Advertising in 2017 will continue to see the wholesale upheaval that is pressuring agencies to adjust traditional business models and rethink operations. Already, the shift from brand-building traditional advertising to metric-driven digital advertising is in full motion. Agencies are building a talent pool that map to client opportunities. To not only survive, but thrive in this environment, advertising agencies need to account for these key trends impacting the industry.
Here are the five most important trends we believe will impact advertising in 2017.
Expansion Beyond Digital Display
Today, “digital” is no longer limited to display or mobile but instead cuts across a number of measurable and intelligent dimensions. Technology is enabling mass customization for Digital TV, Over the Top (OTT), location-based mobile and outdoor content. Brands want relevance and cohesiveness in their campaigns at scale to reach their educated consumers and advertisers will need to be able to meet that demand.
Richer Experiences
The coming year will also see greater demand for experiences that are tailored to the audience by the technology they’re using while driving audience development. That’s going to require forward thinking and a holistic approach by advertising agencies.
Demand for Transparency
On the creative and media buying side, 2017 will continue to see the pressure on margins from brands that want more transparency into what they’re spending on. Agencies that are unable to provide the right level of detail will see trust levels erode and ultimately bring down the Agency of Record model. We’ve already seen some of the impact of this erosion of trust in agencies at the recent ANA Advertising Financial Management conference.
Traditional Advertising Shops Will Suffer
Those transparency demands as well as pricing pressures will take the biggest toll on traditional firms that don’t have a differentiated offering. Niche talent will still demand premiums but commoditized work will move to competitive bidding. Holding companies will buy those assets that are delivering unique from the independent agencies. Agencies will likely have to choose whether to transition to more specialized work or prepare to compete on price and volume.
More Diversity in Advertising Models
For creative, the line between content and advertisement will blur as product placement and promoted social content proliferate. As firms get better at measuring their audience, they can create richer experiences and improve conversions. Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) in-home devices mean DMPs will drive deeper understandings of consumers’ behavior and purchasing correlations. These new possibilities will drive brands to look for holistic performance metrics across devices and geographies.
The advertising sector is changing rapidly and those that make the shift will not only survive but thrive. Visit NetSuite’s advertising section to learn how we can help.