Industry innovation in new tech, AI/ML, attention metrics soared in 2021 – now let’s use it
Successful marketers moved beyond simply measuring impressions, reach and viewability to include attention as well.
The advertising industry deserves a collective round of applause. In the face of a global pandemic, near constant – and ongoing – privacy questions and scrutiny, advertisers innovated and experimented like never before, and the whole market is better for it. Success in the next (hopefully disruption-free) year will require collaboration and partnerships.
Innovating through disruption
It’s no secret: The pandemic greatly impacted consumer lifestyles, habits and preferences. While some of these changes are temporary, others will have lasting effects on behaviour – which is not all bad for advertisers. It has been a year of incredible innovation.
In 2021, CTV and BVOD use grew immensely. Marketers demanded better TV measurement. And with VOZ still in development, advertisers have turned to more accessible solutions like ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) data to fill the gap.
Privacy and identity faced never-ending scrutiny, and contextual targeting made a strong comeback, alongside advanced Brand Intelligence solutions. Advertisers now have reliable and scalable alternatives to ID-based targeting, using a mix of panel data, social behaviours, mobile, video, search and TV consumption
The rapid increase in digital devices, as well as short, snackable content, also led to fragmented audiences and shrinking attention spans. Successful marketers moved beyond simply measuring impressions, reach and viewability to include attention as well.
Leaning on future-proofed solutions
It has been a difficult year, but we’ve learned one thing: Advertisers are not afraid to raise the stakes. The three main areas I saw them prioritising were:
- Accelerating adoption of new technologies to cater to the growing digital economy, as well as to address changing regulations.
- Understanding consumers better through artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide better experiences.
- Working with partners that can support talent gaps and provide stronger capabilities in new or unfamiliar areas.
This industry has spent the past 18 months being hit with one obstacle after another. But it also allowed us to push the boundaries by embracing new technologies and approaches that aren’t on borrowed time (I’m talking about you, cookies).
Measurement is key – but the best is yet to come
Since the early 2000s, the industry has been obsessed with measuring impressions, followed by unique reach, viewability and frequency. These are now the expected measurement standards, and advertisers are moving on deeper insights that put consumers front and centre.
It’s exciting to see that more advertisers are jumping on the bandwagon of trialling new formats, channels and metrics for success. We can practically measure everything, but we also use more media than ever before. This is, in my opinion, a good problem to have.
With the constant slew of changes within the industry, Amobee strongly believes that success will require a deeply collaborative effort with partners within the media, tech and data space. In 2021, Amobee doubled down on partnerships and solutions – from Optus for unified TV and HYP for data integration, to Samsung Ads for ACR data and Playground xyz for Attention Time.
As we enter 2022, the ideas and innovation will only get better. We’re constantly improving and enhancing our proprietary products and solutions within the identity, measurement and unified TV-digital space.
I’m optimistic we’re sitting on a golden opportunity to overcome uncertainty and accelerate into the future.
