The internet is a ubiquitous presence in our everyday lives that demands more and more of our attention over previous, traditional media sources. Jayson DeMers predicts that since our eyes are constantly glued to screens, businesses and advertisers will begin to maximize the ways in which they reach consumers by targeting marketing strategies specifically to the way we consume our content.
DeMers suggests that:
- Video ads will start dominating the internet, including the Google search engine. Though a huge opportunity for online marketing, their current low prices will likely go up.
- Apps will start to replace websites at a rising rate, even for those with mobile-optimized sites. Businesses need to develop and update apps to make life for the consumer easy, and there will be more opportunity for app-based marketing.
- Mobile usage will completely dominate desktop usage. Google has already begun optimizing searches to prioritize mobile friendly sites.
- As digital assistants like Siri become more and more user friendly, businesses need to make sure their information is easily accessible as consumers begin to rely more and more on voice assistants over traditional search engines.
- Virtual reality and wearable technology devices will start to emerge and gain popularity, offering new mediums for online advertising and changing marketing tactics.
Technology is quickly advancing and always changing. Trying to imagine what will come next is nearly impossible, but businesses and marketers need to keep up with the trends if they have a chance at competing with other companies and appealing to the masses. There will be a day in the not-so-distant future when online and mobile advertising tops television commercials. We recently ran a study where a number of participants mentioned seeing a television commercial that led them to purchase the particular product in question. As it were, the ad was never aired on TV, but instead as an advertisement on a streaming platform. Already, the media lines of advertising are blurring, and while online ads are still relatively inexpensive for the moment, they have huge profit potential in the future.
Moving forward, marketers need to consider research into how and where their target markets are getting their information. A brilliant TV commercial is rendered ineffective if their audience is streaming reruns on Netflix. By staying on top of these trends, researchers can develop methodologies that reach consumers on their preferred avenues and will be able to better form relevant insights in regards to project objectives.
-Jennifer Carrasco, Associate Project Director