How New Technology Will Affect Your Past and Future Digital Marketing Efforts | Digital Marketing is as powerful as it is ever-changing. It can be used to target startlingly specific demographics in ways that would be dreams come true for marketers from previous generations. It takes some time to comprehend all the new methods of media buying and the strategies and tactics associated with them. Their evolving nature also presents a unique challenge to advertisers. Mastering current digital marketing techniques is one thing; staying on top of emerging ones is quite another.
A common concern is how new platforms, channels, and advancing technologies can affect a marketer’s previous and current efforts. The best way to address this is to educate yourself about the opportunities and trends coming down the line. Here are a few of the biggest ones that demand your attention.
5G
While the concern about new technologies negating previous campaigns is very valid, more times than not, the opposite happens. New platforms and channels usually supplement and reinforce past campaigns. They usually make advertisers’ lives easier.
5G is a great example of this. While some companies are still adapting their products’ 5G charging function, its speed and security will make digital ad deployment quicker and simpler across the board. Every generation of cellular data upgrade learns from the ones that preceded it. While infrastructure is still being put in place to roll out 5G nationwide, its promises of improved coverage and reliability will be a powerful tool for brands that invest in digital marketing.
ATSC 3.0
ATSC 3.0 is the biggest overhaul to broadcast television since the conversion to the DTV standard in the early 2000s. ATSC 3.0 is a complicated, multi-faceted endeavor, but to summarize, it will shift over-the-air broadcast to internet/IP-based delivery, while still accommodating viewers without strong internet capacity in their homes.
What does that mean for viewers? In many cases, traditional signal issues for customers who watch over-the-air (meaning through antennas, as opposed to through an MVPD like cable or satellite) will go away. People without internet access (or with weak signals) will continue to see the same broadcasts with no change.
Viewers with expanded internet capability will have a very different experience. They may not, however, even be aware of it. That’s because one of the key components of ATSC 3.0 is addressable advertising. In short, this means that viewers in one household watching the same program may see an entirely different set of commercials than another. ATSC 3.0 provides rich demographic data to advertisers that enables them to serve different ad sets to different people.
As ATSC 3.0 evolves, and smart devices continue to integrate with traditional broadcast models, it may well become possible for viewers to buy on the spot as they watch commercials. The appeal of this immediacy is obvious for marketers, but it raises yet-to-be-answered questions about how it will impact the strategy of their overall media mixes.
Evolving Banners and Video Placement
It may seem unbelievable now, but in the early 2000s, the idea of selling ad space on a website was a novelty, if it was considered at all. Broadcast, radio, and newspaper outlets knew it was important to maintain an online presence, but they generally had no idea how to monetize it. Many offered it to loyal advertisers as value-added. This created problems when they realized the profit potential years later; it’s difficult to ask someone to pay for something they’ve been getting for free.
If we fast-forward to the present day, the options available to advertise online are abundant, to say the least. Static and animated banner inventory live on most websites. Video pre-roll can be placed before online videos. Pencil drop-down and homepage takeovers are on the table if the price is right. So, what can a marketer do to prepare for the next big thing? The answer is simply this: keep your eyes open, and research anything new you see.
Digital marketing shows no signs of slowing down, and media buyers must be more adaptive than ever to keep up with it. Stay on top of these emerging opportunities, and you’ll be well on your way to staying ahead of your competition!
