The question is not if advertising will change, but how rapid and radical that change will be. Following our studies on the future of the telecom, TV & video industries, we now focus our unique methodology and industry expertise on advertising. Our report, The future of advertising: Pathways to survival in four scenarios, explores the factors most likely to influence how today’s advertising players will vie for relevance and market share, and offers four unique visions for the future.
Scenario 1: The Transactional You
Data is the dominant force in this first scenario, with customer contacts and data emerging as the new currencies. These factors make it possible to predictively target consumers with relevant transactional messages through the right channels at the right time. Shopping in this scenario is convenient and effortless, and advertising content is designed to be informative and not just appealing. Data ownership is key for those with a stake in the game, making clear the difference between winners and losers across the advertising value chain.
Scenario 2: The Creative You
In this scenario, human creativity is the source of targeted, highly relevant campaigns perfectly tailored to individual consumer preferences. Emotion-evoking formats and direct-to-consumer advertising create strong relationships between consumers and brands, and campaigns become highly relevant because they are both highly personalized and creative. In this context, real-time communication plays an important role, with AI providing intensive customization. Importantly, the ability to define and target small and intensely specific customer cohorts allows advertisers to create and deliver messages tailored to, and resonating with, consumers’ needs.
Scenario 3: The Entertained Masses
In our third scenario, entertainment value is the foundation of high-quality campaigns with extensive reach. Advertising becomes truly remarkable. Despite low personalization, consumers enjoy exciting ad experiences that they find worth talking about even outside advertising spaces. The focus on creativity and reach here is not by choice; instead it is necessary in a world where, in the wake of serious data privacy scandals, consumers have chosen not to share their information, and where strict regulatory frameworks inhibit the collection, aggregation, and exploitation of usable consumer data.
Scenario 4: The Fragmented Masses
In this final scenario, brand is king, and buying decisions are triggered largely by brand power and loyalty. Since privacy regulations limit personalized campaigns, advertisers must produce a broad range of options and aggregate specific niches to achieve reach and relevance. Data and AI dominate the ad production process, with human creativity less important. And a fragmented media landscape makes distribution a challenge, with relevant content just as important as access to social media and messaging platforms. In response, advertisers target consumer microsegments, using a large set of niche formats to address each group of consumers.
What’s your take?
What do you see as the most plausible future for the world of advertising? Is it similar to one of the above scenarios, or do you see an entirely different outcome? Have another look at your corporate strategy and consider how well it shapes up in each scenario—are you confident it will hold up in any situation or is it time for some tuning-up?
Take a moment and let us know your thoughts.