Advertisers are readying for another year of dynamic change. As I have written about before, rapid development automation and AI are set to further transform the industry overall. Advertising operational leaders will stand at the forefront of this change.
In examining both key recent developments across Google and other major publishers, as well as spending and performance trends across our platform, a few major opportunities are emerging for agency leaders seeking more efficiency and performance in the year ahead. By gaining insights into these key trends, you'll be well-equipped to navigate industry shifts and take advantage of scalable growth opportunities as the industry undergoes transformation.
Opportunity #1: Embrace “long tail advertising” and custom local strategies
Even amidst economic uncertainty, projections indicate a steady growth in advertising expenditure. However, this broad outlook masks the intricate details underneath. To thrive in 2024, advertisers and agencies must adeptly navigate an expanding array of spending options, utilize localized data to fine-tune campaigns in real time, and handle a rising bulk of local promotions.
Automation addresses these challenges, creating a transformative impact in the process. Traditionally, the massive volume of assets and data points required has made delivering extensive, detailed advertising campaigns a daunting task. With a combination of AI and automation, advertisers can generate copy and creative at scale to offer a new level of bespoke user experience. AI’s role is to facilitate real-time, data-led decision making, and for automation it’s about taking those insights and applying them to campaigns at scale. The ability to quickly adapt and scale campaigns will be a game-changer in an industry where demands are constantly changing and advancing. This trend is likely to persist into the next year, yielding significant competitive advantages for advertisers who choose to invest in this approach.
Opportunity #2: “Tech-enable” your data and reporting to drive faster results and clearer insights in real-time
Every digital advertising organization is fundamentally driven by data. Through the application of AI, ad ops leaders can explore and unlock the potential of predictive analytics, providing a platform for advertisers to efficiently forecast trends and base their decisions on solid data.
Advertisers can also harness AI algorithms to sift through vast pools of data, recognizing patterns, fine-tuning their marketing strategies, and pinpointing specific audience segments. For instance, by analyzing historical behavioral patterns and trends, AI can project future actions, empowering advertisers to plan more effectively. This predictive power enables advertisers to anticipate and cater to customer needs and preferences, delivering custom messages at the right time through the most effective channels. To be successful, advertisers will also need to leverage automation to tweak their campaigns in real-time and quickly adapt to the ever-changing market conditions.
Opportunity #3: Put value and control at the center of your AI strategy
As both your brand and the digital advertising industry continues to grow, so do the challenges of maintaining compliance and brand safety. Despite their advanced capabilities, AI algorithms can unintentionally disregard brand-safety guidelines, leading to harmful reputation issues. Since AI lacks human intuition, while beneficial for production, may produce an ad that violates various rules and laws, resulting in noncompliant copy that could result in legal repercussions.
For example, in the automotive industry, Porsche will fine dealers for terms such as ‘deals’ or ‘discounts.’ In the screengrab below, you can see how ChatGPT generates various paid search headlines that include noncompliant terms.
Advertisers must integrate AI with brand safety measures and automation for effective scaling of operations. Automation systems can supervise and enforce brand guidelines across communication channels, maintaining a consistent brand image and mitigating compliance issues. By automating this process, companies save valuable time and resources for critical business functions. In 2024, advertisers should not just experiment with generative AI but also evaluate its pairing with brand safety and automation.
Opportunity #4: Harness the power of automation to fortify your operations amidst Google's continuous shift into new ad formats
Organizations automating repetitive and time-consuming processes already have more time to free up valuable resources and time for more complex and creative tasks, such as crafting compelling ad campaigns, developing innovative strategies, and nurturing client relationships.. This newfound time will be increasingly important as major publishers begin focusing on image-heavy ad formats (i.e. performance max for Google, non-endemic display for Amazon). c Automation empowers digital advertisers to focus on what truly matters: delivering exceptional results. With AI in the mix, digital advertisers have even more personalization, customization and variability in their efforts.
To see how our partners are already putting AI and automation into motion, check out a handful of our latest case studies:
- Click Here Digital drives 40% time savings and scale with Fluency vs. SA360
- BH Management lowers average cost by guest card by 40% YoY with Fluency
- By automating Vehicle Ads with Fluency, Force was able to create structure to their processes, especially with onboarding
Looking to harness the power of automation and AI? Fluency is at the forefront of this shift
In the early part of 2022, the digital advertising industry was on the brink of a transformative era driven by automation and AI. Now that we’re heading into 2024, embracing these trends is paramount for businesses to stay competitive and thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Here at Fluency, we’re proud to be at the forefront of this shift. By leveraging AI and automation, we’ve seen first-hand how advertisers can unlock unique opportunities for growth, efficiency, and success. Our CPO and President Eric Mayhew recently shared insights on intelligent automation during the MarTech conference. Our VP of Growth, Mike Tietje, also recently discussed how automation can drastically decrease the time you spend on manual tasks by over 90% at SMX Next. If you want to dive deeper, get in touch with our team to learn more.
