As we wrap up our gifts for the tree and the advertising industry wraps up its year’s last campaigns, ShowHeroes experts are taking a look at the future of digital advertising: what can the industry expect from 2024?

Here are expert predictions for everything from artificial intelligence, to economic forecasts, to the long-overdue death of the third-party cookie, and more…

DIGITAL ADVERTISING WILL SEE SIGNIFICANT GROWTH

Promisingly, the digital advertising industry is going to see significant growth in 2024 after a difficult 2023. It’s very welcome news for everyone in the industry who’s been feeling the pinch.

Global advertising spend is set to grow 4.6% in 2024 to reach $752.8 billion according to the latest dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecast, which is a sign of good health.

The most promising news is that digital advertising, which makes up 58.8% of the overall spend, will grow even faster! Digital advertising has an anticipated growth of 6.5% in 2024, amounting to an estimated $442.6 billion.

AI SHOULD BE A TOP EXCITEMENT, NOT A TOP CONCERN

Of course, it’s naive to be bullish and just leave it at that. It’s healthy to have concerns. It’s slightly surprising to me, though, that 55% of C-level execs surveyed by Accenture have developments in technology such as AI as a top concern going into 2024, beating out even climate change and security breaches.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very glad that there are a lot of new regulations already being quickly drawn up, because AI is a revolutionary technology that needs to be harnessed, not let completely loose. But for the digital advertising space especially it should be a top excitement rather than a concern.

From content generation to analytics, AI is going to change how we do digital advertising. Get surfing the wave or get swept behind! Check out my fellow co-founder Dennis’ blog post for a more in-depth analysis of the pros and cons…

Ilhan Zengin, CEO

EXPECT REGULATION FOR BIG TECH MONOPOLIES

Ilhan already linked my blog post where I go into my excitements and concerns about AI in marketing in his contribution, so I won’t go into it here – instead I’ll talk about how the landscape is looking to be a bit sharper against big tech monopolies in digital advertising in 2024.

The status quo that we’re all used to is that one of the digital advertising monopolizers makes headlines due to encroaching on privacy rights, they get fined an amount that would be eye-watering to any regular company but that’s their equivalent of a speeding ticket for them, and nothing changes.

It was a welcome surprise, then, that the EU has shown its teeth by recently rescinding Meta’s license to advertise because of repeated privacy violations.

Perhaps the roaring start that AI regulations have had is giving privacy regulators some much-needed inspiration?

Dennis Kirschner, CMO

ADVERTISING SHOULD BECOME MORE DIVERSE

2023’s advertising wasn’t diverse enough and that matters for advertisers’ bottom lines!

At the start of 2023, global research from Kantar found that 88% of people thought not enough brands were doing a good enough job of representing them and their community.

That’s bad for people in society. It hurts to not see yourself represented in advertising. In many ways it can make people from under-represented demographics feel alienated.

It’s also bad for advertisers, because they’re losing out on people’s attention and loyalty. 59% of respondents to the same survey said that they’re more likely to buy from brands that actively promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Younger respondents from Gen Z are also more likely to buy from ads that represent them.

EXPECT MORE FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY

Advertisers should also be focusing on sustainability, both to make a positive contribution to the world and to not alienate consumers. Consumer pressure for more sustainable practices from the companies they support is increasing as the climate crisis worsens: Carbon Trust’s estimates show that 56% of people would be more loyal to a brand if they could see at first glance that it’s taking steps towards sustainability, and 45% would be prepared to stop buying their favourite brands if they refused to commit to measuring their product carbon footprint.

Digital advertising in no small part contributes to a brand’s carbon footprint. It can be measured and offset with products such as ShowHeroes Green Media.

Tanya Priyank, VP International Growth & Better Media

THE TRACKING COOKIES IS DEAD

It’s exciting that in 2024 we’ll be seeing the final nail in the tracking cookie’s coffin, and we really mean it this time!

Google Chrome’s long-delayed 3rd party cookie phaseout is finally concluding in 2024. It’s forcing a new way to do advertising, one that finally, fundamentally respects user privacy. Especially when combined with the increased privacy regulations that Dennis talked about earlier!

It’s exciting for us at ShowHeroes because privacy protection is an inherent part of our business model. Our SemanticHero technology shows that advertising can be relevant to user interests without invading their privacy!

MORE ATTENTION MEASUREMENT

Another big trend for 2024 will be attention measurement. There’s a big difference between someone seeing an ad and really paying attention, but until recently, attempting to measure attention hasn’t seemed possible outside of a laboratory environment.

Times are changing! We’re developing our own attention metrics, but we’re not the only ones – there’s a big industry push to take attention measurement seriously in the new year. Check out our blog post about attention measurement for more info!

Kay Schneider, SVP Global Product & Business Development

AVOD PLATFORMS ARE ON THE RISE

In 2024, the rise of AVOD platforms and the shift towards affordable content will propel more SVOD platforms into the AVOD and HVOD arena. This will empower users with more options and control over their viewing habits, opening up new avenues for CTV advertising – great news for the industry!

The expansion and sophistication of attention measurement technologies will further strengthen the CTV ad market. These technologies will offer valuable insights into CTV ad performance in 2024, highlighting the most engaging features and those that yield the best results for brands.

CTV SOLUTIONS ARE GETTING CREATIVE

These insights will also fuel the drive for more creativity and innovation in CTV advertising. Expect to see more interactive formats like voice commands and QR codes being incorporated into campaigns.

Sarah Lewis, Global Director CTV