What is the future of advertising? Part 2: the Future 100 Club
It’s only two weeks to go until The Future of Brands 2023, our live event in London, puts some of the world’s biggest advertisers on the spot about what makes great marketing and what is the future of advertising, that all-important source of funding for media.
Yesterday, The Media Leader tasked some of our regular columnists on what they think the future of advertising was, with topics ranging from trust to fragmentation to sustainability and attention.
Now we will share views from members of our Future 100 Club, the rising stars of the industry.
Come back tomorrow for a special report on what the future of this industry looks like to university undergraduate students who are interested in careers in advertising and media.
Maddy Sim, strategy partner at Carat: old and new
“The more things change the more they stay the same. The future of advertising will still be about the same principles; understanding people, smart positioning, and media strategies matched to objective.
“However, the delivery mechanisms used to reach those people will continue to proliferate. We already use many more platforms than we once did, and that can only continue.
“The advent of impressive, easy to use, large language model platforms like Chat-GPT look set to further change the way we interact with media. This will no doubt change the landscape in much the same way search did; new systems to attempt to game, new formats to deliver branded information.
“However, the smart money is on thinking about strategy in the same ways that have worked for you in the past; and then working with both old and new tactics to get there.”
Shahkeh Petros, managing partner at Evolve OOH
“As we enter a new era the future of out-of-home (OOH) advertising is constantly evolving.
“A combination of storytelling, personalisation and an enhanced digital landscape coupled with a one-to-many medium means the future is extremely bright and powerful.
“OOH only improves with more technology advancements and there will undoubtedly be more immersive, connected opportunities for brands globally to creatively drive engagement and impact!
“The future of advertising has unlimited potential for brands as the industry shows interconnected opportunity, measurement, automation, and collaboration at scale. OOH is a truly likeable medium and this won’t change!”
Jackie Lyons, head of planning at Havas Media Group UK
“Advertising has always existed to connect brands with people.
“If we accept that stays as a constant, then the future is very exciting. Advertising technology will allow for new and exciting ways to strengthen to build new connections to new people, whilst strengthening existing connections.
“New advertising technology will allow for a further celebration of individuality, through slicker hyper-personalised experiences.
“The blended metaverse and real-life worlds will collide through advertising allowing for both joyful new ways to entertain, and for advertising and media technology to help solve real problems for society.”
Tashan Nicholas, data & analytics strategy director at the7stars
“I think accountability will be at the top of the agenda for the future of media. We’ve seen scrutiny of marketing budgets increase with boards and CEOs wanting to understand the impact of marketing investment.
“Developing a single source of measurement truth will be necessary for agencies to support advertisers. The use of first party data will see a massive increase and scale so long as usage is not cost probative.
“Non-labour intensive and relatively real-time holistic measurement will see an increase and this will lead to more consultancy around marketing measurement and strategic decisions utilising the insight.”
Ezekiel Taiwo, client partner lead, Deliveroo
“Content marketing is the future of advertising, and this time around, brands will get it right.
“Content creators currently have the stage and the mic when it comes to capturing consumer attention, and this trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
“Today’s consumers have more control over the information they receive than ever before, so brands need to step up their game beyond using social media and influencer marketing as shortcuts.
“Instead, they must focus on providing value to their customers by creating relevant and memorable brand experiences that are delivered at the right time and place, without being intrusive.”
Davina Barker, sales director, Digital Cinema Media
“The future of advertising will need to pay attention to, well, attention.
“In today’s always-on and distracted world every second counts and, to stand out among the noise, brands need to create experiences that are immersive, contextually relevant and that demand audiences’ full attention.
“Consumers are savvier than ever so, to do this effectively, advertisers will need to re-evaluate their content and placement strategies, thinking about cross-channel planning to optimise reaching target audiences in the right place, which can lead to greater engagement, drive memorability and ultimately increased sales.”
James Fleetham, head of client sales at The Guardian
“In 20 years when the ice caps have melted, half the world is under water, and the other is on fire, I don’t think anyone will seriously be saying at least my banner ad had a good click-through rate.
“Nothing matters more than the climate. We are a big part of that problem.
“Purpose Disruptors tell us that advertising contributes 32% to everybody’s carbon footprint in this country. But we can be a big part of the solution. Advertising at its best doesn’t just reflect modern culture, it shapes and defines it.
“To be frank, we need to change the way we live. This is the best advertising challenge we’ve ever had.
“More specifically we need to change the way we buy advertising. Our buying models are full of waste. We waste massive amounts of energy on ads that are never seen. To use a tech term, we need to disrupt the ad tech. Gimmicks and offsets won’t keep us within 1.5 degrees
“We need to reduce the ad tech. The most sustainable way to buy advertising is to cut out the waste and buy direct. Advertisers should know where their ads are and what they’re funding.”