Industry Insights

The holidays are coming. And you know what that means: lots of presents, festive drinks, family fights over the dinner table, and erm, the amount of greenhouse (GHG) emissions going up. So, how can digital advertisers stay off the naughty list and reduce the carbon emissions generated by their holiday ads without sacrificing performance? Well, here are our suggestions.

In today's digital age, the world of advertising has undergone a remarkable transformation, with many marketers now relying heavily on the intricate web of IP addresses to target their audiences effectively. However, beneath the surface of this seemingly straightforward technology lies a labyrinth of complexities that challenge advertisers and data analysts alike.

ANA staffer Mike Berberich interviewed Michael Aaron Flicker, CEO of Wellow.

The linchpin of digital advertising going forward won't be yet another form of third-party user tracking, though first-party data will play a role. In a back-to-the-future twist, it will be creative — and the AI-powered modeling that, in the absence of third-party cookies and mobile IDs, allows it to be effective.

The world of advertising, if imagined as a spectrum, can be visualized as stretching from mass broadcast to individual communication, from passive consumption to interruption, and from non-measurable awareness campaigns to highly measurable conversion-driven tactics.

The potential of generative AI to revolutionize marketing has been widely reported and discussed this year. McKinsey has estimated that gen AI could increase the productivity of the marketing function by a value between 5 and 15 percent of total marketing spend, while a Bloomberg Intelligence report suggested gen AI-driven ad spend is set to grow by 125 percent to $192 billion over the next 10 years.

ANA events bring together some of the smartest and most-talented marketers in the industry to share insights and best practices that help ANA members get the most out of their own marketing efforts.

In today's fast-paced and technology-driven world, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force that holds the potential to revolutionize the way we work, make decisions, and interact with technology. AI promises greater efficiency, data-driven insights, and enhanced productivity, making it a valuable tool for businesses across various industries. Yet, despite the promises of this cutting-edge technology, many leaders find themselves grappling with the challenges of effectively implementing AI in the workplace.

Since 2014, the ANA has surveyed its members to identify the marketing word of the year. The 2023 winner is “AI.”

NBCUniversal’s Nicole Lee explains how B2B marketers can capitalize on the growing multidimensional nature of today’s business audience by evolving and customizing advertising strategies with an audience-led and data-informed approach.

It’s long been said that an image is worth a thousand words. Expressions, lighting, context and scenery, movement, color, and gestures are some of the elements that photography uses to deliver complex and layered messages that can be “read” in an instant. It’s for this reason that photography is one of the most potent tools that advertisers and marketers can use, when they have just a few milliseconds to claim the attention of their audiences.

Maintaining an engaged audience can be a constant challenge for marketers today. But what if you could rekindle the interest of those who have drifted away?

Seasonality is a cluttered space for brands. We often see the same messages rolling out on loop, with brands following category conventions and packaging up old messages in a fancy new ad. So, it’s little surprise that partnering with influencers in the battle for cut-through is gaining traction; it’s an effective way to tap into the unique traits that have made creators popular with their specific audience. Influencers' opinions carry credibility, and their audience trusts them.

In its audit of the programmatic supply chain, the ANA found that 21 percent of ad impressions landed on made for advertising (MFA) sites — content farms designed solely to syphon ad spend — wasting a stunning $13 billion a year. Such sites typically rely on low-paid labour to churn out web pages, but the proliferation of generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT could send production into overdrive.

Retail is enjoying a rebirth. As third-party cookies fade and walled gardens tighten, retail media networks (RMNs) and their valuable first-party shopper data have become the coveted keys that brands need to drive sales and accurately measure performance.

I recently hosted a webinar on How to Sharpen Your Scoring Model and Increase Lead Velocity as part of the ANA's B2B Thought Leader Webinar Series. In it, I covered how data enrichment and employing intent help keep your focus on in-market buyers and encourage a faster transition from lead to customer. If you missed it, you can check out the recording here.

Agency operating expenses, which are the combination of direct labor and overhead costs can vary dramatically from one organization and one market to the next. While there is no standard for overhead rates, which are often expressed as a multiple of direct labor costs, advertisers and agencies largely agree on the components of each of these categories. Direct labor consists of payroll and related payroll expense. Overhead covers indirect labor, space and facilities, some categories of corporate expense and professional fees.

An increasing number of consumers are ditching their cable subscriptions in favor of more flexible and personalized viewing experiences. As of the most recent statistics, an incredible 88 percent of U.S. households own at least one internet-connected TV device, while the number of CTV users amounted to more than 110 million among gen Z and millennials.

Physical mail is still a huge factor in everyday life, with data from the Royal Mail finding that in 2022, more than 7.9 billion letters and 1.5 billion parcels were sent and received throughout the financial year. With the amount that we send and receive, the way that mail is both processed and delivered has changed and evolved to meet the needs of the industry.

2024 will be a year of disruption, transformation, and change. From the continued rise of AI to the growing importance of first-party data, it’s safe to say nothing will stay as it is now. Marketers will continue to prioritize finding ways to enhance segmentation and personalization — how they will do that, however, will change as regulations, tech advancements, as well as labor and partnerships adjust to evolving needs.