With 2017 rapidly disappearing in the rear-view mirror, the digital advertising industry is increasingly focussed on the action that needs to be taken in 2018. The industry has some strong concerns about issues like ad fraud, big data and transparency. Regulation of our virtual spaces is the order of the near future. The pressure is on, forcing advertisers to look at ways of creating a more open, responsible and controlled digital advertising sphere.
Transparency will continue to be a key focus in 2018. In January the Edelman Trust Barometer announced that trust in social media in the UK has sunk to its lowest ever level of only 24%. Other figures indicate that 30% of desktop users in Europe now use ad blockers, and 20% of digital ads are fake.
One measure being taken to improve things somewhat is the General Data Protection Review (GDPR) — it comes into play in May 2018 and will have a dramatic effect on how marketers collect and use user data in the EU.
(It’s worth noting, by the way, that in contrast, the US has essentially opened the floodgates on user data as a commodity.)
The evidence is that the GDPR should on the whole be positive for the digital ad industry: greater transparency should help improve consumer attitudes towards personalised advertising – and this has to be a worthwhile development, given that advertising is going to become very personalised indeed.
THAT is an opinion expressed by most observers with all the confidence of a seasoned psychic – and it’s all down to the continued buzz around AI (artificial intelligence) and data science. And rightly so – in advertising, AI solutions can be used to automate vital tasks in areas like campaign optimisation and audience discovery.
The bots are among us and they’re there to stay – BUT these systems cannot yet, nor will they probably ever be able to take on all the tasks of a human trader. Sometimes choices have to be made for customised, competitive strategies and some judgement calls will always require the human touch. Namely, relevant experience that can be used in both creative and analytical ways.
The influencer issue is one that is similarly contradictory. Influencer marketing is growing in popularity as consumers continue to move away from traditional ads (we mentioned the growing use of ad blockers). It’s a tidal surge that has built up over quite a distance: Figures show searches for the term “influencer marketing” increased 90-fold from 2013 to 2016.
But with little or no regulation and the very active participation of non-industry players, misuse was rife. Basically, a lot of influencers used their Instagram posts, YouTube videos and other platforms to promote products without disclosing they were being paid for it. But if 2017 was the year that turned the spotlight on bad practice, 2018 will inevitably be the year that sees the necessary countermeasures being put in place.
Because no-one wants influencer marketing to go away. It’s a very useful tool (despite the slight downside that it’s difficult to track results), and looks set to bring that rare commodity, trust, back into the advertising game, via the subset, ‘micro-influencers’. These have fewer followers but typically higher engagement, because their followers tend to trust them and view them as more authentic. It’s this sense of authenticity that makes influencer marketing work.