There were a few notable shifts in advertising last year, including AI becoming a big part of content creation, more personalized experiences emerging, the rise of augmented reality and the metaverse, and a surge in new short-form video techniques. Experts forecast that 2024’s advertising landscape will further build on these trends, with, for instance, ad teams that were initially hesitant about AI playing catch-up with early adopters.
In truth, businesses may already be benefiting from AI without realizing it, such as via Google, which uses AI to create relevant ads as part of their paid search systems. In 2024, keeping up with these trends will be crucial to maximizing advertising budgets.
In this article, we’ll explore 2024’s advertising trends and how businesses can harness them to boost engagement, value, and sales.
Table of Contents
The state of the advertising landscape in 2024 according to experts
6 advertising trends and tips to help businesses in 2024
Wrapping up
The state of the advertising landscape in 2024 according to experts
The first half of 2024 has proven to be a whirlwind in terms of job cuts, new ad tech initiatives, rising tensions between advertisers and platforms, and ongoing debates about the future of detailed tracking. Simply put, uncertainty is everywhere, and it looks like the same concerns are due to stick around for much of the year.
The second half of the year is shaping up to be a transition period during which marketers will better grasp the industry’s big changes and what they need to do to adapt to these changes. Regardless of what type of business you’re involved in, as executives, forecasters, and consultants all agree on one thing: ad spending remains.
According to Digiday, ad spending In the US will grow by 4.4% this year, reaching $570 billion, not counting political ads. But with political ads in the mix, growth jumps to 10.4%, totaling $587 billion. In the UK, IPG’s media intelligence arm, Magna, predicts a 5.7% growth in ad spending for 2024, up from 3.7% in 2023. Globally, Insider Intelligence expects ad spending to increase by nearly 10% this year.
6 advertising trends and tips to help businesses in 2024
Trend #1: Artificial intelligence
According to HubSpot State of Marketing’s report, 40% of companies have hired AI experts to support their marketing teams. Artificial intelligence has been around has been around in one form or another for 70 years, but it’s only just become a major player in advertising, and only a fraction have so far grasped its full potential.
How can businesses benefit from AI in advertising
Utilizing AI will be one of the best ways for businesses to grow and improve their ads in 2024. Businesses can consider hiring an AI expert or consultant if they want to make the most of and reap the benefits of AIs. These professionals can help businesses to better integrate AI into their work and advertising.
Even if companies don’t have access to AI experts, they can experiment with new AI tools to see how they can help. For instance, AI programs like ChatGPT and Gemini can be adopted in the advertising process, helping to brainstorm ideas, write content, plan, and more.
Trend #2: Social media advertising
Among different content types, video offers the best return on investment (ROI). This is reflected in the number of businesses now using it to reach younger audiences – who tend to rely on social video platforms over search engines – on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Short videos are expected to be one of the fastest growing areas for advertising in 2024. A quarter of marketers plan to spend more on short videos than any other type of content in 2024, while over half of those already using short videos will increase their spending. Regarding how best to break into this arena, Aja Frost, director of Global Growth at HubSpot, says: “Use social listening tools to find out what questions prospects and customers are asking, then create content with your social media team to answer those questions – or even better, let brand advocates answer them.”
Tips to help businesses build their brand’s video strategy
Grow YouTube presence
Businesses must use important keywords and create channels/playlists based on their most popular topics to increase the views of their videos.
Experiment with AI video tools
Turn blog posts into videos with AI tools like Pictory. Businesses can also make talking head videos for their brands using AI avatars from Synthesia.
2024’s top social media trend
Creating a video-centric strategy is likely the most important trend in 2024. While platforms like YouTube and TikTok have always favored video, others like Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) are now prioritizing video content, too. And if TikTok does indeed become restricted in the US, these platforms are likely to receive higher ad spending demand.
Trend #3: Influencer marketing
In 2023, one out of every four people bought something because an influencer recommended it. Marketers are noticing this trend. In 2024, influencer marketing is expected to grow significantly, with half of the marketers planning to spend more money on such advertising channels.
On this point, Kyle Denhoff, marketing director at HubSpot, says: “Brands that work with a few influencers in their area can create demand and boost sales through YouTube, newsletters, podcasts, and social media. More than half of our demand on YouTube comes from working with influencers. Our audience prefers learning from trusted experts rather than big brands. This mix of our own media and influencer partnerships is helping our business grow.”
Most influencer-driven content must include a marker that identifies it as an ad. However, sending PR boxes to influencers is a great way to bypass that rule. PR boxes let influencers try new products and share their honest reviews. However, there’s no guarantee they’ll review the product, so businesses must ensure they research and personalize their approach.
Trend #4: Experiential marketing
Experiential marketing takes a different approach to advertisement, placing businesses in the real world to give potential customers long-lasting experiences at events, trade shows, or during campaigns. This recent report shows that 16% of marketers want to try experiential marketing for the first time in 2024.
Although COVID-19 lockdowns forced most in-person events to be canceled or moved online, experiential marketing is making a strong comeback. Now that restrictions have been lifted, up to 77% of marketers are making it a big part of their advertisement strategy in 2024.
How businesses can leverage experiential marketing
If you intend to take your business to a trade show event this year, you must ensure that your booth stands out and provides an unforgettable experience for attendees. This is even more important if marketing a new product, as you have to leave a lasting impression on consumers. So, be creative with your approach and focus on providing an exciting user experience.
Businesses can use several means to ensure the success of their experiential campaigns. These can include branded social media filters, fun pop-up shops, interactive content, and giveaways. Brands may also want to explore how virtual reality can enhance their marketing and make the in-person experience more memorable for customers.
Trend #5: Extreme personalization
Around 73% of marketers surveyed think personalization is important, but only 35% feel their customers get a truly personalized experience. In 2024, personalization will matter more because similar products will be everywhere, making it harder for new and existing businesses to stand out. However, personalization offers the perfect solution for uniqueness.
What’s different about personalization in 2024?
While creating a personalized experience can take time, the effort is worth it. In 2024, personalization includes using full names in email subject lines, sending discount codes for abandoned shopping carts, recommending products based on search history, and using chatbots to tailor web experiences. Businesses can also send surveys asking customers about their shopping experience and which features or products they would like to have access to. Let’s take a closer look at why personalized marketing is so important in 2024:
Personalized experiences make marketing more effective
Marketers who provided personalized experiences in 2023 were 215% more likely to say their marketing strategy was very effective compared to those who did not.
Personalization boosts business growth
Approximately 96% of marketers believe personalization encourages repeat business, and 94% say it boosts sales.
Generative AI and automation enhance personalized customer experiences
Around 77% of marketers using generative AI say it helps them create more personalized content, while 72% report it helps them tailor customer experiences. Additionally, 70% of these marketers state that AI and automation improve overall customer experience.
Trend #6: Generating data with email marketing
The way marketers gather data about their users and customers is changing. For example, Google is addressing privacy concerns by phasing out third-party cookies, which track people online. In response, businesses now use first-party data, which users provide themselves, and other privacy-safe information. This strategy data helps to improve user security and increases the quality of marketing data.
How are businesses getting this data in 2024? One word: email. Email is a great way to collect first-party data because the information gathered is self-reported by customers. Businesses can gain consent and valuable insights by asking customers how they prefer to receive information, reducing reliance on third-party data. If you’re not already, 2024 is the time to use email to gather insights, which can be applied across all marketing channels.
Quick steps to help businesses generate data with email marketing in 2024
- Businesses can start by reviewing their available data and identifying the needed information
- Then, they can decide which data points are most important and hone in on them
- After businesses know what they are targeting, they must collect the data in a non-intrusive way
- Next, businesses should set data priorities based on their current database
- This approach will help brands build first-party data into their email strategy
Wrapping up
Keeping up with trends is a key part of marketing, especially in 2024’s changing landscape. Despite these shifts, some marketing basics remain the same, like solving customer problems and ensuring the target customer represents a large market.
However, as businesses work on solving customer problems, they must also try new trends to avoid falling behind. Combining what works with new experiences is one surefire way to navigate future advertising trends consistently and successfully. By tracking the results of each successive campaign, you can work on branching out to new ideas depending on what works.
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