Written by Team JD | Dec 19, 2018 4:24:17 PM
Keeping up with ever-changing trends in digital marketing can give even the most in-the-know marketers whiplash. New platforms, practices, and technologies seemingly pop up daily, all claiming to be the newest innovation in marketing.
Despite the allure of their claims, few are worth the time and investment they’re looking for. Below are the key trends our agency predicts will make the biggest impacts in digital in 2019.
- The digital duopoly will shift as advertisers diversify their budgets. While many companies will continue to invest heavily in Google and Facebook, and their other platforms, budget share will begin to spread out across other players like Amazon, connected TV, podcasts, and newer social networks.
- Customer fragmentation will continue to be a challenge. Consumers have access to more devices than ever before, and they’re consuming media in one form or another on all of them, yet few ad tech platforms have made progress in unifying customer IDs across platforms, services, and devices.
- Testing new avenues for media spend will be key to offsetting competition. Costs have continued to rise at Google and Facebook as digital budgets across retailers grow, competing for the same stagnant audience pools. New platforms offer an opportunity to get first-to-market learnings at more palatable costs.
- Privacy protections will be a top concern with consumers. Endless breaches across retailers and online platforms, along with a deeper understanding of data collection practices, has raised both awareness and worry. Expect to see legislation become more widespread and usage of privacy tools and blockers increase.
- First party data will be king. As third party data and online collection practices are called into question, gathering and building audiences off first party data will become a significant priority for brands. Investing in DMP or CDP systems will increase, especially as they allow for better cross channel user identification.
- Marketing will continue to influence creative development. Brands are recognizing that traditional art direction and digital e-commerce don’t always go hand in hand; data will be used to guide decisions on everything from backgrounds, models and colors to asset types and lengths.
- Influencer marketing as a performance tactic is on the decline. Brands are continuing to shift budgets away from influencers and into data-driven ad platforms. They’re easier to manage, more measurable, and scale at a faster rate.