The fragmentation of the audience’s attention and the trends marked by the omnipresent algorithms will be the two great challenges that the media planning this year. Added to these are the changes that artificial intelligence is generating in online search and the consolidation of channels such as retail media.
It is estimated that this year advertising spending will reach 1.08 trillion dollars
Growing options within the media ecosystem create new opportunities for marketers to drive reach, but also pose challenges for generating effectiveness, he explains. warc in your analysis “The Future of Media 2025”. The consulting firm points out that although global advertising spending is growing – it is estimated that it will reach 1.08 trillion dollars this year – finding the most appropriate and highest-return channels can be complex.
The report highlights three big trends key to the future of media planning and advertising investments. We break them down below:
Planning in the age of media abundance
There are increasingly more media and channels that brands can use to boost their growth in the short and long term. Nevertheless, Comprehensive planning and the right mix of channels It will be essential to achieve the effectiveness of investments. Considering that these will be different for each brand, it will be advisable to pay special attention to the quality, scope and price of the media.
Both investment and the perception of media by professionals is changing. Their efforts will focus especially on the online video, social networks, influencer marketing or online searchand not so much in the press, cinema or television.
This also forces us to develop new tactics when transferring messages. Advertisers and their partners are adapting campaigns to the dynamics of the platforms, cAware that attention is more fleeting and many small exposures can work together to improve results. They are also taking into account the operation of the algorithms, which leads them to new methods and processes and to rely more on automation for campaign management.
A new search model
According to data from Warc, this year more than $220 billion will be allocated to online search worldwide and Google will take 80%. However, in recent years there has been a change in the way users search, with younger going to social networks before traditional search engines and with artificial intelligence providing aggregated responses.
This will mean that brands will have to, on the one hand, adopt more diverse search strategies to address the fragmentation of experiences, and on the other, rethink their presence in search engines to adapt to the answers provided by AI. The optimization for language models (LLMO) will require new processes and skills compared to traditional SEO.
The expansion of media retail
Online commerce continues to grow and with it the retail media, which would have reached $154.8 billion in advertising investment worldwide by 2024. And an increase of almost 15% is also expected for this year. In addition, more and more retailers are betting on this channel as a new source of income.
Retail media allows advertisers reach consumers throughout the purchasing journey, from awareness to conversion, but they must approach this channel carefully and with measurement in mind to facilitate demonstration of impact.
Furthermore, according to Warc, some accuse the lack of standardization between platforms as one of the main challenges. This can not only overwhelm advertisers, but also influence the number of new retail media players, as brands prioritize investment in a few large, established networks.
Seeking to boost conversion and sales, many advertisers are allocating large budget items to ads aimed at the bottom of the funnel, such as those offered by retail media. But they must not forget to also work the upper part of the funnel and the brand building.
