The top five digital marketing trends of 2024 so farI’ve been lucky enough to have attended some of the industry’s most prestigious events so far this year. From the creativity of Cannes Lions and MAD//Fest to the forward-thinking innovation of Programmatic Pioneers, each event has offered unique insights into the digital marketing trends that are pushing the industry forward.Through the numerous panels, presentations, and conversations that I had the privilege of being part of at these events, a number of key trends and themes emerged. So, here are the key ones shaping the future of the industry that I saw dominating the agenda:
No 1 – The inescapable rise of AIAI talk featured heavily at every event I attended. Its potential to be implemented in every part of the advertising process was a key topic – from streamlining media planning to generating creative rapidly and at scale. Martin Sorrell’s insights at MAD//Fest particularly stood out.However, there was an air of caution over the usage of AI running throughout these events. With predictions that by 2025, 90% of online content will be AI-generated, there are concerns over its impact on the spread of misinformation. Similarly, greater transparency over how these tools are ‘trained’ is vital if biases are to be removed.
No 2 – The plight of the cookieWith Google announcing that it would not be depreciating cookies after all, it could have felt like all the conversations around cookie loss that I saw at this year’s event were in vain. But in fact, the shift away from third-party identifiers is still continuing, and many of the discussions are still highly relevant.There was a focus across events on first-party data storage, control, and activation strategies for overcoming the attribution gap. Key to this will be direct engagement with publishers in order to maximise the effectiveness of this data while also diversifying publisher networks to ensure maximum reach and effectiveness.The need for a range of solutions – deterministic, contextual, or cohort approaches – was stressed across all events if marketers are to continue to effectively reach audiences who have opted out of third-party identifiers. There were further discussions around the need for marketers to develop comprehensive data strategies to shift budgets from performance to the upper funnel. Ultimately, this situation will need industry wide collaboration, especially in measurement and media mix planning, if advertisers are to successfully make the shift away from third-party identifiers and towards more privacy-focussed targeting methods.
No 3 – A new focus for metricsWith the rapid landscape shift that the move away from cookies is enabling, it’s no surprise that how we measure success is also changing. This presents marketers with just as many opportunities as it does challenges.At Programmatic Pioneers, I heard about the importance of incorporating measures such as brand lift, engagement, viewability, player size, and ad density to get better insights into campaign success—not just focusing on click-through rates.Attention metrics similarly were a hot topic at all events. Being able to effectively track and measure attention has been advertising’s holy grail for some time. However, while no single metric is likely to appear, through a combination of measures, marketers can start to build a better picture of the impact that their ads are having on the attention of consumers.
No 4 – Sustainability remains front of mindThere is a growing acknowledgement of the impact that advertising makes on our environment and it was heartening to hear serious discussions on the concrete steps that all players should be taking to reduce their impact.Sustainability needs to be integrated into media strategies from the very start of a campaign, and only through transparency in reporting can brands truly make effective changes. We are proud to offer our clients emissions tracking throughout their programmatic process, empowering them to reduce their CO2 output.It’s clear that sustainability is not a trend but a movement. It was interesting to hear discussions around the ethical implications of charging premiums for sustainable options, while also seeing how fraudulent ad slots, such as those pedalled by Made for Advertising (MFA) sites, can drastically increase emissions.
No 5 – The power of the independent media agency continues to growToday’s constantly in-flux market may seem to favour those media agencies with resources to weather storms, but the truth is that the independent media agency is well positioned to take advantage of the situation at hand. Across all events, it was clear how well positioned independent agencies are to take advantage of the current moment.Brands are starting to truly appreciate the increased agility and fresh perspectives that independent players can bring. However, if these agencies are to continue to deliver impressive results in a cost-effective way, it is vital that they reassess their programmatic buying strategies and tech stack to reduce technology fees and minimise direct buys.SBS enhances efficiency for independent media agencies with over 50 advanced tech solutions and AI-driven campaign optimisation. Our SBS Insights dashboard offers detailed analytics, and we provide flexible service models, including self-service, hybrid, and managed service, covering all aspects of campaign strategy and execution.
If you’d like to discuss any of the events or trends mentioned above or schedule an introduction to SBS, get in touch.
