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As AI revolutionizes how advertisers work, media agencies are adopting the technology to drive revenue amidst slashed client budgets and shrinking margins.
Agency leaders overwhelmingly feel that AI will have a significant and positive impact on the advertising industry, with 82.4% believing that AI will be the most influential trend to shape digital advertising in the next ten years. At the same time, media agencies have a bit of a leg up when it comes to familiarity with AI, given that they’ve relied on the technology for longer than many other players in the industry via programmatic advertising (and programmatic optimization tactics like bid shading and machine learning optimization.)
As AI develops at a rapid pace, there are an ever-expanding number of ways agencies can employ the technology to save time and increase efficiency. To make the most of AI for driving revenue and staying competitive, media agencies may want to pay particular attention to AI-powered opportunities supporting campaign planning and optimization.
One of AI’s most meaningful impacts on marketing is its ability to organize and analyze huge amounts of data in a fraction of the time it would take for a human to do so. This AI-powered capability has already revolutionized the media buying space, most notably through the advent of programmatic advertising. Today, AI is growing increasingly effective at pulling insights from audience and historical campaign data to help marketing teams craft more impactful campaign strategies. And generative AI is opening new possibilities for supporting and accelerating the campaign planning process, with 6.4% of marketers reporting that they use generative AI for tasks related to media buying strategy, and a flurry of new tools emerging that look to expand that number significantly.
AI-driven social listening, for example, is becoming table stakes for marketers. Manually sifting through social media to gain insights on the top concerns of consumers looking for a certain type of product takes hours—but AI-powered social listening tools can get it done in a matter of minutes. Using these tools, advertisers can easily track their competitors online as well as quickly generate clear insights into consumer sentiments, preferences, and trends. They can then use those insights in the planning process to ensure their campaigns are attuned to both competitor activity and consumer sentiment and behavior. For example, Fulham Football Club uses social listening to gain a more segmented and nuanced understanding of their fanbase according to their online activity, which opens up opportunities to target those segments with personalized messaging. This heightened attunement to their audience helps Fulham spend more efficiently, which in turn drives revenue.
Moreover, these types of tools aren’t exclusive to social—AI listening tools can pull data from search touchpoints and synthesize data from consumer reviews as well.
Beyond customer listening, media agencies and their technology partners are finding more and more ways to refine campaign planning processes using AI’s data synthesis capabilities. For example, some advertising platforms can employ AI to synthesize data from all the campaigns that run within them, and provide advertisers with insights into performance benchmarks and budget distribution trends amongst marketing teams working in the same vertical. AI can also accelerate the forecasting process, enabling advertisers to predict available inventory based on specific criteria and implement new strategies using the precise targeting parameters from their forecasts.
Media agencies are also mitigating signal loss by using technologies like CDPs equipped with AI to quickly gather, standardize, and leverage consumer data to pull audience insights and track the customer journey to plan their campaigns more strategically as well.
Overall, leveraging AI to implement audience and competitor insights in the planning process can help media agencies save time and craft data-driven strategies that are finely attuned to their target audiences’ needs and preferences as well as market trends, helping them better drive ROAS and deliver revenue for their clients.
AI-powered campaign optimization has been around for a while, but new innovations in this area offer media agencies a variety of ways to allocate campaign assets and budgets more effectively. In fact, AI is moving the advertising industry closer to a world where teams will spend very little time on manual campaign optimization, freeing them up for more strategic and fulfilling tasks.
Tools like bid shading and group budget optimization, which automatically make campaign adjustments to improve win rates and drive increased ROAS, have begun this process and are growing more widely adopted. As AI continues to progress, more tools such as these are expected to emerge and help advertisers drive revenue by allocating their dollars towards the tactics, channels, and properties where they’re most impactful.
Major adtech partners are also rolling out offerings that include AI-driven campaign optimization features, such as Google’s Performance Max and Meta’s Advantage+. However, these walled-garden offerings don’t come without trade-offs—the most significant one being the transparency media buyers are used to. While it’s important for advertisers to test and learn on these tools, media teams must assess whether they are actually accomplishing their goals, rather than setting and forgetting their campaigns.
Dynamic creative optimization (DCO) is another developing area that’s helping media teams save time and spend more effectively, allowing media teams to serve high volumes of diverse creative that’s personalized to specific audience segments, which makes it more likely for ads to resonate with more consumers. One Jack in the Box campaign, for example, used DCO to generate 135 different ad variations and saw a whopping 85% increase in CTR compared to the campaign’s benchmark.
DCO not only reduces time spent on manual creative optimizations, but also provides media teams with extensive insights on how all those creative variations perform, allowing them to tweak their strategies based on those learnings. The speed and efficiency with which AI can process and analyze data, and generate new content based on its findings, will doubtless enhance creative optimization technologies moving forward: Creative optimization was marketers’ third-most popular response when asked what part of the digital marketing process they expect to be most impacted by AI.
These are just a few of the many ways in which AI is helping advertisers to automate and speed up the campaign optimization process, and there are plenty more coming down the line as the technology advances. When used effectively (and carefully monitored by human teams), these tools hold tremendous promise for increasing efficiency and personalization—and thus for driving revenue for media agencies and their clients.
With over half of marketing leaders believing that AI will make marketers significantly more efficient at their jobs within the next three-to-five years, AI-driven workflow automation is another major area of opportunity for media agencies.
Indeed, all the AI-driven campaign planning and optimization functionality detailed above can help contribute to overall workflow automation, in that they automate parts of the campaign process and reduce manual workloads for marketing teams. But there are other applications as well: For example, some agencies are turning to AI copilots to automate their workflows. AI-driven copilots are LLMs that are integrated into existing tools and platforms and collaborate with the marketers using them. They improve efficiency and accelerate specific workflows, such as by detecting inconsistencies across different media formats.
By adopting AI-driven tools throughout the campaign life cycle that automate manual tasks, advertising leaders can streamline their workflows and save time. This is an application that’s been of interest to marketing organizations for some time already, with 61% of marketers reporting that their organization has invested in technology to automate or streamline processes in the past year. And adoption is set to increase, with 66% of marketers saying their organizations have plans to invest in this kind of technology within the next year.
In an era where media fragmentation, signal loss, high turnover rates, and many other factors are making agency work more difficult for marketing professionals, AI’s ability to automate manual tasks and streamline workflows is one of its major benefits for media agencies looking to save time, drive efficiency, and increase revenue.
Media agencies have a unique opportunity to leverage AI to drive revenue and enhance efficiency, at a time when such results are critically needed across the agency landscape. AI-powered planning and optimization tools are two areas that offer particularly strong benefits.
Additionally, the AI-driven campaign planning and optimization functionality detailed above can pair with workflow automation technology to help drive wider agency efficiency, reducing manual workloads for teams across the organization.
In exploring and integrating these types of AI into their operations, media agencies can open new avenues for growth and innovation, and position themselves at the forefront of an increasingly AI-driven industry.
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Curious to learn more about how advertisers are navigating AI adoption? Get all the latest insights in our report, AI and the Future of Marketing.
It’s been less than two years since OpenAI introduced the public to ChatGPT and officially ushered in the generative AI era, and the technology has quickly become the hottest topic in all of marketing.
Agencies and in-house teams have rushed to begin using new AI solutions in pursuit of greater efficiency, deeper insights, and creative inspiration, while adtech and martech companies have eagerly promoted their own AI capabilities in the hopes of cashing in on the buzz.
Amidst this flurry of excitement and activity around AI’s potential, marketers and advertisers have begun facing a steady increase in pressure to demonstrate the impact of these new tools. Is AI, in fact, driving new levels of efficiency and facilitating stronger work? Are industry professionals still as excited about this still-emerging tech as they were a year ago, during its relative infancy? Do its many much-touted upsides outweigh a laundry list of potential risk factors? And how much of this AI hype cycle is just that: hype?
For this report, we surveyed marketing and advertising professionals from top agencies, brands, and publishers to see how marketers are using and feel about AI today, and to explore how the technology is poised to shape the industry going forward.
Findings include:
Throughout programmatic advertising history, brands have often entrusted its execution to agencies and trading desks. But today, in a world of high consumer expectations and constantly shifting market dynamics, many brands are searching for an alternative to the traditional brand-agency model as they look to gain greater transparency into their media buys, more holistic control over their data, and greater assurance of compliance with privacy regulations.
The result: programmatic in-housing.
Numerous heavy hitters have already brought elements of their programmatic operations in-house, including Marriott, Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Bayer, Wayfair, American Express, Unilever, Anheuser-Busch, Netflix, Target, Deutsche Telekom, and Ally Financial. Now, as those groundbreaking programs mature and their outcomes come into view, more brand advertising leaders are peering over with interest and beginning to question whether they, too, should take some—or total—control of their own programmatic business.
With many different levels of programmatic in-housing available, as well as a variety of potential benefits and challenges, leaders must carefully consider which—if any—in-housing option is best for their brand and team. Whether opting for full control, a hybrid approach, or a path to self-service, choosing the right in-housing model can significantly impact both campaign performance and operational efficiency.
The first adopters of in-house programmatic media buying were mostly digital natives like Netflix and Target—brands boasting rich, voluminous first-party data that gave them a head start on the process. Over time, though, the types of companies in-housing have become more diversified. And, they have done so with varying degrees of success.
Those who tried and failed often did so because they underestimated the logistical hurdles involved and became too fixated on the stereotype that in-housing is an all-or-nothing play—just look at Vodafone or Prudential. But this idea of agency versus in-house programmatic as a dichotomy is outdated, as it doesn’t suit the needs of modern brands. As marketing leaders learn more about the intricacies behind this digital transformation, a whole range of in-house programmatic manifestations are emerging, with brands and agencies breaking new ground and creating new operational frameworks as their relationships evolve. Indeed, in-housing programmatic is far from a death knell for agencies—brands still lean heavily on their external partners, and agency investments still command more than 20% of total marketing budgets. Understanding market logistics and maximizing technology-driven optimization opportunities requires as much critical insight as possible, and agencies remain ideally positioned to provide that guidance.
When it comes to programmatic in-housing, one thing is clear: Where we were five years ago looks very different from today, and where we are today will look very different five years from now.
While it is difficult to neatly classify the numerous variations of in-housing—especially considering all the factors involved—here are four of the most common arrangements:
This is the quintessential in-housing set-up, where an adtech stack sits within a brand organization in tandem with media strategy, ad operations, data management, and campaign stewardship. An in-house operation that looks like this is still relatively uncommon, given the major commitment of time, resources, and internal talent marketing organizations need to launch, maintain, and refine it.
However, despite the complexities involved, the popularity of programmatic in-housing is rising, and brands are building relationships with the technology platforms and the talent they need for in-housing to succeed. Case in point: 66% of brands say they have contracts with technology providers like DSPs or verification partners, and two-thirds also say they have “hands on keyboards” doing the actual work.
For brands going down this route, the classic approach involves forming an internal agency-style trading desk and equipping them with a demand side platform (DSP). Going all-in can be a monumental task, but with the right preparation, planning, and implementation, the returns are significant. Pharmaceuticals giant Bayer, which first began developing their in-housing operations back in 2017, was reportedly able to reduce its programmatic buying costs by over $10 million in just the first six weeks. The company has also pointed to a number of additional in-housing related benefits, including ownership of their tech stacks, data, and dashboards.
Bayer’s success presents a microcosm of the upsides that come from in-housing programmatic. Transparency is a major one: With data privacy at the front and center of public consciousness, it is paramount that brands know exactly what their advertising is doing.
Despite progress over the last few years, many agencies still fall short on providing real visibility into the digital ad buying process. This lack of transparency, combined with increased control and potential cost savings, drives many brand leaders to pursue in-housing. Indeed, gaining access to unfiltered campaign performance data empowers brands to do a host of valuable things, including:
The fact that Bayer was able to save $10+ million almost immediately after in-housing its programmatic is more the exception than the rule. Brands often see cost benefits over time as they save on agency fees, including fixed rates, platform costs, and media expenses. Internal programmatic teams can concentrate solely on maximizing profitability for their brand. In contrast, agency partners balance this goal with their own revenue needs and margin requirements. Going all-in on in-housing removes these additional layers, potentially streamlining the path to increased profitability.
Then there is the matter of cost efficiencies through better campaign execution. The switch in-house ultimately enables brands to invest in—and nurture—talent within their marketing organization. While outsourced staffing solutions can provide some great results, they may not be able to optimize the consumer journey with the same granularity as an in-house staffer who knows the brand through and through.
Now, there may be many upsides to in-housing, but brand leaders should not underestimate the organizational, technological, and cultural challenges involved in this digital transformation.
For starters, programmatic in-housing takes time. Ideally, the transition should be a well-researched, deliberate journey with calculated investment in the right resources and tech over a period of many months, if not years. From the outset, those leading the change need to ensure they involve a wide range of internal stakeholders from all corners of their organization, including finance, legal, product, and IT. All these teams will have either a direct or indirect influence on the program’s success, so it is important to listen to their input on the process and get their buy-in before proceeding. What are the security implications, for example, from an IT perspective? How much budget is available for the required tools? How are privacy regulations going to be respected? What are the data challenges from a CRM standpoint? A multitude of questions must be answered, so the more support earned from across the organization, the better.
In sum, programmatic in-housing is not something you can just do on a whim, and it is critical to set the expectation internally that transformational results are unlikely to arrive immediately. Brands accustomed to focusing on short-to-medium term initiatives and goals must learn to adapt to protracted, longer-term processes and a new way of working if they want to successfully in-house programmatic.
Of course, most marketing leaders are thinking hard about how to wrangle more out of their advertising dollars, and many are concluding that they need outside help and guidance to do so successfully. At the same time, many media agencies are adopting new structures—reorganizing in a way that makes it easier to offer on-demand services and step into a more advisory role for clients that seek to in-house some of their programmatic budgets. It is a development that makes sense for both parties: Agencies have extensive experience in what works and what doesn’t in the programmatic sphere—not to mention the tools necessary for executing on programmatic media buys—and clients need to tap into those resources as they bring some of that operational activity inside their own walls.
This, in essence, is what the hybrid in-housing model is all about: An in-house marketing team tees up the overarching strategy before consulting with an agency on how to deliver it in the market. Sometimes, this will lead to the agency assuming the day-to-day responsibilities of implementing the plan and pulling the levers, and other times it will lead to the advertiser doing the work with their own platform under the agency’s direction.
The latter scenario is the one that more brands are pursuing, as it ultimately merges many of the best aspects of both in-housing and outsourcing. With hybrid in-housing, brands can:
An Association of National Advertisers study frames the hybrid in-housing trend in numerical terms, finding that, in 2023, only 32% of marketers had in-house programmatic capabilities, and just 17% of the remaining respondents were considering adding those capabilities within the next year. This highlights just how important agencies remain to brands. Programmatic advertising can be a complex venture, and there are still many marketing organizations that struggle to identify the right systems to help them better engage their audiences. The hybrid option alleviates that pressure and empowers brands to take whatever baby steps they want.
Option number three: fully outsourcing, a route that many brands still prefer despite the myriad benefits that in-housing offers. It represents a great option for those who don’t have the resources to build an internal programmatic team and all the costs that come with it—think upfront licensing fees, salaries, training, etc.
From a brand perspective, the main drawbacks to contracting out all aspects of programmatic advertising are the lack of control they will enjoy over their consumer data and the limited transparency they will get into media performance. To address this, however, some agencies are recalibrating with a dynamic that is helping them win more programmatic business: the holding company model solution. Indeed, a growing number of agency pitches today feature purpose-built services supported by their holding company’s dedicated data and analytics divisions. It is a move designed to negate the potential for brand-agency conflicts, with these specialty customer intelligence orgs brought into the equation to fuel better communications planning and extract deeper insights into the brand’s marketing efficacy. It is a symbol of how some agencies are responding to the moment and the mood of the industry, becoming nimbler and reengineering their capabilities to stay attractive to brands.
One key area where agencies retain an upper hand in the in-housing/outsourcing calculation is talent. Managing and optimizing programmatic media is a complex art, and advertisers considering independence from agencies will need a glut of staff additions to ensure they are doing things right—a programmatic manager, a data analyst, and a DSP operator, to name but a few.
The problem facing brand-side HR departments today is actually filling these positions—the labor market in this field is desperately tight, job titles are evolving, and, to make matters tougher, the available talent often take opportunities at agencies over brands because they can offer better career progression, opportunities to diversify, and ongoing learning. Within the four walls of a brand, those things can be difficult to come by, considering there is only one program to service and (most likely) fewer opportunities to influence overall strategy.
No player in the programmatic space can expect to be successful without the right people doing the bidding, so this talent shortage is a pressing concern for brands, often leaving them with no choice but to look to external partners.
Likely a concept that many marketing leaders may not even be familiar with, the path to self-service model is aimed at brands that desire greater control over specialized programmatic functions but may be kept in check by internal resource limitations.
The premise is simple: Marketing organizations tap dedicated in-housing consultants to onboard new technology at a pace that makes sense for their evolving business. Then, as the client gets more comfortable with each aspect of the programmatic ecosystem, the consultants introduce more capabilities and training modules to nurture in-house teams to the point where they can manage everything independently. This is an option that may suit small- to medium-sized teams who have been wary of in-housing programmatic media buying because they felt it too complex and/or tedious for them to manage alone. But with the proper training and strategists on standby, teams can maintain internal operations with far greater ease.
Here is what a typical path to self-service might look like over six months:
This path to self-service blueprint can ultimately help brand leaders ensure their systems, campaigns, and data consolidation practices are set up effectively from the outset, allowing their teams to mitigate many of the issues that can bring in-housing plans grinding to a halt.
From platforms to people to processes and everything in between, with so many factors to weigh when considering in-housing programmatic ad buying, where does one start? Here are a few considerations for marketing leaders looking into in-housing, whether they’re at the RFP stage or just the “I was thinking about…” step:
1. Evaluate “why” this is important to your organization. Is your organization looking to cut costs? Hit a business objective? Gain more operational control? Identifying your in-housing “why” will allow you to understand your needs, wants, limitations, and what you’re trying to change. It also creates space for a feasibility check and an objective session to help move from problem to solution.
2. Understand the landscape. Nearly a decade ago, in-housing came into vogue thanks to tactics like RTB. However, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, long-term contracts and full-time employees became more of a burden as businesses just tried to survive. If you do consider in-housing, it’s important to consider it in context of the larger marketing and economic landscapes to ensure that now is the right time to take the first steps.
3. Review your readiness. When it comes to technology, are you comfortable vetting new options to streamline how you use your existing tech stack? In terms of people, are you well-positioned to add, retain, or replace talent? As far as strategy, how does your first-party data look? How confident are you in making real-time optimizations to live campaigns? Answering these critical questions can uncover your gaps as well as highlight opportunities for process and personnel improvements.
4. Bring in the right stakeholders. As noted earlier, organizations that wish to bring their programmatic adtech stacks in-house—even if an agency might still operate and manage it—should invite HR, IT, CRM specialists, finance, legal, and product to early conversations, as any of these people may have direct or indirect influence on, or use of, the tools at hand.
5. Bite off only what you can chew. Even though it may save money in the long run, in-housing programmatic can be an expensive venture: It takes time, it takes energy, it can be costly, and it can be disruptive to the status quo for many organizations. Taking it on in small chunks can help match a company’s tolerance level for each of those considerations, whether that be in the form of a hybrid model or a path to self-service.
Bringing programmatic media buying in-house is a significant undertaking. The whole operation must be built on a foundation of organized data, deliberate processes, capable tools, and skillful talent. As programmatic’s prominence rises and privacy continues to be at the forefront for consumers and regulators alike, more marketing leaders may want to in-house their programmatic advertising… But, all too often, they don’t know where to begin.
The good news that is a host of options exist, from going all-in, to a hybrid approach where brands and agencies share responsibilities, to full outsourcing, to going down a path to self-service. Overall, in-housing has many benefits, the biggest being the ability to obtain greater transparency into media buys and secure more holistic control over data, not to mention the possibility of significant long-term cost savings. And either way, agencies still have an important role to play in the media buying ecosystem—whether as valued partners or as critical consultants.
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If you’re starting to think about making changes to your organization’s programmatic advertising strategy and are looking for some guidance, our Programmatic Readiness Quiz can help! In just three minutes, you’ll discover whether outsourcing, hybrid, or in-house programmatic ad buying is the best path for achieving your team's goals.
Whether it’s making headlines for its commanding role in the political advertising sphere, its record-setting viewership levels, or its popularity among younger generations, it’s no secret that connected TV (CTV) is one of the most talked about—and fastest-growing—advertising channels.
However, rapid channel growth is often accompanied by increased risks, and CTV is no exception. Factors like its fragmented nature and lack of standardization make it vulnerable to fraud, from inflated ad impressions to wasted spending on inactive devices. At the same time, advertisers face the possibility of their ads being placed next to low-quality content or content that conflicts with their brand values, which can erode audience trust. Fortunately, there are solutions to address these risks, which allow teams to harness the full potential of this booming channel in a way that protects against ad fraud and brand safety threats.
The TV landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, as connected TV and over-the-top (OTT) have exploded in popularity and traditional linear TV viewership has declined. Over the past five years, time spent with CTV has increased by more than 137%, and time spent with traditional/linear TV has decreased by nearly 17%. Even more, in June 2024, streaming amassed the highest share of TV usage—a whopping 40.3%—surpassing the previous record set by cable in June 2021.
However, the fast-paced influx of CTV ad dollars has attracted attention from fraudsters and other bad actors, making ad fraud a growing threat on the channel. This is of particular concern when it comes to programmatic CTV: In Q3 2023, 15% of programmatic CTV advertising traffic was found to be invalid.
At the same time, more than 80% of CTV ad buyers feel significantly concerned about securing brand suitable ad placements. Because the landscape is so fragmented—with viewers watching across a variety of apps and platforms on their connected devices—it’s more difficult for advertisers to control precisely what content and/or programming their ads run alongside. As a result, teams that overlook a brand safety plan when investing in the channel could very well end up with fraudulent placements and/or ads served next to content that is unsuitable for their brand or client.
Part of the reason ad fraud in the CTV landscape is increasing is because advertisers are spending more programmatic dollars on the channel. While CTV makes up a relatively small fraction of the overall programmatic market, more than 2 in every 5 new programmatic dollars spent are going to the channel. Without proper safeguards, programmatic inventory becomes more vulnerable to fraud, driven by reduced ad verification, increased traffic volume, and a fragmented supply chain.
Bot fraud, which artificially boosts the number of video ad impressions, is one of the most common types of ad fraud in the CTV open marketplace. DoubleVerify and Roku recently identified “CycloneBot,” a highly sophisticated fraud scheme that not only spoofs impressions but also simulates prolonged CTV viewing sessions, making the invalid impressions more difficult to detect. The bot can spoof 1.5 million devices, equating to 250 million invalid ad requests every single day. Fortunately, thanks to Roku’s Advertising Watermark and DoubleVerify’s verification process, the bot was detected. Moving forward, Roku is looking adapt their watermark into an industry standard to better combat such fraud schemes.
Beyond these fraud risks, CTV’s rapid rise in popularity has also led to significant brand safety challenges. Without safeguards in place, advertisers’ CTV ads could end up running alongside low-quality or unsuitable content—or, in more extreme cases, harmful or misleading misinformation or disinformation.
Take, for instance, YouTube’s dominating presence in the connected TV space. In early 2024, Nielsen announced YouTube was the top streaming platform by time spent watching by viewers for an entire year, with viewers across the globe watching more than 1 billion hours of YouTube content on their connected TVs each day. But platforms like YouTube pose a substantial brand safety risk, given that they are filled with user-generated content (UGC). While ads on the channel might run alongside more traditional tv programming that viewers are accessing via streaming on their CTV, they could also very well appear next to UGC that may or may not be a brand suitable environment.
Made-for-advertising (MFA) CTV apps pose an additional brand safety challenge. Much like MFA websites, MFA CTV apps often employ aggressive tactics that create a low-quality experience for viewers. And like ad fraud, this problem is more common in the open marketplace, with an estimated $144 million in programmatic ad spending going to such low-quality CTV apps each year.
Overall, while CTV was once seen as a brand safety haven, its rapid growth and evolution now require advertising teams to carefully consider brand safety when investing in the channel.
Another brand safety concern advertisers must navigate in the CTV space is its meteoric popularity among political advertisers.
Traditional linear TV has long been a go-to for political advertisers, and it’s no surprise that political CTV advertising has exploded as viewers have shifted to streaming. In fact, in 2024, 45% of all digital political ad spending is forecast to go to CTV. For some teams, serving ads alongside political content might be viewed as a boon, as this content often draws a lot of attention. On the other hand, political content and ads can be negative and divisive, making adjacent ad placements unsuitable for some teams. And with the explosion of generative AI, coupled with many tech behemoths making significant cuts to their trust and safety teams, the prevalence of political mis- and disinformation is growing all the more rampant in digital spaces. This adds an additional layer of consideration for advertisers looking to make the most of CTV in 2024.
As advertisers consider their CTV brand safety plans, it’s critical to think through the implications of advertising alongside political content, particularly during high-impact time periods like the weeks leading up to Election Day.
Amidst this complexity, how can advertisers meaningfully prioritize brand safety on connected TV? Though this is still an area that is evolving and developing, there are steps advertisers can take now to maximize the CTV opportunity while protecting against fraud as well as brand safety and suitability concerns.
First, teams can take advantage of high quality, premium inventory offered through programmatic guaranteed and private marketplace deals. “When it comes to these types of deals, the brand safety plan is essentially built into the deal itself,” says Kali Baldino, VP of Media Investment at Basis Technologies. “When you’re working with the provider to build these premium deals, you’re indicating what types of content you want to run on—and what types you want to avoid—from the start.” These options offer a higher level of control and quality assurance compared to open marketplaces, reducing the risk of ad fraud. They also offer enhanced control over where ads are placed, allowing advertisers to ensure their ads are appearing in brand suitable placements.
Additionally, when bidding on the open marketplace, advertisers can use tools like allowlists, blocklists, or CTV-specific contextual targeting segments to focus their ads on desired placements. “We’ve seen a lot of success by focusing on the types of content teams do want their CTV ads to appear alongside and building a brand safety strategy around that,” says Baldino. “However, I’d advise against getting too specific, as that can limit a campaign’s reach.” By using these tools intentionally, teams can achieve a balance between brand safety and campaign reach, maximizing the impact of their campaigns while mitigating potential risks.
In addition, advertisers can ensure fraud prevention, brand safety, and brand suitability on CTV by working with partners to help monitor and validate ad placements to ensure they meet teams’ brand safety standards and reduce the risk of fraud both pre- and post-bid. For instance, partners like Peer39 can help protect brand safety through contextual targeting solutions that ensure ads are placed in suitable environments; Comscore provides audience measurement and analytics to help verify ads and ensure they are being shown to legitimate viewers on CTV platforms; and DoubleVerify offers solutions to verify ad placements, prevent fraud, and measure viewability, as well as to ensure ads are not placed alongside inappropriate or unsafe content. Just how effective are these types of brand safety and ad fraud verification? One study found that advertisers not using verification experienced an 11.2% fraud rate, compared to a rate of 0.6% for those who did use verification to protect their CTV campaigns.
Finally, when it comes to navigating political content, there are several steps that teams can take to ensure their CTV ads are not running alongside unsuitable political content and/or misinformation or disinformation. First, during times when political content is most prevalent (i.e., the weeks leading up to Election Day or primaries in battleground states), advertisers can up their spend on platforms where political content is not allowed, such as Netflix and Disney+, and may choose to suspend their ad spend on platforms that tend to see more divisive political content, such as X. Additionally, they can use blocklists or allowlists to eliminate placements known to be associated with political content and/or misinformation. Even more, contextual targeting can help teams to place ads only within content categories that are relevant and appropriate, thus minimizing (though, admittedly, not completely eliminating) the chances they appear next to controversial or undesirable political content.
By approaching CTV campaigns intentionally and with a strong brand safety plan in mind, teams can navigate the complexities the channel poses and avoid potential brand safety and fraud risks.
Connected TV advertising offers significant opportunities to advertisers, but it isn’t without its drawbacks. Amidst its soaring popularity in recent years, ad fraud and brand safety concerns have become more pronounced on the channel, making it more critical that advertising teams craft intentional and proactive plans to ensure suitable ad placements that inspire trust and foster connection with target audiences.
By seeking to understand the ad fraud and brand safety challenges in the space, crafting a CTV brand safety plan, and working with partners to avoid fraud and ensure ads meet brand safety standards, advertisers can make the most of the CTV opportunity while protecting themselves from the rising threats of ad fraud and brand safety risks.
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Want to learn more about connected TV advertising, especially within the context of a more holistic digital video approach? Check out our guide, Video Unleashed: The Ultimate Guide to Digital Video Advertising.
“Buzzword: A keyword; a catchword or expression currently fashionable; a term used more to impress than to inform, esp. a technical or jargon term” – Oxford English Dictionary
All industries have their buzzwords, but the advertising space seems to invite a few more than its fair share. And, in many ways, it makes perfect sense: Advertisers are experts at selling brands, ideas, products, and services, and language is a key component of any pitch. Trendy words and phrases can help signal that the person or business using them is at the forefront of innovation.
Of course, as the OED notes in their definition of “buzzword,” these terms and phrases can be used more to impress than to inform. As a result, when words become buzzwords, their meanings and applications often become less clear.
That said, taking stock of the buzzwords of the moment can be instructive for advertisers looking to better understand their competitors and the industry. The marketing terms and phrases that are in vogue can tell us a lot about what’s top-of-mind for advertisers: their pain points, their needs, their anxieties, and more.
As the advertising industry transforms thanks to tectonic factors like AI, the shift towards privacy-first marketing, and media fragmentation and the increasing complexity of advertising work, the terms advertisers hear and use frequently can tell a meaningful story about the broader advertising landscape. To better explore this, we asked marketing experts at Basis to share their buzzword-related insights—specifically, which buzzwords they hear all the time, their level of value and meaning, why they’re currently so popular, and what their popularity says about the state of the industry.
Most-Heard Buzzwords: AI, Growth hacking
Colleen’s Take: Often, it feels like advertisers bring these words into conversation to demonstrate that they’re in touch with the latest trends. However, they aren’t always relevant or helpful.
‘Growth hacking,’ which refers to rapidly increasing a brand or client’s user base or revenue with minimal budget/resources, feels especially demonstrative of the industry today. I see this buzzword used frequently by brands (particularly start-ups) to describe an approach where every dollar spent is heavily scrutinized. If it’s not driving measurable growth, it's cut.
Reading Between the Lines: The underlying story is that brands and agencies have been battling economic turbulence and other financial pressures for several years now, and they’re doing everything they can to try and drive revenue and increase the efficiency of their spend.
Most-Heard Buzzwords: ID bridging, ID spoofing
Noor’s Take: 2024 has been marked by discussion about alternative addressability solutions, as third-party cookies were expected to be fully deprecated before year’s end. As the adtech industry sought out new methods for consumer tracking, ID bridging gained traction as a proposed option. This solution intends to link user IDs via matching across channels and platforms to create a cohesive profile.
ID bridging has received a fair amount of criticism, including concerns around privacy, the formulation of unreliable IDs, and the need for volumes of first-party data. The handling and linking of related data points for ID bridging makes room for another problematic buzzword: ID spoofing. ID spoofing occurs when bad actors manipulate IDs in a bidstream to masquerade as other user IDs which may be more attractive to advertisers.
While Google no longer intends to deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome, marketers must still grapple with signal loss and the shift towards privacy-first advertising, meaning that these terms will likely continue to make the rounds.
Reading Between the Lines: Both terms have brought new points of contention and confusion to the advertising space. We Are Raptive founder Paul Barrister summed up the issue by saying: “After a year+ of talking to dozens of companies about ID bridging, I can confidently say that all ID bridging conversations are a series of miscommunications and misunderstandings.”
Most-Heard Buzzwords: Halo effect, "Right message, right time, right place”
Molly’s Take: Neither of these phrases are necessarily easy to measure and achieve.
The popularity of the term “halo effect” reflects that brand awareness is growing as a known need as a response to the industry’s laser-focus on performance marketing in recent years. Meanwhile, “right message, right time, right place” speaks to the fragmentation of the media landscape and the importance of marketing strategies that are aligned with the customer journey. Advertisers are returning to this adage, which has been around since our industry began, to guide their strategies as they grapple with fragmentation and media complexity.
Reading Between the Lines: These terms reflect a wider trend of advertisers returning to the basics as a way to cope with the significant transformation and complexity that currently characterizes the industry.
Most-Heard Buzzword: AI
Andrew’s Take: People have seen the power of generative AI with ChatGPT and are trying to imagine all the applications for creating efficiency. The popularity of the term “AI” speaks to advertisers’ goal of leveraging technology to be more efficient and effective. The industry is looking to stretch budgets as much as possible and do more with less, and many believe that AI can be used to do that effectively at scale.
While there are many real applications for AI, there are also people who try to take advantage of the buzz around it and apply it to things that don’t quite fit (i.e., AI-washing). It seems like this happens every time something is capturing headlines—for example, when blockchain technology was all the rage a couple of years ago.
Reading Between the Lines: As AI develops, it’s critical for advertisers to weed out the PR plays from what's real. This applies to all buzzwords.
In reviewing the buzzwords that advertising leaders hear most frequently, two distinct themes emerge, each providing meaningful insights for advertisers looking to better understand the current landscape.
The first is financial pressures. Advertisers have been dealing with economic instability for years now, and agencies are under particularly acute financial stress. The popularity of terms like “growth hacking” signal the urgency marketers feel around making the most of their budgets. The same can be said of marketers’ infatuation with AI, as businesses increasingly look to the technology to drive revenue and increase efficiency.
The second is that, even with Google calling off its plans to deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome, advertisers are still scrambling to market their brands and clients effectively amidst signal loss and media fragmentation. In this context, new and uncertain tactics like ID bridging can seem like an attractive way to help advertisers connect with their target audiences—and that attractiveness is amplified by marketing teams’ urgent need for alternative addressability solutions—but their effectiveness isn’t proven, and they may open advertisers up to additional risk.
Ultimately, while buzzwords can often be frustratingly vague or overhyped, they also offer valuable insights into what’s currently top of mind for advertisers. The critical task for marketers is to discern meaningful information and thought leadership from mere buzz designed solely to impress. By critically engaging with these terms and understanding their real-world applications, advertisers can set themselves ahead of many of their peers and position themselves favorably in context to the industry’s greatest hopes and fears.
Though marketing to Generation Alpha might seem like a far-off reality (after all, wasn’t it just yesterday we started to talk about connecting with Gen Z?), today’s youngest generation is already beginning to demonstrate a remarkable influence. With Gen Alphas forecast to amass $5.46 trillion in spending power by 2029, the time for brands and marketers to begin understanding these young consumers is, well, now.
Born between 2010 and the present day (the generation will include those born through 2025), the oldest Gen Alphas are just entering their teen years. With an estimated 2.8 million-plus Gen Alphas being born each week across the globe, they are projected to number more than 2 billion in total by 2025. As the first generation born entirely in the 21st century, they have grown up with near-constant access to technology, and their digital habits are already being formed.
Gen Alphas are not passive online users. They actively engage, create, and influence digital content, and prefer personalized, immersive, and interactive online experiences. As such, this generation’s emerging online behaviors and media preferences are already redefining how every sector interacts with them. For advertising teams to effectively connect with these young consumers when and where they’re spending time, they must understand what motivates them, how they’re currently engaging online, and how their behaviors are anticipated to evolve in the coming years.
Following in Gen Z’s footsteps, Gen Alpha is predicted to be the largest and most diverse generation yet. In the United States alone, there are approximately 45.6 million Gen Alphas now and they have already surpassed the general population in diversity. And by 2025, they will outnumber baby boomers.
This young generation is already showing distinct characteristics that are key for brands and marketers to understand. For instance, a striking 92% of Gen Alphas believe it is important to be themselves, reflecting a strong sense of individuality and authenticity. And, interestingly, most Gen Alpha parents report that their kids would rather play outside than in front of a screen, suggesting that traditional forms of play still hold significant appeal despite the rise of digital entertainment.
When it comes to Generation Alpha, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be overlooked. Many of this generation’s members were born during the height of the pandemic or started school in its midst, experiencing firsthand the uncertainty and turbulence it brought. Gen Alpha’s early exposure to such a significant global event influenced their general outlook and mental health significantly. Notably, 75% of 8- to 10-year-olds say they are already thinking about mental health, and 37% of Gen Alpha parents are concerned their children will be worse off than they were in this regard.
Though they are showing distinct and unique preferences and behaviors, members of this generation are also significantly influenced by their parents. With more than half of this generation being born of millennial parents, researchers have dubbed them “mini millennials,” since so many of them are developing similar habits and brand preferences as their parents. That said, like each generation that has preceded it, Gen Alpha represents a new segment of consumers whose unique life experiences and values will shape the future of marketing.
Generation Alpha is the second wave of true digital natives, with an even deeper immersion in the digital world than the first digital native generation, Gen Z. In the US alone, there are 36.2 million children aged zero to 11 who are active internet users in 2024, nearly 12 million more than those aged 12 to 17. This early and extensive exposure to the internet sets Gen Alpha apart and will likely shape their online habits, preferred media channels, and other behaviors in the years to come.
Notably, 43% of Gen Alphas have a tablet before the age of 6, and 58% have a smartphone by the age of 10. This early and widespread access to digital devices from such a young age means that Gen Alpha is not simply familiar with technology—they are growing up with it as an integral part of their daily lives. For brands and marketers, understanding this deep digital integration will be key to engaging with this generation effectively as they grow older.
Additionally, 39% of Gen Alpha spends at least three hours a day looking at screens, and 24% spends at least seven hours a day on smartphones, underscoring how substantial a role technology already plays with this generation. And in 2024, 80% of internet users aged 11 and under will use a tablet at least once per month; 59.6% are connected TV viewers at least once per month; and 29.2% are smartphone users at least once per month. Even when they aren’t directly interacting with them, screens are everywhere in Alphas’ lives—in their classrooms, their parents’ hands, their living rooms, and even the stores they frequent. This pervasive digital media presence shapes their experiences, preferences, and behaviors. As they grow older, brands will need to think about how they will be able to connect with Gen Alpha given their deep immersion in the digital world.
It will be several years before Gen Alpha reaches an age where they can be advertised to. However, by seeking to understand their behaviors and preferences today, marketing teams will be well-positioned to connect meaningfully with them when they come of age.
Despite how young they are now, this generation is already forming brand affinities, both because they’ve gained some brand savvy through encountering different products and ads online, and because of their parents’ influence. In fact, just under half of Gen Alpha’s parents report that their kids already have favorite brands, and the cultural phenomenon of Gen Alpha “Sephora Kids”—aka kids dropping substantial money on skincare aimed at adults—has been making headlines. This early brand affinity presents an opportunity for marketers to start building brand awareness now by engaging with Gen Alpha’s parents. At the same time, it’s important for marketers to understand this generation’s emerging behaviors around digital video, gaming, and social media so that they can craft marketing strategies that will meet their unique needs when they reach an age when they can be directly marketed to.
Digital video is already establishing itself as an essential channel for reaching Gen Alphas: In 2024, 81.4% of internet users aged 0-11 watch digital video at least once per month, and half of Gen Alphas are streaming video daily.
In the US, children spent an average of 64 minutes per day on online video apps, representing a significant amount of their daily media consumption. YouTube tops the list as the most popular video app in the US for this audience, with Alphas averaging 84 minutes per day on the platform, followed by Netflix (49 minutes), Disney+ (30 minutes per day), and Hulu (30 minutes per day). The amount of time spent on these video platforms highlights their central role in Gen Alpha’s daily routines.
For advertisers, the fact that Alphas are spending such a significant amount of time on digital video now indicates that it will likely be a primary channel for engaging and connecting with them in the years to come. Unlike Gen Zers, who primarily discover brands through traditional social media, 51% of Gen Alpha say they first hear about brands through YouTube videos. Popular content types such as “storytime,” “review,” and “day in the life” videos captivate these young viewers, making them effective formats for brand messaging. Given the popularity of this digital channel now, it will likely only become more critical for connecting with Gen Alphas as they step closer to adulthood.
Another key channel for marketers to consider for connecting with Gen Alpha is gaming, given that 47.7% of internet users aged 0-11 engage in digital gaming at least once per month. Where relaxation is the number one reason for Gen Z to game, Alphas tend to see games as a way to express themselves or embrace their creativity. This distinction highlights the potential for brands to engage with this young audience by creating interactive and customizable in-game advertising experiences that allow Gen Alpha to explore their identities and showcase their creativity.
Though digital media is a near inextricable part of most Gen Alphas’ daily lives, members of this younger generation are showing early indications that they want a balance of online and in-person experiences. For instance, 78% of young consumers—including Gen Alpha—say they prefer shopping in-store. Gen Alpha’s preference for brick-and-mortar both paves the way for in-store digital advertising, such as digital out-of-home and retail media, as well as underscores the importance of crafting holistic omnichannel advertising experiences that remain consistent from digital spaces to in-person experiences.
Despite most social media sites requiring their users be 13 or older, many underage users are still accessing these platforms. Case in point: 65% of those between ages 8-10 already spend up to 4 hours a day on social media. And as they grow older, Gen Alphas appear on track to catch up to their Gen Z predecessors in terms of time spent on these platforms. This emerging trend underscores the growing importance of social media in Alphas’ daily lives.
For Gen Alpha, social media isn’t just about connecting with friends and family; it’s also about engaging with creators they admire and trust and discovering new things. In fact, 49% of kids say they trust influencers as much as their own family and friends when it comes to product recommendations. This offers brands a unique opportunity to collaborate with influencers and creators who resonate with Gen Alpha’s values and interests, thereby fostering deeper connections and brand loyalty. Additionally, younger generations are increasingly turning to social media rather than traditional search engines as their primary search tools, a trend likely to continue with Gen Alpha. This reliance on social media for search provides brands with an additional way to connect meaningfully with this younger generation in the years to come.
Like each generation that has come before it, Gen Alpha is poised to reshape the digital advertising landscape with their unique characteristics and preferences. As one of the first generations to grow up entirely in the digital age, their engagement with technology, digital video, gaming, and social media is already profound—and will likely only continue to deepen as they grow older.
For brands and marketers, understanding this dynamic generation now will be key for connecting with them as they amass more buying power. By focusing on authenticity and creativity and aligning with Gen Alpha’s values, brands can build lasting connections with what is poised to be the largest and one of the most influential generations.
In many ways, native advertising is the veritable chameleon of the digital marketing world. It’s come a long way since its inception over a decade ago, evolving into an important strategic component of digital campaigns—so much so that US native ad spend accounted for almost 60% of total display ad spending last year. Against all the disruption and recalibration across the digital marketing industry right now, native advertising shines through as a reliable and trusted way for brands to communicate their story. In fact, one study found native advertising to be the most impactful channel for brand favorability.
Here, we define what native advertising is and unpack what it looks like, how it can drive performance, and what the future holds for the medium.
At its most basic level, native advertising is a form of paid media that mimics the look, feel, and function of its editorial environment. In other words, it fits in naturally alongside the original content on its host website or app without disrupting the user’s browsing experience—sometimes to the extent that consumers don’t even register they’re engaging with an ad. If you’ve ever been reading an article on a news site, or scrolling through TikTok or Instagram and not realized that content you’re enjoying is is an ad until you’ve 15 seconds in (or more!) because it blends in so seamlessly with the rest of your feed, then you’re already intimately familiar.
Native advertising is most commonly deployed as paid “in-feed" posts on search engine results pages (SERPs) and on social networks such as Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit. Indeed, close to three-quarters of native display ad dollars are spent on social networks, while 97% of all social network ad spending is native.
Native display advertising stands out from other ad types by “blending in” with the content around it, offering a user experience that can feel less disruptive . Unlike traditional banner ads that can feel intrusive and are often ignored, native ads match the form and function of the platform on which they appear. By integrating naturally into the user’s experience, native display advertising can foster higher engagement rates and deliver a more authentic interaction with the audience, ensuring a brand’s message resonates effectively.
Beyond display, this channel can take other forms as well: as “recommended content” typically found at the foot of news sites, or as more extravagant “branded content” that consumes entire webpages (and occasionally entire websites). Let’s dig deeper into these different formats:
In-feed native ads copy the layout (arrangement of elements) and the design (font, color, scheme, aesthetics, etc.) of the surrounding environment while simultaneously including visual cues informing the reader that it is a paid ad and not organic content. For instance:
Historically, when a consumer interacts with an in-feed ad, they will subsequently navigate to the advertiser’s website. But through the rise of technologies and spaces such as social commerce and retail media networks, brands can now enable users to shop and take action directly on many publishers’ sites, putting customers closer to the transaction point. As these systems evolve and mature, in-feed native ads could potentially assume even greater importance.
Content recommendation ads are delivered via widgets into the main hub of a publisher’s page or underneath or beside individual articles. These native ads don’t necessarily imitate the appearance of the editorial content neighboring them, and the majority will link off-site. Disclosure language for these units can be anything from “You might also like” or “Elsewhere from around the web,” to “You may have missed” or “Recommended for you.” If served via a third party, the technology provider may also include its name or logo to further indicate that content is not produced by the publisher, i.e., “Recommended by Outbrain” or “Recommended by Taboola.”
This type of native advertising goes beyond the initial ad by also incorporating written content and (sometimes elaborate) design work that takes the form of an article, blog post, vlog, infographic, or interactive webpage. This branch of native has grown to be quite lucrative in recent years, with many major news outlets opening their own in-house commercial teams specializing in producing multi-dimensional content on behalf of brands (think T Brand Studio at The New York Times or Brand Studio at The Washington Post).
This content lives on the publisher’s site but will typically feature multiple outbound links directing to the advertiser’s own pages. The key thing to note here is that branded content is created and produced through direct partnerships between an advertiser and a publisher, with their placement guaranteed based on a fixed pre-negotiated (and oftentimes premium) price.
For advertisers looking to scale their campaigns in a cost-effective way, programmatic native advertising offers great opportunities. By automatically serving ads in real-time through a demand side platform (DSP), advertisers can create richer, more relevant brand experiences for consumers across screens and devices. Advertisers simply need to provide an image, headline, description, and click-through URL. Then, depending on the form of the organic content on the site where the ad will be shown, the programmatic native platform used by the DSP will determine which of those elements to bring in so the ad matches its context as closely as possible.
Programmatic is so dominant in the native ecosystem today that native programmatic advertising constitutes 95% of all native display ad spending. Additionally, close to 66% of all programmatic display ad spending in 2024 will be native, though that share has been dropping for a few years as programmatic increasingly permeates newer, emerging channels such as connected TV (CTV), digital out-of-home (DOOH), and podcasts.
As adtech becomes more sophisticated, advertising teams can leverage a host of creative native advertising formats to make a more compelling impression on consumers, going even beyond branded content. No longer are marketers restricted to the use of a single, static image: Native ads can now incorporate animated GIFs, carousel ads, click-to-watch video ads, instant play video ads, and more—options that are particularly attractive for advertisers looking to reach younger audiences. Advertisers can then pick and choose which style(s) best serves their message and potential customers.
For example, B2B brands looking to tell a story around a campaign to drive leads can create a click-to-watch video ad with an embedded CTA. Retail and e-commerce brands can use native carousel ads to showcase a collection of products (or multiple images of one product). And travel and tourism brands can create snazzy photo spreads or short-form videos to showcase the allure of a particular destination or travel experience that customers may come across as they browse their social feeds.
What does the future hold for native advertising? Well, there is definitely change afoot.
The channel is still growing, but its share of total display has plateaued of late—largely because its success is so intrinsically tied to that of social media, and the social landscape has seen significant upheaval in recent years.
However, the tides appear to be turning for social platforms in 2024, as social media spend is forecast to increase by 14% year-over-year, becoming the largest media channel worldwide by advertising investment.
Still, while social platforms have dominated the native space for so long due to their audience targeting capabilities and array of available ad formats, streaming and mobile channels are opening up new opportunities for native ads with more inventory available programmatically. All in all, while social will likely remain a significant force in the native advertising world, advertisers are diversifying their native spend across other channels as well.
Native advertising can be a dynamic addition to any marketing mix. By seamlessly and authentically integrating into consumers’ online browsing and shopping experiences, native ads are often able to achieve higher levels of engagement and brand recognition than other channels. Plus, innovations across the digital ecosystem could expand native advertising’s reach and capabilities moving forward.
Want more insights into how native reimagines consumer connection in meaningful and less disruptive ways? Check out our Native Advertising Guide.
Can you remember the last ad that struck you because the people and stories represented in it were a welcome departure from what you usually see in marketing content? Maybe it was Proctor & Gamble’s Emmy-winning commercial, The Talk, which explored the difficult conversations about racism that Black American parents have with their children. Maybe this Campbell’s ad, which portrays a gay couple entertaining their child with a particularly corny Dad joke, comes to mind. Or perhaps this Maltesers commercial that features two friends communicating via sign language caught your eye.
On the other hand, maybe you can’t think of anything. Or, even worse, maybe what comes to mind are the kind of ads where models or actors with disabilities, or those who are people of color, LGBTQIA+, or neurodivergent, are portrayed less as believable human beings and more as symbols of a business’ attempt to come across as inclusive. Or, perhaps you recall advertisements where people with historically marginalized identities are portrayed according to stereotypes.
Yes, the advertising industry continues to struggle to represent people from, well, underrepresented communities. And even when advertisers nail inclusive casting, the content of their advertisements can inadvertently portray tokenism, stereotypes, or representations of life that simply don’t hold true for many communities.
This is a problem for a variety of reasons, not least of which being that advertisements have an impact on peoples’ sense of belonging in the world. As such, marketers have an ethical responsibility to ensure that everyone can see their lives reflected in marketing.
Though the advertising industry has many areas for improvement when it comes to diverse representation, they mainly fall into two categories: Representations of historically marginalized groups either lag behind those groups’ share of the general population, or are characterized by tokenism and stereotypes.
Let’s start by looking at those groups whose representation in advertising is disproportionate to their share of the US population. Latinx/Hispanic people make up 19% of the US population, yet they account for only 5% of those featured in advertisements. On the other hand, 61% of the US population is white, but they account for 73% of the people featured in ads.
The disproportionately low representation of historically marginalized groups is true beyond racial and ethnic identities as well:
On the other hand, some historically marginalized groups are represented more proportionately to their share of the population, but the quality of those representations is often poor due to tokenism and stereotyping. For instance, while the representation of Black Americans in advertising is proportionate to their share of the US population, over 35% of Black Americans feel that brands portray all Black people the same in their marketing, and 62% feel that many attempts at diverse representation in media and marketing are still stereotypical.
Similarly, while women have a less disproportionate presence in ads, those representations are often characterized by stereotype—for example, commercials portraying women as cooks and cleaners. And, while it’s easy to think that this kind of stereotyping must be improving over time, research indicates that it may actually be getting worse.
Also relevant to this discussion is the fact that the US is becoming more demographically diverse across multiple axes, particularly when it comes to younger generations. The last census found that the population is growing more racially and ethnically diverse at even faster rates than the US Census Bureau had previously predicted. Additionally, the percentage of people who identify as LGBTQIA+ more than doubled between 2013 and 2023. For advertisers, this means that the need to accurately represent diverse identities is growing more urgent by the year, as more and more consumers identify with historically underrepresented groups.
Which begs the question: How, exactly, can advertisers get diverse representation right?
Growing a marketing team’s inclusive marketing skill set is a marathon, not a sprint. Leaders can set themselves up for success by approaching this journey with openness, curiosity, and a dedication to continuous learning.
Advertisers should pay particular attention to ensuring their teams understand tokenism and stereotyping, establishing practices to acquire and retain diverse talent, and investing in ongoing professional development to equip their teams with the tools needed to produce high quality inclusive marketing content.
It’s easy enough to cast an ad with a diverse group of actors or models, but accurately representing diverse experiences is a more difficult task. As previously noted, this is one of the main pitfalls advertisers run into in the context of inclusive marketing—and tokenism and stereotyping are two of the most common ways advertisers can get those representations wrong. As such, it’s critical for any marketing team to understand tokenism and stereotyping so they can avoid them in their ads.
In advertising, tokenism occurs when actors or models from historically marginalized groups are cast without consideration for how people from those groups experience life—say, by portraying a Black woman engaging with hair products that Black women never actually use, or a deaf man living in a home without a visual alert system. These shallow portrayals use diverse actors and models as symbols or tokens, rather than authentic representations of the diverse experiences of these populations. Even more, many instances of tokenism coincide with stereotyping, which can happen in relation to gender, race, ethnicity, and culture.
Because of the prevalence of tokenism and stereotypes in advertising, marketing leaders must ensure their teams understand these concepts. This knowledge enables them to raise a red flag whenever tokenism or stereotyping arises during campaign creation.
Back in 2020, the advertising industry took steps towards progress and prioritizing authentic representation in marketing as many businesses committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in response to widespread protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. However, that momentum appears to be slowing of late, with many organizations curbing their diverse hiring efforts amidst economic pressures. The ethnic diversity of the advertising industry fell from 32.3% in 2022 to 30.8% in 2023, falling well short of the 42.2% of the US population that’s ethnically diverse.
There are innumerable ways that marketing organizations benefit from hiring and retaining a diverse employee base, not the least of which is that it invites new perspectives into the room while developing a campaign. Marketing organizations that prioritize the hiring of people who can craft authentic storylines that connect with consumers are more likely to be successful in their inclusive marketing efforts—and, critically, to avoid tokenism or stereotyping.
Notably, the goal here isn’t to put the onus of inclusive marketing solely on employees with historically marginalized identities, but rather to craft a diverse team to ensure that diverse ideas are brought to the table. At the same time, advertising leaders should prioritize training around inclusive marketing for all staff members to create a shared foundation of knowledge and vocabulary to support their diverse representation efforts.
Inclusive marketing is a skill set that can be as critical to a brand as effective communication or strategic thinking—but one in which marketers are often much less fluent. Many marketers name a lack of expertise, knowledge, and talent as obstacles to improvement when it comes to inclusive marketing, and 50% of brands are worried about getting inclusive marketing campaigns wrong.
To mitigate this, advertising leaders can invest in ongoing professional development to equip their teams with the tools they need to create media that authentically represents historically marginalized identities. This could include organizing annual workshops around diverse representation in advertising for employees, or bolstering any existing DEI programs with content specific to inclusive marketing.
In providing regular professional development opportunities for their employees, agency and brand leaders can ensure their teams are progressively upskilling in this area, and that their inclusive marketing efforts progressively improve in kind.
Amidst the many challenges facing marketers, it can be easy to put inclusive marketing on the backburner. But considering the state of diverse representation in advertising today, as well as the fact that the US is only growing more diverse, it’s clear that upskilling their teams’ ability to get inclusive marketing right is a clear and worthy priority for marketing and advertising leaders.
If there’s one trait that sets winning advertising teams apart, it’s the ability to adapt to change. From shifting consumer behaviors and digital media habits, to new and ever-evolving technologies, to dynamic social and economic influences, digital advertisers must constantly adapt to stay at the top of their game.
This need for adaptability is particularly evident today, as rapid technological innovation (we’re looking at you, generative AI) coupled with shifts in which generations hold the most purchasing power are forcing advertising teams to rethink how they connect with target audiences. This is particularly evident in the search and social spaces, which are seeing significant changes in usage among younger internet users.
To succeed in this landscape, digital advertisers must remain agile by staying up to date on the latest technological developments and seeking to understand how they are influencing how younger generations engage online. In doing so, marketing teams can create tailored strategies that resonate with younger audiences and maximize their impact in today’s ever-evolving digital world.
Today, digital marketers must connect with both audiences who grew up with the internet and those who did not. Looking towards the future, however, teams must be prepared to engage primarily with full digital natives, or those who have always known a connected world.
At present, nearly half of the global population is part of either the millennial or Gen Z generations. And the number of Gen Alphas, the generation that follows Gen Z, is forecast to surpass that of baby boomers by 2025. While millennials grew up with the internet as it evolved, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the first two generations born into a world where the internet has always been an integral part of their lives.
Because they grew up with the internet woven into their day-to-day, younger consumers often expect a high degree of continuity and personalization from channel to channel. Whether they’re scrolling on TikTok or Instagram, playing a game in an app, or navigating a brand’s website, they generally anticipate a consistent and integrated experience. And, younger generations have made it clear that personalization should be a priority for advertisers, with 57% of millennials and a whopping 81% of Gen Zers saying they like personalized ads.
Given that these generations are progressively acquiring more buying power, understanding how they use the internet will be critical for advertisers looking to connect with millennials and Gen Zers now, as well as Gen Alphas as they grow older and amass more purchasing power.
Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha are all deeply familiar with the internet, with many members of these generations having never known a world without it. They spend a significant amount of time online, and use online tools in different ways than prior generations.
Take, for instance, social media. Where baby boomers, seniors, and about half of Gen Xers tend to use these platforms primarily for messaging, Gen Zers and millennials rely on them for news, short-form videos, product and service insights, and other information as well. For brands and advertisers, this presents a distinct opportunity to connect with these younger users when they’re actively searching for products, news, and other information. In fact, social media has overtaken search engines as the primary search tool for discovery among Gen Z and millennials, representing a significant shift from prior generations’ reliance on search engines for their queries.
“Social media is very much a discovery engine, as it’s visual and browsable,” says Lindsay Martin, Group VP of Search Media Investment at Basis Technologies. “To compete and attract younger audiences that are increasingly turning to social for their search needs, Google is working on enhancing their search experience by including new offerings such as Circle to Search or Google Lens.”
In addition to the social search trend, another major force is impacting how younger generations behave online: generative AI. Advertisers must understand these evolutions in behavior and plan for how they will continue to change as generative AI further disrupts the landscape.
Though ChatGPT has only been around for a couple of years, 61% of Gen Z and 53% of millennials report that they are using AI tools in place of search engines when seeking information on a topic. And, recent reports have found that search engine volume could drop by 25% by 2026, thanks to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.
Additionally, search engines are integrating genAI features that will further change the broader search landscape, likely in an effort to appeal to these younger audiences. Google, for example, recently introduced AI overviews, which provide an AI-generated summary as the first “search” result when users turn to the platform for a query. Since this overview appears before all organic search content, it could very well decrease the amount of organic web traffic from what websites have been able to generate in the past.
“In this context, there will likely be an even greater emphasis on paid (rather than organic) search,” says Martin. “The paid ad experience will also continue to evolve to monetize the AI experience. For instance, at Google Marketing Live earlier this year, Google made announcements about testing Search and Shopping Ads in AI Overviews, though this is still in early stages.”
Social media platforms have been quick to embrace AI-driven features as well. Meta AI, for example, is a new AI-powered assistant that answers questions and helps connect Meta platform users to more relevant content. As social media continues to evolve with the help of GenAI, more unique opportunities will become available for brands to connect with younger users as they spend time connecting with others andsearching for new information and products on these platforms.
The question, then, is how advertising teams can adapt to younger generations’ unique online habits amidst these technological shifts. Leaders should consider the following strategies as they strive to connect with younger generations:
Even as their media habits change and the channels themselves evolve, younger consumers expect a seamless experience across all digital channels. To implement an effective omnichannel strategy, teams can use data to identify key consumer touchpoints and preferences, work cross-functionally to ensure different departments are aligned and working towards a unified brand message, and leverage advancements in machine learning and AI to automate and optimize personalization efforts. Additionally, making optimization a priority and regularly reviewing and refining strategies based on real-time data can help teams stay ahead of trends and maintain a cohesive brand experience.
Advertisers should ensure they have systems in place to effectively collect, organize, and analyze customer data to understand how younger audiences are engaging with different platforms, particularly as those platforms evolve. To that end, leaders might consider investing in newer tech offerings—for example, CDPs, which streamline the collection, organization, and use of first-party data; or automation solutions, which allow teams to access and action critical data through a single platform. By making it easy to both gather and analyze insights, advertisers can create personalized messaging that resonate with target audiences’ unique needs.
As younger generations’ online behaviors evolve amidst technological advancements, it can be easy to see this complexity as an obstacle to success. However, leaders who reframe this change as an opportunity for experimentation and growth will be able to maintain relevance and forge meaningful connections with young audiences—both today, and in the years to come.
For instance, leaders might encourage their teams to experiment with different forms of interactive content that is particularly impactful with young audiences today (i.e., short form videos or gamified ads), use A/B testing to determine which iterations and placements yield the highest engagement rates, and then use insights from these experimentations to inform future marketing efforts. By embracing experimentation, teams can bolster media efficacy, hone their creativity, and create a team culture centered on adaptability.
Digital advertisers today face the challenging task of adapting to younger audiences’ preferences and online habits, particularly as these habits shift based on new technologies and advancements. By seeking to understand these consumers’ online behaviors amidst profound digital transformation, advertising leaders and their teams can gain crucial insights to effectively capture the attention and loyalty of today’s digitally savvy consumers.
Specifically, identifying how technological innovations in search and social are influencing younger consumers’ behavior is key for today’s advertisers. By researching and implementing strategies based on these shifts, advertisers can create content that resonates with younger audiences, meets them when and where they’re spending time online, and fosters connection in today’s ever-evolving digital landscape.