Emerging Trends in Advertising 2023: Our Experts Drop Hard at Attribution Marketing Podcast

On 05.12, Attribution Marketing Podcast released a long-anticipated collaboration. Our beloved Andrew Liulko and Serhiy Shchelkov came from the shadows straight to their microphones to share their opinion on the current state of ad tech.

If you’re short on time or not a fan of Spotify/Apple, we have a brief summary of what this trio (along with the host, Lucas Sommer) has discussed and what you can make out of it.

Point #1: The Role of Voice Search in Personalized and Interactive Ads

Voice search has witnessed a significant surge in popularity, driven by advancements in AI.

An increasing number of people in the United States uses voice to conduct searches. Recent reports estimate that half of the US population uses voice search features daily, and over one-third (34%) use them at least once a week.

Recent events, such as Google's creating their AI ad development tools and overall progress with various AI search algorithms, signal a rapidly changing landscape for voice search advertising.

The conversation highlighted the potential for personalized and interactive voice search ads. For instance, when users ask to play music, a targeted recommendation from a music streaming service follows.

Similarly, voice-activated assistants could engage users in somewhat meaningful conversations rather than being linear one-way messages. With the rise of AI-powered chatbots and ChatGPT, this form of advertising could become a reality sooner than expected.

Point #2: Internet of Things (IoT). Slow Adoption and Future Potential

While the Internet of Things (IoT) garnered considerable hype in the past, its adoption in advertising has been relatively slower than anticipated. The discussion highlighted the disparity between industry discussions and the practical implementation of IoT-based advertising solutions.

The focus in advertising has primarily revolved around hyper-targeting, omnichannel targeting, geofencing, and retargeting.

However, the potential for IoT-based advertising remains significant as technologies like 5G continue to advance. Connected devices, such as cars or smart fridges, can serve targeted ads or provide relevant information based on user preferences. The number of smart home devices is expected to reach 1.9 billion by 2023.

The growth potential for IoT advertising, estimated at a compound annual growth rate of 21-25% until 2028, presents both challenges and opportunities.

IoT advertising faces unique challenges compared to voice search advertising. While voice search ads can be seamlessly integrated into the user experience, it’s difficult to imagine an organic ad placement on your fridge’s “Home” screen.

Point #3: The Rise of Probabilistic Attribution

The conversation acknowledged that the industry is moving away from deterministic attribution, where specific user actions are tracked, to probabilistic attribution, where aggregated data is used to estimate performance metrics.

Previously, advertisers could track user behavior using cookies and analytics, obtaining detailed information about conversions, demographics, and more. However, the death of third-party cookies and the walled gardens of major players like Google and Apple complicate deterministic attribution.

Point #4: Adapting to Privacy Limitations

What does that mean for advertising? Our experts think that the industry will adapt to these changes. They predicted that user identification would shift from demand-side platforms (DSPs) to supply-side platforms (SSPs).

Publishers who previously relied on third-party data will experience revenue decreases. To overcome privacy limitations and unhealthy cookie addiction, publishers will use supply-side platforms that utilize open ID or universal user ID solutions.

Point #5: Importance of Data for Targeting

Our experts emphasized the growing significance of data analysis and targeting for advertisers. As deterministic attribution fades away, advertisers require accurate audience data.

They may need to leverage tools like analyzing bidstream data, working with raw logs of data, or utilizing geofencing targeting options to achieve their goals. The experts highlighted the importance of employing various tools and technologies to maintain performance while adapting to changing attribution methods.

How Do You Keep Up with the Market?

Like Serhiy said, “I mean, it has always been a race, but it seems that the speed has been kicked up a notch for the most recent time.” AI, voice search, IoT, and probabilistic attribution – the amount of things changing in the industry right now is almost incomprehensible.

In the current state of matters, two things are most important:

1. Staying on the edge of trends. For that, check out the full version of the podcast. We tried to cover everything, but for a better understanding and more nuanced experience listening to it is a must.
2. Being armed with knowledge. In constantly changing surroundings like ad tech, it’s important to understand where and how’s the industry moving. For that, check out Epom’s Banner Ad Report – delve deeper into firsthand data on trends in ad tech!