mobile ads, DOOH ads, CTV, social media, and AI-driven marketing shaking things up, it's not just about keeping up with the trends anymore. It's about finding innovative and adaptable ways to make your mark in the advertising industry. So, how are you planning to captivate your audience in the coming year? What will be your approach to boosting your campaigns and making a lasting impact in 2024?