2014 was a
huge year in the advertising and marketing tech sector. Companies have come and
gone; been acquired, consolidated and become fragmented. The data available to
marketers has increased exponentially and we are beginning to see opportunities
widen as efficiencies and scale are achieved in programmatic, online video and
native advertising. Marketers have also started to make use of emerging
technologies like 3D advertising while taking a serious look at wearable
technology and how the Internet of Things (IoT) will affect the industry.
As we look
forward to the coming year, all signs point to 2015 becoming another exciting
year of growth rooted in technology. Here are some of my predictions for the
coming year:
More Technology Operated In-House
We will see
an increase in the use of marketing tools operated in-house, steadily
transferring power and responsibilities from agencies back to the brands
themselves. With data now at the heart of all marketing activity, brands are
less willing to part with their invaluable customer data, and as a result, will
be less willing to outsource the technology needed to manage and maintain this
data.
Tech Goes Mainstream
We’ll see ad
tech providers take bigger steps to simplify their external communications by
eliminating superfluous acronyms, and instead, actively educating brands and
agencies about how to gain to the most amount of value from their technology.
In turn, this will improve the overall usability of the product, and will
eventually mimic the processes and structures of familiar technologies.
More Actionable Data Available
Innovation in
marketing and advertising technology is far outpacing most companies' abilities
to understand, absorb and, most importantly, use the advertising technology
effectively. We will see more vendors respond to this by ensuring their tools
contain truly provide insightful measurement, metric and analysis functions.
Surge Of Cross Channel, Cross Device
Currently,
consumers frequently see the same exact content distributed across multiple
channels, which leaves brands with no real concept of the overall impact of
their media investments. Therefore, brands will increasingly look to engage
audiences across channels and be able to track their engagement with specific
targeted individuals.
In the coming
year, we’ll make better strides in cross channel/cross device targeting,
attribution and measurement. In turn, this will allow brands to truly
understand when an individual has seen or engaged with an advert across various
channels, and how they reacted to the brand messaging on each device.
Continued Market Consolidation
We’ll
continue to see more consolidation in the market. Automated/programmatic
technologies will continue to provide a lucrative business opportunity for
brands, however, there is a limit to how many of these solutions can survive in
an already saturated market. In that sense, we will see more single function
tools become integrated into current platforms, or join forces to create new
platforms.
