The advertising industry and digital media buying specifically, requires attention to the latest trends. New ideas, new upcoming technologies and the changes in the behavior of the consumers make it necessary for forward thinking marketers to be attentive to all the industry news. This evolving industry, makes it very complicated to compete in equal conditions if you are not up to date on the digital environment.
For that reason, it is important to be updated on every industry sector. And the purchase of digital media is no exception.
For example, Google and Facebook together are two-thirds of all the investment that is made in advertising around the world. Something that years ago we could not even imagine. Buying digital media was complicated, and online advertising was only seen as a complement to traditional advertising, taking only a small percentage of marketing budgets.
What happened in the last month?
What has been said about the purchase of digital media in the last month? And how does advertising technology affect brands in general?
As eMarketer has reported, in 2017 advertising investment will grow in the United States to such an extent that it will outweigh the investment in television advertising.
And for that reason, all the data, news, statistics and information related to consumers and their environment are now the holy grail of advertisers. Consumer communication has become personalized and, logically, advertising too.
If you look only at Facebook you can see that the company with almost 2 billion users covers much more than what any brand advertiser could want. But what does the future hold? What news has appeared during the last month? And how will they affect the purchase of digital media?
1. Will YouTube Be A Payment Platform?
Perhaps it is better to pose the question in another way: Would you pay for contents that you can access for free? One of the most interesting debates on this subject was launched in Entrepreneur.
Turning a frees space into a paid space online is very difficult. And this is something that the publishing industry is familiar with. Publishers have had to start charging for subscriptions to be able to obtain revenue to keep up with the boom of the digital world and the problems that it created for traditional media.
YouTube, however, has long been thinking how to launch YouTube Red, the subscription version. And the video giant is clear on the value proposition: it allows all type of content consumption without advertising interruption. That is, it totally eliminates the ads and claims to provide exclusive content.
Will users be willing to invest in this type of content?
So far Ad Blockers have eliminated advertising from websites. And, for many users, that was enough. Will the YouTube Network be the solution for those who want to omit ads in their videos?
As Entrepreneur points out, “it is still too early to know”. In fact, it is anticipated that the most powerful feature of YouTube Red, which could make users change their minds, is yet to come.
In addition, The Independent shares that the date on which this content will be available to all countries will depend on the agreements that are closed with the record labels. Since they are mainly interested in having users invest some money in consuming video clips and music.
2. What’s Behind the Chatbot Surge?
This is a very hot subject since the future for the chatbots lie, precisely, in that someone must feed them, train them and give them life.
It is one of the issues that has been discussed in Adage lately. Chatbots are changing the way we communicate with brands and is exploding across the sites of businesses of all sizes and verticals.
In fact, as pointed out in a Gartner report, by 2020 more than 85% of customer-brand communications will be carried out without human intervention. Which means that chatbots, among others, will take control of this relationship.
And all with the aim of improving the consumer experience. This directly affects customer service. Apple has been using chatbots for some time and Facebook is working on it. However, this technology is still nascent, so it can not be said that it is 100% useful for all companies.
Out of context a Chatbot makes no sense
Technology has to improve in order to create bots that are consistent with each brand and its personality. And, therefore, it is necessary to write answers so that they can use them later.
The same goes for Siri, for example. If you try to hold a conversation or ask unusual questions, Siri will not know how to respond. This system is trained and programmed to respond to certain issues, so still thousands of issues are unresolved.
And this is where things change. To feed a Chatbot, it takes an expert who knows the personality of the brand very well, and therefore, he/she is capable to provide to to this system the appropriate answers to be able to continue evolving and to offer better experiences to the users.
This implies an absolute knowledge of the target audience. As a consequence, a new need already exists. The one to properly train every Chatbot. Yet, as the report points out, they will never replace interactions between humans.
3. From Big Data To Artificial Intelligence?
Does Big Data turn artificial intelligence into something that is not science fiction? HuffPost has dedicated an article that addresses the convergence of data management and AI and the potential value it will add to the digital media space as well as other industries.
Both Big Data and Artificial Intelligence already provide greater added value though their agility and the option of creating more productive business processes. However, to take advantage of these tools you need to know how to collect data and interpret it.
As HuffPost points out, companies and users are not yet ready for automated decision-making demands. Therefore, innovation will need to be focused on the convergence of data and artificial intelligence.
So, what are humans facing? Artificial Intelligence has gained ground in key sectors such as health, banking, advertising and financial services. But data, by itself, is not enough. And, as a consequence, programmatic marketers especially will need to apply BDI, Big Data Intelligence.
4. Trolls In Social Networks In The Face Of Terrorist Attacks
What role do social networks play in today’s society? It is more than proven that when it comes to selling digital advertising, these platforms are more than effective. They get to specific targets, you can create specific and eye-catching creatives, etc.
However, when networks fall into unwanted hands, they cause undesirable impacts. And this is precisely what has been addressed in The Guardian. Especially when terrorist attacks are involved.
The news speaks specifically of the victims and relatives of the victims of the London and Manchester attacks. And invite them to watch out for network trolls, especially on Twitter.
Social networks can play a positive and negative role in the face of a terrorist attack. But these trolls take advantage of the networks to “crush” and capture their victims, subjecting them to different abuses, such as accusing them of “trying to cash in” on what happened by talking to the media.
After the bombing of Manchester Arena, several doctors who worked there claimed that many victims had previously been controlled by networks.
5. Mobile And Buying Behaviors
If a few years ago the user was reluctance to buy via mobile, this situation has taken a turn, since smartphones are now the currency of users.
The Telegraph in the UK says that industry data points out that mobile phones have become an essential element in payment processes. Smart phones are playing an important role in online shopping. Especially during this last year. As a consequence, mobile penetration is even greater.
More and more users are using their smartphones to manage their lives. And, therefore, making purchases through this device is becoming routine, therefore, digital media and advertising must be fully optimized for mobile.
6. New Alliances Of Streaming Spaces To Reach Students
Another trend related to the purchase of digital media that directly affects programmatic and digital advertising was featured in Cnet.com. Did you know that Spotify and Hulu partnered to create a combo for college students? It offers the best of its services in streaming. Is this the new way to reach the youngest target audience?
Students who meet the requirements, can access services for only $ 4.99 per month for Spotify Premium and Hulu. Of course, eliminating advertising 100%.
The younger ones will be able to access whole seasons of exclusive Hulu programming and other series from prominent networks. Again, with the same value proposition: eliminate advertising.
In Summary
The digital panorama in the news that’s dominated in recent months leave something clear:
- Mobile is the current and future device.
- Social networks have a lot of power both inside and outside advertising, as they can impact the public if the message sender uses certain persuasive techniques.
- But there is also a tendency to remove advertising in some digital spaces. And this is a problem for the programmatic media buying industry.
The solution? For now, is working to launch advertising that is much less intrusive, subtle, attractive and place them in the right place to the right person. Something that is simpler to do with a programmatic partner such as Digilant and its self-service tool that offers you the possibility of automating your digital decision making.