This year, media ad spending will see its largest growth in more than a decade, with 28% dedicated to digital channels. For marketers in the retail industry, the growth in digital is a double-edged sword. It can provide rich opportunities to reach consumers with the personalized dialogue they expect from brands. But it also puts more pressure on marketers to spend effectively across the multitude of channels that comprise the digital ecosystem.
As retailers and brands contemplate how and where to spend their digital ad dollars, they should consider these three trends that will soon significantly alter the digital marketing landscape.
1. Minor roadblocks for mobile
It’s growing fast, but mobile still has its challenges. For example, mobile doesn’t allow marketers to overlay audience data on media – a methodology to drive messaging to more precisely targeted profiles – and it doesn’t provide the transparency needed to track across channels and devices. These issues are close to being resolved though.
We saw enormous growth in display when we entered the programmatic era that made it possible to overlay audience data and track at a transparent level. When we achieve those capabilities, we may see more growth in mobile as well. Retail ecommerce – including products and services ordered on mobile devices, will get a big boost when these changes occur.
2. Online video ads aligned to buyers’ journeys
Many advertisers buy video in the same manner they buy TV: with only age and gender as an overlay. But, with video, advertisers can take advantage of its ability to provide a deeper level of audience, attribution and behaviors.
Video is ideal for sequential messaging, an approach that moves the message in sequence with the prospect as he or she progresses throughout the purchase funnel. For example, at the top of the funnel, an auto dealer might show general brand messages that are not car-specific. Once a customer interacts with the general ad, that action would trigger a second ad featuring a particular car model (based on the audience profile or even user selection). The third ad in the sequence would provide an offer on that exact vehicle.
Those options are often used in the display world; but we have yet to do the same in video.
It may be because video is relatively young. There are few video DSPs – the buying engines that allow advertisers to bid on and buy the right programmatic inventory at the right price – and the ad tech stack and inventory aren’t nearly as mature as classic display. However, as it becomes more robust, we’ll begin to see retail marketers do great things with video variables and attributes.
3. Advances in attribution
Retail marketers and brands have more mature tools than ever before to help them understand their customers’ journeys. Brands are taking advantage of these tools to build their own attribution models. And multi-touch attribution, instead of last-click or last-touch, has become a growing consideration for more and more advertisers.
We’re currently at a crossroads. We’re seeing dramatically more interest in understanding what the customer’s journey looks like before they purchase. Interest in identifying the last person to touch the customer before they convert is waning.
Brands and marketers are more aware of the need to understand that journey, and we’re reaching a point where we will be better able to link it together from offline to online and across devices and channels.
Understanding the full picture of the customer journey – then accessing and acting on the insights gained – will mean huge increases in campaign efficiency and ROI for marketers who make the investment.
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