With advertising revenues returning to pre-recession levels, the advertising pound is being spent in many new and different ways – mainly across digital channels in what is being dubbed in the US as the ‘second digital age’.
The next challenge for marketers is coming up with new innovative ways in which to get their message across in this ever evolving myriad that is digital.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report today titled, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, predicts that value of the UK ad market to sky rocket all thanks to the many new digital channels and audiences flocking to free content.
The major advantage of the digital market place is that it is a medium that is now always with an audience. From the mobile phone to the laptop to the iPad – we are all incredibly digitally connected.
There is no doubt that the industry’s growth over the next five years will come from digital sources – it is after all where many of us are spending our time both at work and at home.
But TV advertising certainly isn’t dead as many broadcasters rush to offer free catch-up services and strike deals with providers such as YouTube.
Digital channels are becoming more and more sophisticated – and perhaps it is only a matter of time before audiences start ‘switching off’ as they have with TV.
So how can advertisers future proof this diverse channel and ensure revenues do indeed continue to
Steve Stepanek, co-founder of US + Partners Advertising, reckons marketers need to stop talking about technology and focusing instead on the content.
“[Marketers] are focused on the technology and they’re still selling extraneous services around this.
“All of us have been fascinated by the technology, the latest devices, the latest processes, but now that the technology is in place, [and] we all know how to use it … it’s all about how effective the message is, and where the message is encountered.”
He also believes that while banner advertising and a Facebook page may have been adequate in the first digital age, the current criteria requires the integration of customer insights, data, analytics and adaptive media approaches.
The answer is strategy, put simply.
Good advertising used to be about telling a story. Digital advertising is about “telling a story that’s served – put through a channel at a time and place that resonates,” concludes Stepanek.