What will be big in your 2023?

2023 is shaping up to be a big year for advertisers and marketers. We look at what we think will be the big trends this year to help you stay ahead of the competition.

The AI campaign optimisation vs human optimisation debate

With so many ground-breaking advances in tools, brands will be able to fine tune their targeting and really tap into their audiences’ potential this year, so how could you make your campaigns more cost efficient as belts get tightened?

One of the biggest debates currently is the introduction of AI and machine learning into audience and targeting optimisation. As the cost of living crisis continues, can machine learning help marketers engage discerning customers more cost efficiently? How much faith should we be putting into tools like DV360’s Optimized Targeting or Facebook’s Advantage+ features? Optimized Targeting and similar tools use advanced algorithms to analyse data from various sources and create segments of users who are most likely to engage with your ads. These segments can be based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and more. The potential here is in the way advertisers can target audience segments with specific ads and messaging based on Optimized Targeting’s analytics, making sure that the right message reaches the right audience at the right time in their purchase journey. 

So we asked the team:

"How do we understand and plan for the integration of machine learning into marketing campaigns?"

And here is what they had to say:

"My view is that a controlled test and learn approach is the best way to assess the impact of AI and manage optimisation of campaigns"   

"We can't deny that machine learning has value given the data that sits behind it, but sometimes you need that human touch to really get the best campaign performance overall."

"I expect AI will continue to enhance our campaign optimisation capabilities in the coming years. The cost of living crisis continues to affect consumer behaviours as markets remain volatile and challenging, so more focus on why and when people are likely to engage with brands will continue to be critical and as AI efficacy continues to improve it will play an important part in campaign efficiency."

DV360 and similar tools ultimately allow advertisers to optimise campaigns in real-time, adjust targeting, budget and ad creative based on performance metrics. In our view, hand in hand, experts and machine learning can ensure that campaigns are always delivering the best results and maximising budget effectively. 

The giant in the room: Tik Tok will continue to grow

We’re also turning our attention to the new giant in the room: TikTok. TikTok continues to be the social platform of choice for Gen Z, and we don’t see this trend changing. It’s likely that adoption will continue to grow among older generations and businesses for the next few years.

During the lockdowns, out-of-home (OOH) advertisement markets shrank significantly and the demand for engaging, short-form, variety content saw the rise of TikTok. Its potential to drive viral content makes it attractive to advertisers, and the platform has taken multiple moves to step up its analytics capabilities. Year on year TikTok grows its share of the advertising market and we don’t see this taking a downward trend any time soon. However, with the end of lockdowns, we are expecting a few changes:

"People will start to spend more time in experiential, ‘real-life’ environments. For this reason, there is likely to be some growth in the out-of-home advertising markets."

The end of lockdowns and the return to normality positively impacting OOH

With the end of lockdown, brands are going to see much higher consumption of Out Of Home (OOH) ads like digital billboards, bus shelters and high street advertisements. It’s important to consider that it is still a relatively volatile market currently with the cost of living crisis, and that this can make brands reluctant to invest into marketing. However, this is exactly when it is important to lean into optimising your campaigns and focus on accurate, evidence based targeting to maximise budget efficiency.

So whilst it may seem tempting to pull back on marketing efforts despite the renewing opening to OOH advertisement, this is just the right time to refine your procedures and evaluate how you reach and connect to your audience. 

Maximising Return on Investment and building 1st Party data

With consumers of all demographics reviewing their spending and making economies where they can, and businesses looking hard at the return they get for their marketing spend, making sure a brands digital assets deliver value will be a focus for many this year. There’s little point spending big campaign budgets driving new and existing customers to a website, social media channels or apps if what they find there doesn’t live up to expectations or is hard to navigate. Brands will see the value in optimising all assets to deliver value in increased conversions, sales or leads generated, making marketing campaigns more cost efficient.

Optimisation means more than just making digital assets user friendly and easy to navigate; the content is crucial so there will be a focus on ensuring content is in harmony with the campaigns driving the interest, and that content provides the information the user expects to see.

Maximising organic traffic will also become a priority to ensure overall Return on Investment meets business ambitions, so content creators, Search Engine Optimisers, Conversion Rate Optimisers and acquisition and CRM campaign creators will all be expected to work together to make sure everything they do is harmonised and enhances the customers’ brand experience.

As cookies are retired, building 1st Party data will also be a focus for all brands wanting to sell online. Ensuring opt in privacy consent formats are optimised for opt in as well as ensuring all assets work well together, will be a focus for brands looking to build robust 1st party data for future marketing campaigns.

If you'd like help maximising your Return on Investment in 2023 please get in touch!