While baby boomers might still stick to appointment watching on TV (watching a show at the time it airs), Generation X already has a smart TV connec­ted to Youtube. Millennials have shifted to watching content whenever they want, and with almost 140 million people having a Netflix account, the trend continues to offer opportunities for viewers to engage when and where they want. Advertisers have caught on, since the ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) is much easier to measure online. With online analytics tools, we can tell exactly when someone has seen or engaged with content, for example how many people have purchased a product — something that wasn’t possible with TV, whose numbers of reach were approximate. Studies have shown that Generation X has a shorter attention span and platforms were quick to catch on. Today youngsters have a magnitude of opportunities to consume and create content, whether it is TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat, which has almost twice as many daily users as Netflix.

Pamela Wagner
... is a former Google employee and Forbes “30 Under 30” honoree. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the Vienna University of Economics, got her first Master’s degree from Hult International Business School and is on to her second Master’s degree in Psychology at Harvard Extension School. Wagner helps six- and seven-figure businesses grow through Google and Facebook Ads.

Looking at global consumption, spend and trends, companies should look at five trends and ask themselves how they are part of their company strategy.

1. Video: How are people engaging visually with a brand? Over half of the people who’ve clicked an ad and purchased something from it have watched a video before. Video consumption keeps increasing, and with it the use of data.

2. Transparency: Customers demand more transparency than ever before, which is a positive development. Companies can use media effectively to highlight the people behind the products and services, take on more of an ‘advisory’ role, and establish themselves as a true do-gooder in the marketplace.

3. Ads/GDPR: With companies like Google and Facebook gathering more data than ever before and companies just going along and providing such, how do we make ads more ethical again? The latest GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) regulations place new challenges on the configuration of websites. Yet, less active consent doesn’t necessarily mean less accurate targeting.

4. Voice Strategy: With a more active use of Alexa and other voice controlled devices, there are new moments of need and want, where companies have to think on how they capitalize on catching users.

5. Engagement and personalization increase in importance: Not everybody sees the same ad anymore. Imagine you’re at a bus stop and have a poster ad in front of you. You scan a QR code and are immersed in an augmented reality (AR) experience tailored to your current interests.

The users dictate what they see, and when and where they see it. Even though there has been steady development of great new technologies, the adaptation has been much slower than we thought. If companies get in now, they will still be one of the early adopters and benefit massively.

Author: Pamela Wagner

The article was featured in our November edition 2019 „Next“.

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

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