• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, January 4, 2024

Most media channels are due for budget increases this year, judging by the 2024 Advertising Outlook Report from Mediaocean, conducted by TechValidate.

Among them are:

• Social Platforms—69% 
• Digital Display/Video—65%
• Connected TV—56%
• Search—55%
• Retail media—34%
• OOH/DOOH—32% 
• Radio/Audio—24%
• National TV—14%
• Local TV—11%
• Print—7%

Whatever the budget plans, here are the most important trends being studied this year:

• Generative AI—57% 
• CTV/streaming 53% 
• TikTok/social video—49%
• E-commerce everywhere—40%
• Consumer privacy—30% 
• Gaming—21% 
• Metaverse—16%
• Political advocacy trends—14%

Given current macroeconomic trends, here are the most critical advertising investments:

• Performance-drive paid media—61%
• Measurement & attribution capabilities—50%
• Brand advertising—47%
• Creative testing & analysis—29%
• First-party data mastery—28%
• Automation—24%
• Demand generation—23%
• Experiential/innovation budgets—23%
• Privacy—22%
• Identity—13%

Meanwhile, here are their largest areas of concern:

• Decline in ability to measure campaign effectiveness on tech platforms and open web—43%
• Lack of preparedness for cookieless future and other data deprecation relating to consumer privacy and walled gardens—39%
• Consumer ad avoidance/ad blindness—37%
• Poor ability to manage reach & frequency across CTV and digital channels—36% 
• Loss of access to third-party data—32%
• Talent retention/access to expertise—25%

How well synchronized are their media and creative efforts?

• Well: We have a formal approach to media/creative collaboration—40%
• So so: We have some processes that overlap, but there’s room for improvement—39% 
• Very well: We have fully synchronized media and creative processes and technologies—11%

Now here’s the inevitable question: How are you currently using Generative AI in your marketing?

• Data analysis—39%
• Market research—35%
• Copywriting—26%
• Image generation—16%
• SEO—14%
• Customer service—11%
• Software coding—8% 
• Website development—8%
• Classification taxonomies—9% 
• Other—15% 

TechValidate surveyed 1,085 marketers in November 2023.