New Advertising Technology: 5 Emerging Advertising Technology Trends

Shift to First-Party Data

Web browsers often store small files called cookies to memorize user’s login information or preferences the next time they visit. Third-party cookies come from a different website that users are currently browsing on. Advertisers use them to track users’ online activities and for ad targeting based on their preferences. Let’s say you visited a sneaker website, and later that day, when you browse other pages, you see an ad for those same sneakers you saw earlier.

However, as Google phases out third-party cookies in 2024, organizations need to look for alternatives to third-party cookies. Data privacy and data protection regulations are becoming stricter, so the ad tech industry is shifting to first-party data.

First-party refers to customer data that websites collect during the interaction with your website. There are a few factors that companies must keep in mind to gain customer’s trust:

• Transparency: Brands need to be open about how the data is collected, used, and stored.
• Security: Companies need to take extensive security measures to protect consumer data.
• Consent: Ask for permission when businesses wish to collect and store data.

With this shift, brands need to work on refining strategies to build and maintain trust in their audiences.

Contextual Advertising and Video Ads Continue to Gain Popularity

As data privacy policies and ad targeting practices are shifting, contextual targeting, or contextual advertising, is a notable development. Recently, a survey revealed that 65% of participants are more likely to purchase from online advertisements related to their current page, while only 35% are persuaded to buy from recent watching.

It is a less invasive tracking method and more relevant to the content users are browsing. Think of video ads on social media platforms like YouTube Shorts or TikTok videos - numerous brands have been leveraging the power of video ads to power their digital campaigns. Video ad spending in 2024 is projected to reach $191.3 billion (Statista). 87% of video marketers claim that using video has increased lead generation.

These attractive statistics encourage brands to build interactive shoppable features to further engage users and lead them directly to pages with the shopping information.

CTV and Advertising

CTV stands for connected TV. It refers to any TV set connected to the internet for streaming digital content and viewing on-demand videos. Through Internet-connected TVs, highly targeted ads crafted from consumer data are shown to viewers. This presents a unique opportunity for brands for a few reasons.

• Insight into specific geographical areas with localized IP-based targets.
• Real-time measurement of the campaign performance.
• A higher rate of video completion as users are less likely to skip compared to other digital ad platforms. CTV’s viewer completion rate is 94%, whereas on PCs and mobile devices, it is just 74% and 69%, respectively. (Statista)

AI: Automation and Fraud Detection

Artificial intelligence is developing at an astronomical pace. Gone are the days of manually creating, targeting audiences, optimizing bids and tracking ad performance. AI tools in the modern ad tech landscape possess the ability to do all that and more, including data analytics insights, real-time ad adjustments based on user behavior data, and even data safety compliance. For example, you can use AI to perform predictive analytics to improve ad placement based on page content and page performance to boost conversion rates and revenue for publishers.

While there are plenty of AI-based ad fraud, the very same tool can also be used to prevent fraud. A study conducted by Appier found that the AI-based model identified twice as many fraudulent transactions compared to the traditional rule-based model. AI also spotted complex fraud patterns that were not previously known.

All in all, AI holds unlimited potential to elevate traditional ad processes.

Continued Reliance on Social Media Platforms

A major customer touchpoint in a customer’s journey is social media. Brands are leveraging the massive reach of TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook with advanced targeting capabilities to connect with audiences and boost conversion rates. Moreover, social media isn’t just a means of keeping customers engaged; it also serves as a valuable source for generating leads, where ads can feel more natural and less polished.