Industry Leaders Predict The State Of Digital Advertising And Marketing In 2018

Innovative and emerging technology has enhanced and altered nearly every industry in 2017, but companies are preparing for more opportunities to grow in the year ahead. To share what’s on the horizon, three industry leaders in artificial intelligence, data management and marketplace analysis have offered their insight and predictions below.

1. Ryan Steelberg, president at Veritone

Bracing for the digital divide

"In 2017, the state of Artificial intelligence could be described as disproportionate. The balance between purveyors of the tech and consumer is off, but we predict that in 2018, brands will generally have a better understanding what AI means for business applications because of intentional education, experimentation and strategy with AI. Forward-thinking businesses will set aside budget for AI in the coming years. Now, if you didn’t take the time to become educated about AI or set aside budget for innovative technologies, you'll soon be facing a digital divide. There's still time to learn and strategize, but unfortunately, there will be a huge chasm in business application of early adopters and those who fell behind."

Traditional models of advertising and marketing will need to adjust 

"The methods of media consumption has changed dramatically over the last decade. In 2010 we saw the emergence of on-demand media where it went from linear environment to DVR to streaming. Right now, it’s about on-demand selection and minimal interruptions. As consumer’s expectations and standards shift, interruptive and spot-based advertising will adjust to native and organic methods. We believe that the traditional model of interruptive-based advertising may be a thing of the past but on the topic of traditional methods, old school sponsorship models may become premier strategies for awareness, where a whole compilation is sponsored by one brand.

AI will “atomize” audio and video data

Consumers still aren't able to pinpoint exactly what they want to listen to or view, down to the second or minute, without manually scrolling to a point in a video. This will change with AI due to atomization. This means that all media, in all formats, will be very quickly indexed down to second and frame, so we will have truly packaged, on-demand content.

Once media is atomized, consumers will build specific and personalized media based on topic preference. For example: I want just those seconds that UCLA football is mentioned on a show like "Mike and Mike in the morning" not the whole four-hour podcast. AI in this context will help index and then help you to create content through something like a playlist.

AI can produce shows and programs for you through dynamic compilation development. It will be ubiquitous and cross-platform, including YouTube, Spotify, etc. AI will be the enabler because of indexing and turning data into structure."

2. Ashley Walsh, VP of Marketing, Formstack

All signs point to personalization

The internet is already over-saturated with content so the marketers who can leverage data to offer a more relevant experience will have the edge. Services that make video and animation easy and distributable will certainly trend upward, but the big shift I see disrupting the industry will be hyper-personalization of content based on specific data attributes. For instance, when a new visitor lands on your website, they may see one of 15 different versions of your homepage. I also envision the ability to personalize 1:1 ad messaging based on CRM data, without leveraging designers to create multiple iterations of the same design. Think old-school mail merge for your ads. If you’re not getting personal in the next 3-5 years, you’ll likely be providing a generic experience for your users and losing out on conversions.

As far as form fills are concerned, mobile users will be able to fill a form with their fingerprint or retina, getting that basic contact information fast and reducing friction.

Tech trends involving AI and big data are already bringing rise to personalization across the web that’s so spot on, people are convinced they are being spied on. It’s just so complex that you only seeing it playing out in large companies like Facebook and Google. Over time these tools will become more accessible and more transparent leading to big shifts in how content is delivered and consumed.

3. May Claire Mandeville, business development manager at Vennli

Business development requires diligence and consistency

It’s becoming less and less common for businesses to have an agency of record. As a result, agencies will have to adapt to the demands of pitching new business more frequently. To be successful, they’ll be forced to constantly reevaluate their strengths and weaknesses in order to best demonstrate their value and differentiate themselves from their competition.

Data should always lead to action

“Nearly everyone has data, but few businesses know how to make it usable. Marketers will need to find ways to maximize its potential by uncovering insights and then finding an answer to the critical question: ‘Now what?’”

Big data leads the way into 2018
Whether a small company or a top-tier enterprise, brands have never before had such an opportunity to ingest, analyze and understand the important data available to them. Regardless of the industry, it’s clear that companies can overcome challenges with clear and actionable intelligence.

Bonus infographic:

Source: Enablerspace.