In today’s world, we’re constantly bombarded with advertisements — from mail offers to to Facebook ads to billboards along the highway. So in a world full of ads, how can you ensure that your campaign stands out from the rest? Here are some trends that are dominating the ad world right now:
1. Mobile is king
According to Forbes Magazine, by 2017, 87% of connected device sales will be tablets and smartphones. Today, it’s necessary to make everything mobile-friendly. Zenith Optimedia projects that by the end of this year, mobile advertising spending will grow 51% and make up for 31% of the spending growth for the year. Those are some serious numbers. If you’re not on the mobile train already, you need to be.
2. Turn your company into a newsroom
During the 2013 Super Bowl, one of the most buzzed about ads wasn’t a commercial — and it didn’t cost the company a single penny. During the infamous blackout, Oreo put out a Tweet with a simple graphic that said, “You can still dunk in the dark.”
Within minutes, it was ReTweeted over 10,000 times. AdAge reported that the graphic released during the blackout was “designed, captioned and approved within minutes.” By staying up to date on trends, TV shows, events, and news, you can have a live conversation with your customers. How cool is that? Try Tweeting about something relative to your product like Oreo did during the Super Bowl.
3. Create bite-sized content
Plain and simple — no one wants to read a novel on your website (unless, you know, you’re an author). Customers want to read content that’s entertaining and easily digestible. Striking images and a few snippets of text are more likely to gain positive attention than paragraphs of stale content.
Ads are shying away from flashy content and relying on beautiful images and clean, simple text. Need inspiration? Check out the campaigns from major players like Apple and Google.
4. Get into a relationship…with your customers
In the past, analytics were the measuring stick of how “successful” a company’s campaign was. Although analytics are still necessary, companies are relying more heavily on feedback tools from their customers. They’re having conversations over social media and digging deep to find out what their customers actually think of their product, not just their website.
5. Media Buying is Evolving
As mobile advertising becomes more lucrative (see #1), the way ads are bought and sold will change. According to Forbes, “Cost Per Engagement (CPE) and Cost Per View (CPV) will become the main purchasing models with Cost Per Mille (CPM) fading into the background, as advertisers increasingly realize it’s the quality of the view that counts, not quantity.”
These ads will be more effective, so naturally, they will become more expensive. As more companies turn to mobile, they will have to adjust their spending budgets to incorporate mobile ads — possibly at the expense of TV and radio.
