Digital Advertising Trends to Expect in 2023
From shifts in consumer behavior, to emerging platforms and technologies, to the (eventual) deprecation of third-party cookies, pressure on campaign performance, and more, the digital media industry must prepare and proactively tackle what’s to come. Here’s what we can expect in 2023.
Attention as a Currency
As economic uncertainty looms, we’ll see brands increasingly favor technologies that offer a stronger ROI. But it’s not just macroeconomic circumstances causing this shift; with more and more advertising platforms opening up, advertisers not only need to fuel ROI but measure performance more accurately than ever before.
As a result, attention metrics, from audibility to screen touches, will become a dominant advertising currency in 2023—driving positive media and business outcomes. With this powerful dataset, brands will be able to use attention metrics to predict the outcome of their ads, whether they’re looking to drive awareness or conversions.
What’s more, they can use such data to optimize their campaigns. This is vital as we’ve found that the timing of an ad is essential with two thirds (66%) of consumers, globally, stating they are more likely to pay attention if an ad captures their interest in the first five seconds.
Mis/disinformation
Our research finds that 68% of consumers globally are worried that levels of mis/disinformation are growing. This poses a huge threat to brands as 3 in 5 (61%) consumers would be less likely to purchase from a brand that appears alongside mis/disinformation.
What’s more, in the face of economic uncertainty in 2023 and beyond, brands must ensure advertising spend is driving strong ROI. Ads appearing alongside false or misleading content is a form of waste—with the added risk of creating reputational damage. In the year ahead, we’ll see a greater emphasis placed on solutions which ensure ads appear in brand-safe environments. AI-driven tools that leverage semantic science—such as deep learning, machine learning, and ontology—will provide confidence and clarity to both advertisers and publishers looking to defund mis/disinformation and reinforce the authenticity of their brand values.
Emerging Platforms
Whether new social platforms, the metaverse, or video games, the number of ways brands can reach and connect with consumers will grow in 2023. This is good news: each represents a new opportunity for securing consumer attention. In particular, CTV is a beacon of hope as over half (55%) of consumers, globally, have subscribed to a new streaming service within the past year.
However, to unlock such opportunities, advertisers need to be able to accurately measure attention across these environments. This will enable them to consistently compare, for example, the attention being paid to an ad appearing on a streaming service and one on a social platform. In the face of macroeconomic uncertainty, pressure on advertisers to demonstrate ROI will only grow. Clear insights into attention will be crucial to making higher-performing advertising investments in 2023.
Data and Contextual Advertising
The third-party cookie is entering its twilight year with Google set to phase them out from Chrome in 2024. As a result, contextual targeting will only become more important as advertisers seek privacy-friendly ways to reach their audiences. In the past, context has primarily been used as a method of driving safety—for example, by using keyword blocks to stop ads appearing alongside unsafe content. However, in 2023 context’s role will evolve, becoming a key part of outcome-driven activation.
By using contextual targeting, brands can ensure ads appear alongside content that’s relevant to their product—for example, sportswear alongside coverage of the World Cup. In fact, 67% of consumers globally are more likely to pay attention to an ad if it’s relevant to the content that they are looking at. In short: contextual targeting is set to be a key tool for brands in the fast-approaching post-cookie era.
Dan Slivjanovski is Chief Marketing Officer at DoubleVerify.
