With another New Year and CES this week, it is customary to
look ahead and offer some predictions on how we think the next year will parse
out for media.
It is repetitive to note that we are an industry in transition
but, perhaps, it is not as common to say that there might be things that will
stay exactly the same. After polling some executives and taking into account
what I have seen, here are some possible trends for 2020:
Going (Even More) Global
With the
further advancement of datasets, ways to interpret trends and the perfect storm
of privacy legislation from GDPR, CCPA and others, there should be a greater
shift to more universal best business practices and global insights. I
personally see a greater combination of hyper local, regional, national and
worldwide media confluence on a business, technological and creative side. This
could be accelerated by the move from GRPs
to impressions measurement that should link all platforms onto a common
metric, the increase in interest in international content consumption (Think: HBO
Nordic) and maybe somewhat by ATSC 3.0 which will continue to roll out,
albeit very slowly.
There will be expansion in OOH as well. “More ‘non-traditional’
out-of-home companies are tapping into the opportunities to monetize their
screens and audiences,” noted Michael Provenzano, CEO, Vistar Media who added, “From
vending machines (Vengo) to EV charging stations (Volta) to kiosks of all sorts
(KeyMe) to gym equipment (Life Fitness), new types of hardware and service
providers are incorporating OOH into their operations, while new types of
venues, from sports entertainment facilities (TopGolf) to cannabis dispensaries
(Enlightened), are connecting advertisers with their unique audiences.”
For some, the many datasets available will lead to a more
global measurement approach. “There has been a wide expansion of the number of
research companies producing data and metrics for a wide range of media
insights,” according to Paul Lindstrom, Head of Research and Analytics, Tunity.
“2020 will (bring) new ways of understanding consumers and viewers will be
ingrained into the current system of media planning and buying in more holistic
ways than ever before where insights become a part of the advertising currency.”
Increasing Complexity and Simplification of
Ad Markets
With more
complex choices to reach consumers there will also be more unification. From business
consolidations connecting various properties to measurement systems that automate
and link various sources, media is at once converging and multiplying. As Tom
Xenos, Director Advanced TV, Omnicom Media Group, asserted, “Advanced TV
advertising will grow as the analysis of data becomes more automated and plays
a key role in decision-making.”
OTT will also expand, according to Hanna Gryncwajg, VP of
Enterprise Accounts for TVSquared, who stated that, "In 2020, OTT will scale
as it becomes a regular, trusted part of the video mix that can be consistently
measured and optimized for performance, alongside linear.” She also sees that,
“Advertisers will bring OTT and linear measurement together in a single
platform, evaluating performance across devices and breaking it down by days,
dayparts, channels, genres, creatives, and then using those insights to consistently
optimize."
For Jane Clarke, Managing Director CEO, CIMM, the
infrastructure of measurement will advance in 2020. She predicted, “Progress
will be made on standardizing ad identifiers throughout the media ecosystem (that
will) inch closer to real-time measurement,” while, “pilot tests of DAI on
Smart TVs will begin to evolve into commercial offerings,” and, “manufacturers
will begin to incorporate DAI technology into television sets.”
Technological Change May Slow Down
As much as
we anticipate great technological changes to continue, such changes may not
occur as fast as we expect. Take for example cloud technology. Bloomberg
Businessweek reported that Amazon
has reversed its long time policy of only offering cloud software services and
is now pushing hybrid cloud systems and hardware. Why? Because many businesses are not moving to
the cloud as quickly as Amazon predicted and further, some never will. It is
possible that business’ capacity to incorporate new technology may reach a temporary
saturation point this year where adoption will slow until business practices
can catch up.
Some believe
that social media may hit a brief wall. “Why?” posited Mike Menkes, SVP,
Analytic Partners, “Because fewer people are using social and/or are likely to
decrease their usage during the upcoming election year.” In addition, “Ad costs for social are going
up. Brands should keep a close eye on their metrics and adjust spend based on
where their users will be spending their time.”
Opportunities for Polymaths
Want to
figure out the best career path? Want greater job security? Try Research and
Data. And if you add a more qualitative skill set to that, like anthropology or
even philosophy, your professional prospects should be unbeatable as you can
combine right and left brain problem solving.
The ability to develop elastic
thinking to tell stories culled from very disparate datasets are talents
compiled from a range of different disciplines and experiences. New Year’s
resolution – Take art class.
This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com
No comments:
Post a Comment