The Next Generation of the Advertising Landscape by Sajan Raj Kurup

 The advertising industry is a constant flux. Whether it’s the changing perception of the consumers or the changing mediums, advertisers have had to constantly adapt. Just this last decade as social media has taken over our lives, digital marketing came to the forefront as the decisive medium for advertising. The internet has brought methods of communication we didn’t think possible 10 years ago, data collection and management allow advertisers to understand their customers better, and has fundamentally altered the relationship between an advertiser and their consumers. Shifts in the industry are no surprise as brands try to stay on the cutting edge of the future of advertising. There is no guarantee of how the next decade or even the next five years of the industry will shape up but following trends in the market can give us an idea of what the trajectory of advertising will be.  

The biggest change we have been seeing and we will be seeing in the future is the domination of digital over traditional media. Traditional marketers like Print, Television, and Radio are losing their foothold in the market fast and trying to cope up with the emerging digital standard. Success in advertising is now being achieved on the latest consumer trends in social media, like the rise of influencers, brand sponsorship, video advertising, and content marketing. Companies like BBC, a company that grew and became iconic through traditional media, is quickly changing their focus to digital mediums through podcasts, OTT platforms, and web content. 

This change in medium has come through a natural shift in the younger generation trends. Younger generations like Millenniums and Generation Z are attracted more towards visual mediums. Where the older generation preferred their information through print or Television, the ‘digital natives’ seek info exclusively through social media. Mobile phones, tablet, laptops and similarly easy to use technology has now become the norm. We are not only finding products on our mobile phones but making purchases using them. The emphasis on mobile advertising and integrating products into our daily content can offer significant returns and will likely continue in the future. Integrating products into our daily consumption of content will become the norm as we start to personalize ads as per the viewer.  

Personalization of ads is another trend we are seeing now that is very likely to expand into the future. Personalized ads that seamlessly and consistently integrate into the customer experience while not disrupting that experience just might be the future. We are now at a point of data sharing that advertisers can make intentional and relevant targeting of their audience based on the dynamic content they consume. 

As the marketing world changes, like many other industries, advertising will also become increasingly automated. The use of algorithms and data analysis to determine ad performance and monetary value will allow companies to provide better, and more importantly the right content to their audience. Tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are slowly getting into the marketing landscape and providing platforms for both brand owners and consumers to better understand each other. Tech companies are integrating into the advertising market and they are here to stay. As Adman Sajan Raj Kurup says “it is inevitable”. His Advertising agency Creativeland Asia seems to be prepared for tech companies forward integrating into the creative landscape.  

We have seen the landscape of marketing drastically change over the past decade and with our current fast-paced technological progress, we can only speculate and guess where this landscape might go in the coming decade. But following trends and staying current would help us determine the right business practices to follow.