Although 2020 was terrifying, tumultuous and tough, for the brands and consumers alike, it has managed to finally pass and we can’t wait to see what 2021 will bring to the Ad world. New initiatives will proliferate predictions about major trends expected to dictate the Ad industry. However, 2021 is the year of the customer satisfaction, customization and consumer oriented.
A spill over from 2020
In 2020 Brands stretched to find ways to connect with their customers, with in-person experiences ruled out as a result of the pandemic. This will continue in 2021 where businesses will continue to face novel challenges. The advertising landscape will move towards more efforts to personalize, as well as an accelerated push to digitize and innovate wherever possible.
Digitization
The coming year will also likely see a furthering of the efforts towards greater digitization and personalisation set in rapid motion in 2020. Not only will human connection become increasingly digital, but so will shopping behaviours and the ability for people to really research and compare products online before making even small or impulsive purchases.
The human connection
Lockdowns starved the people of connectedness, and brands struggled to deliver. All this has led to more compassionate, heart-warming, inclusive messaging. Personalization will be more important than ever now. This refers to the capability of showing a customised ad to each target audience you are pursuing. As customers perceive personalisation as attractive and engaging rather than generic adverts, this is something that we expect businesses to take advantage of in 2021.
Leading through Tech solutions
The new trends will take the brands leaning on technology in predictive analytics to double down on their audiences, and shape experiences around it. With social, professional, and family interactions depending more on zoom and other platforms, new technology will be the answer to advertising trends and products to connect with the customers0.
Social media
The social media advertising has been showing an upward trend since last few years, more so in 2020. This trend will continue with a force, with new functionalities like Instagram Live Donations, Facebook’s Paid Online Events, and advances in social e-commerce that give brands more avenues to drive business goals in a digital world.
XR Extended Reality
Pushing virtual boundaries by exploring extended reality (XR), is the next best thing to in-face interaction. Extended reality (XR) is immersive technologies that can merge the physical and virtual worlds. A virtual reality to help you shop for a new home anywhere in the world as if you were actually on-site.
Live Advertising
With immeasurable content available online, the Ad boredom has set in with consumer less receptive to long commercial videos and presentations. A more direct, fast and concise communications possible. With the introduction of platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels, we are expecting easy-to-make, easy-to-watch, short-form video ads to become more popular than ever before in 2021.
Mobile advertising
Mobile advertising will be the mainstay of the marketing landscape this year. Particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, people are spending even more time connected to their smart phones and mobile devices than ever, and brands know that. Therefore, we can expect businesses to be more present in those gadgets and increase the investment in mobile advertising. Also, in-game advertising is growing. This is likely to keep on being a trend for brands and businesses in 2021.
Programmatic advertising delivered through AI
The biggest advertising trend that 2021 will reveal is probably the explosion of programmatic ads via artificial intelligence (AI) to automate ad purchases. Managing programmatic platforms through AI solve multiple problems as they use targeting signals and real-time adaptation for individual ads or campaigns via any given channel.
With exciting and innovative time for advertisers, 2021 will offer more opportunities than ever. Having specific targeted conversations with potential and existing customers by utilising relevant and bespoke content. This year is bright and luminous, with the best of conventional and technological methodologies in the marketing and advertising hemisphere.