Multichannel advertising will become more of a reality rather than just a buzzword in 2013, as mobile and social networks become more important to the marketing mix. Those are trends ad firm RadiumOne sees coming down the pike in 2013.
Based on conversations with brands and media agencies, Founder and CEO Gurbaksh Chahal foresees consolidation among ad tech companies and maturation of advertising strategies by brands that begin looking beyond vanity metrics to capitalize on mobile ad receptiveness and multichannel viewing habits.
Against that backdrop, RadiumOne’s top predictions for 2013 include:
1. Increased Consolidation in the Advertising Industry
In recent years, online advertising has become an overcrowded and fragmented industry. As predicted by Luma Partners & Barclays, the market is headed for consolidation as strategic acquirers attempt to differentiate their offerings based on the latest and greatest ad tech innovations.
Some of these incumbent acquirers will look to extend their existing offerings and become a one-stop resource for advertising spend, while others will move into the sector by acquiring entire digital platforms outright.
2. Mobile Ad Receptiveness on the Rise
Mobile has become an increasingly user-friendly experience over the last few years with the proliferation and evolution of the smartphone. According to a recent study conducted by RadiumOne, 47% of Generation C (18-34 year olds) respondents indicated they have clicked on a mobile ad in the past 3 months, with 54% percent making a purchase from their mobile device in the last 6 months.
Backed by the power of LTE and 4G, next-gen mobile networks will support even more robust creative online experiences for brands.
3. Brands Will Move Away from Vanity Metrics Towards Actual ROI
With the over-abundance of unstructured data in the form of tweets, likes, comments, and mentions, brands have been hard-pressed to determine how to measure social metrics in a meaningful way.
While tweets and likes measure engagement with a brand, advertisers have yet to determine how these social indicators deliver actionable data that drive ROI. In 2013, advertisers and brands that can translate engagement into customer acquisitions will emerge as the leaders.
4. Multichannel Becomes a Reality, Not Just a Buzzword
According to a recent Google study, 77 percent of respondents use another device while watching TV, and 90 percent use multiple screens sequentially to accomplish a single task. These multichannel viewing habits present an untapped opportunity for advertisers to develop and optimize cross-platform campaigns.
For example, television and other premium ads can be used to increase overall awareness and interest coupled with digital, banner, and mobile ads that pick up where these left off with a targeted call-to-action.
In 2013, RadiumOne expects multichannel ad campaigns will become the norm, accompanied by a corresponding increase in technologies that help brands quickly evaluate, engage and measure multichannel performance.
5. Vertical Social Networks Emerge at an Even Greater Scale
With over 1 billion users on Facebook’s platform, RadiumOne expects the social media giant will start charging users for access to its popular newsfeed feature, as the noise to signal ratio widens. If this occurs, vertical social networks that specialize in specific industries or utilize niche social technologies will emerge as winners in the next year.
Consumers will move away from generic social sharing platforms and gravitate towards more specialized, category specific venues to connect and share with friends. We’ve already seen this with Instagram for unfiltered pictures, Tumblr for microblogging, and Pinterest for photo inspired collections.
“During the past decade I’ve seen numerous changes in the digital advertising industry, and next year will be no exception as brands push the envelope and seek new ways to connect more fluidly and intelligently with consumers,” said Gurbaksh Chahal, CEO of RadiumOne.
“The increased attention on mobile, consolidation in the sector, and emergence of vertical social networks are among a handful of the game-changing events that will take place in 2013.”
Related Stories:
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- Global use of Facebook report offers insight for advertisers
- Advertisers will boost digital video ad spending by a quarter the next 12 months
- Digital video advertising has strong potential, but problems persist
- Consumer behavior in social networks will be a major influence on future advertising
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Tags: 2013 marketing trends, industry consolitdation, mobile advertising, multichannel, RadiumOne, vertical social networks
