This week the stock market had one of its most volatile moments in the 20th century. With many tech stocks having taken off during the pandemic, overvaluations have proved to be a reality to note now that companies such as Netflix have lost almost 40% of its share value in the last couple months.
It can be assumed that many were relieved when 2020 came to an end only to find little light at the end of the tunnel towards the end of 2021. Our new normal as marketers and brand oriented professionals has been altered to a degree where disruptive marketing needs to be embraced.
We knew a variety of factors on mobile would change the game for large networks and platforms with less visibility on data due to privacy measures introduced by Apple. Losing ad revenue is one thing but adapting and or focusing one’s efforts from an advertising perspective should not reflect such a drastic situation. Brands had to switch their thinking towards putting less emphasis from a publisher standpoint to the importance of creative services along with ad units. This change in approach allowed for a serious strategy shift which allowed for studying what formats yielded the best results on mobile along with a more careful placement on individual channels and or publishers.
What is coming in 2022 for mobile media?
A fine tuning of marketing measurement will determine successful outcomes for brand performance along with media mix allotments. It will no longer be a thing of throwing darts at a board, whitelists, A/B testing, and geographic based strategies will allow for growth marketing to get to the next level.
Dynamic Creatives
The significance of native creatives has been present within the marketing ecosystem for many years however platforms such as Tok-tok will be taking things to another level with flash videos. Investment in creative automation platforms to allow for dynamic optimization will be a source that should take off. Perhaps some of the platforms focusing on automation that did not take off 4-5 years ago, will have their window for exponential growth in the coming months. It makes sense that budget allocations will be altered towards new marketing tech that allows for creative automation, but that is simply not enough. The human element of creative services will always be a factor that cannot be controlled by algorithms. Having a strong design team and or agency with a solid track record in mobile will be paramount to evolving in an organic manner.
Platform Consolidation versus Preferred Deals
The mobile industry in general grew at an incredible rate for several years while various ad networks were able to acquire companies and to increase their market share. It has become a reality that has squeezed smaller networks and or close to monopolized certain segments of the market.
With platform consolidation comes an over reliance on certain features that networks may offer which opens opportunities on the open exchange market and or publisher direct deals. This type of activity can allow for branding programmatic teams to expand and to work more closely with creative services. A match made in heaven that unifies the human element with technology.
We also know that purpose driven campaigns will continue to take an important role in what brands publish as eco-friendly themes pave the way for better practices in a world that is becoming more conscious in this regard. This perhaps may be defined as one of the most vital trends that holds substance for respect for the world that we live in.
