AI has been singled out as the single most important consumer trend to watch for marketers, according to the latest Mediaocean report.
The 2023 mid-year advertising outlook report, released last week, reflects the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, with almost two-thirds (59%) of marketers choosing it as the most important consumer trend within the sector.
The report, which spoke to over 700 leaders at brands, agencies and tech companies, also shed light on some of the other trends set to impact the second half of 2023 and early 2024.
Other key findings include increased social spending and a continued focus on social video with 57% of respondents choosing TikTok and social video when asked about significant consumer trends. CTV also remains a critical channel, with over 50% planning to increase their budgets.
Despite the scrutiny facing companies like Meta, Twitter and Tiktok, more than half of marketers said they plan to increase spending on social platforms this year, with Tiktok continuing to be a mainstay for advertisers – even as a number of US States have banned governmental use of the app.
In addition, marketers’ current top three areas of investment – performance-driven paid media, measurement and attribution capabilities, and brand advertising – are set to remain unchanged, while creative testing and analysis are expected to see a 27% increase in investments.
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Mediaocean chief marketing officer, Aaron Goldman, said: “It’s been very interesting to see how the advertising industry has evolved as we publish our fourth bi-annual market report.
“As is the case with generative artificial intelligence, we’ve seen some new technologies burst on the scene and disrupt how we think about marketing. But we’ve also seen a continuation of trends that have persisted for years such as the opportunities afforded by creative testing and advertising on social and streaming platforms.”
He added, “Of particular note, this latest report shows an overall stabilization of the ad industry which I think will be welcome news for all stakeholders.”
The full report is available on Mediaocean’s website.
