• by Phil Case , January 4, 2024

As brands and advertisers look for a new normal, they are not going to find that in 2024. With an estimated $11 billion to be spent in political advertising, two major regional wars in Ukraine and Israel, and a seemingly unpredictable economy, buckle up for a wild ride. Here are my predictions for the year ahead:

The pending recession is nothing more than a rumor. In 2023, many economists predicted a recession that never fully landed. Though consumer pessimism remained at large, it did not detract from spending habits as reflected in the Consumer Confidence Index. This strong spending behavior will continue well into 2024, fueled by a search for quality over savings. This is because 2024’s oversaturated marketing landscape will inundate consumers with more choices than ever, causing them to adopt a high-expectation mindset when filtering their options for a winner. Brand loyalty will then cement consumer spending, despite potential market fluctuations.

Securing new business will be less about pricing and more about creating experiences that overdeliver value. Not to be mistaken with overcompensating, brands can overdeliver value by crafting high-impact touchpoints with consumers; thinking out-of-the-box with creative advertising or website UX that cuts through the noisy media landscape.

The rise of Amazon’s shopping platform rivals. While many social media platforms already feature in-app shopping experiences, Amazon’s tightening grip on the ecommerce space will press social media giants to expand their offerings to keep pace. Just as Meta launched Threads to compete with X, more companies will launch their own fully-fledged shopping platform to compete with Amazon.

Meta’s wealth of audience data would position its shopping platform with a unique advantage over Amazon. For example, Meta could include a review system that dynamically integrates recommendations from a user’s followed friends or influencers. In this way, online shopping would become a much more social experience, giving rise to a new format for word-of-mouth marketing.

It’s all about bite-sized content.  Video advertising is about to have its biggest year yet. If advertising spaces are currently flooded with all types of video content, they’re about to be even more jam-packed by the end of 2024. This will cause the tightening of overstimulated consumers’ attention spans, leaving some ads previously deemed creative and engaging not making the cut. That’s why bite-sized content featuring straight-to-the-point narratives will be increasingly effective, especially if marketers leverage personalization technology to customize the video per individual.

Companies such as Idomoo or Seen already offer platforms that allow brands to create personalized videos at scale. However, the difference between these video variations is primarily just a change of customer name. Generative AI will evolve video personalization technology in 2024, allowing content such as messaging or visuals to be easily personalized on additional parameters. With customer data as the input, the possibilities of generative AI in personalization are endless.

Sitting on the sidelines of 2024’s trends means that you may enjoy watching the game, but will never feel the thrill of being an actual winner. Get ahead before the game starts.