We live and operate in a digital world. That’s no secret at all.
Our personal lives and businesses have been going through a digital transformation over the last few years.
We’ve now reached a point where we can really see the effects of technology and the digitalisation of things on the advertising industry.
There are Four Cs that sum up these effects.
Change
It’s no surprise that the first C is change. Technology is allowing us to push boundaries, create and experiment in different ways to engage consumers and deliver commercial results to clients in ways that were never thought possible.
Several of these technologies were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month. This included virtual reality and artificial intelligence. There is also a rise in 360 degree content being supported by platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.
The explosion of wearable technology is also something that greatly impacts the advertising industry. This ranges from smart glasses, Google Glass, to smart watches and smart clothing.
One of the technologies with the greatest impact is 3D printing which allows for customisation and personalisation of products like never before.
An agile and adaptable approach to adopting technology is the way forward in the digital era.
Consumers
We are in a period where consumers are either digital natives or digital immigrants. Digital natives expect brands to use technology to impress and engage with them and digital immigrants want to be wowed by how brands use technology.
Consumers are forcing brands to really think about what they value and how they are going to meet these needs.
Consumers are constantly connected and always ‘on’. They want to be entertained and expect campaigns to span multiple screens and formats. Integrated campaigns are here to stay. Consumers don’t want to be interrupted, hence the increase in ad blocking software – they want to be engaged.
Content
CMOs want to invest in content and in a majority of companies, the CMO leads the digital transformation. Agencies need to seek new solutions to expand their value propositions as brands shift from traditional advertising to content advertising.
Digital transformation has facilitated and accelerated content delivery. It’s now easier to distribute through multiple media channels.
Technology creates the pipeline and it’s our job as an industry to fill it with content that deserves attention. The new currency of digital advertising is attention not clicks.
Natively distributed content drives discovery and content must be optimized for attention ultimately improving SEO.
Creative
We are lucky to work in an industry where a large majority of early adopters of technology are looking to experiment, push the boundaries and create something wonderful with technology.
We’ve got the data and the ability to push content to the exact segment that we want, when we want. We just need to make sure the creative and message is the one consumers want to see.
Our creative work must also be intelligent. Getting all of this right will undoubtedly lead to brand loyalty, better business results and attention for the brand.
No-one said that digital transformation was going to be easy, but it sure has made it an exciting time to work in the advertising industry.
