Programmatic advertising trends are constantly changing and being improved upon. And these days, marketers have access to a plethora of first party data which allows them to make more informed decisions when it comes to media buying. As a matter of fact, programmatic advertising buying is so powerful (and successful) that in 2021 it’s anticipated that almost 88% or $81 billion of all US digital display ad dollars will be transacted programmatically.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the top programmatic advertising trends to watch out for in 2021.

1. Connected TV and Digital Audio Will Grow

The amount of connected TV users is continuing to grow, which in turn is causing a significant increase in programmatic TV advertising. With this growing customer base, we are also seeing more and more streaming services like Disney + and Apple TV + being launched—opening up a great deal of new opportunities for digital marketers.

As a matter of fact, the increase in users is so significant that a forecast by eMarketer predicts by the year 2022, the amount of connected TV users in the US will grow 204.1 million, which is more than 60% of the country’s population. Much like connected TV and television streaming services, digital audio (such as online radio, music streaming and podcast) are gaining in popularity. In 2021 programmatic audio is a media buying trend that digital marketers will be looking to take advantage of. Hint, you should be looking into it as well!

2. Live Video Streaming is taking off across the world

Users are now watching more diversified video content in real-time generated by professional content creators or general users. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, back in 2018, the estimated global Live Video Streaming (LVS) market size was around $8.25 billion. The analyst expects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.8% from 2018 to 2022. The global LVS market is projected to reach $22.09 billion by 2022.

3. Digital Out of Home Targeting Will Keep Improving

The digitization of out-of-home advertising has greatly increased its ability to be effective, particularly in comparison to the old fashioned billboards of the past. These new outdoor digital screens are increasing in popularity due to their potential for programmatic advertising.

DOOH offers an exceptional ability to reach consumers with situation-specific messages. Using environmental triggers, marketers can deliver relevant content to consumers with dynamic creatives based on date, time, location and real-world behaviours.

The worldwide DOOH market size is projected to grow to $15.9 billion by 2027.

4. Wearable Technology Will Change Programmatic Advertising

Another opportunity for programmatic advertising that marketers have their eyes on, is wearable technology. Nowadays it seems as if everywhere you look there are people with wearable technology, such smart watches, or fitness trackers to name a few. Research suggests that the number of users will only continue to grow.

The size of the global wearable technology market is projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 15.9% from 2020 – 2027.

The rise of wearable tech offers marketers a great new medium to implement programmatic advertising. Their ability to not only deliver content, but collect data such as location, health metrics, and lifestyle choices, makes it one of the most intriguing media buying trends in 2021.

5. The Rise of Smart Audio and Voice Advertising

Another form of technology that is seeing massive growth (and doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon) is voice controlled devices. A 2020 consumer survey from voicebot.ai showed that as of January 2020, 87.7 million US adults were smart speaker users – this is up 32% from the same time the year prior.

When many people think of smart speakers, they think of them being used to play music or even to settle basic arguments—“Alexa, who was the first person to land on the moon?”.

However, these devices are increasingly being used for new activities, drawing the attention of marketers from around the globe. A report by NPR and Edison Research showed that 57% of smart speaker owners have used their devices to shop, and 25% of stated purchases totalled more than $150.

Plans for 2021 and Beyond

Looking to leverage some of the trends and effectively allocate media budgets? With briefbid media navigator, you can discover media partners for any ad channel, evaluate proposals and get the most out of your media ad spend.

The world has changed. The impact that technology has on our lives is immeasurable, and it only continues to grow. Organizations that increase their digital marketing maturity by putting the proper technology and strategies in place can more effectively access and understand proprietary data to gain a complete picture of their customer journey and thus make better decisions.

A 2018 study conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that companies that had achieved full digital maturity were able to deliver relevant content to consumers at multiple moments across the customer journey. These same companies saw cost savings of up to 30% and revenue increases of as much as 20%. In this article, we will cover a few crucial points that can help ensure that your digital transformation is a success.

Put Your Data to Good Use

Before digital transformation in marketing occurred, there was a lack of high-quality, actionable data available for marketers to use. They simply were not able to attribute value to touch points along the customer journey, and could not accurately measure the success of each marketing initiative.

But this is no longer the case.

Digital transformation allows marketers to take advantage of this shift to online by giving them access to precise consumer data. Instead of analyzing data collected in various places to make decisions, digitally mature companies often gather data from multiple sources and organize it together to build a complete picture of their customers’ journey.

On the other hand, organizations that are less digitally mature have a more challenging time accessing this proprietary data, leaving them at a significant disadvantage. For the most part, these companies must rely on third-party data, which lessens their ability to understand their customers due to their inability to connect online and offline touchpoints.

Become Vendor Agnostic

Planning and executing a strategy across various channels is a great start for marketers to embrace the journey towards digital transformation. However, for marketers to execute a strategy across the full marketing landscape, the right media partners must be selected for each media plan. To fully utilizes every media channel, marketers have to partner up with channel-specific media vendors. Making the most out of each media channel will require talent, insights and in-depth knowledge on how to use data. Most of the media vendors offer their expertise along with the managed services and can suggest tactics based on the historical data from similar campaigns.

It can be challenging to vet and manage multiple vendors, and that’s why briefbid helps marketers become vendor-agnostic by making the vendor vetting easy, quick, and more data-driven.

Invest in Technology and Training

Investing in technology is certainly an essential step for organizations undergoing a digital transformation, but if they’re not prepared, this valuable investment can be ineffective and underused.

To achieve digital maturity, marketers must ensure that they’re prepared to use technology by investing in training. It’s essential to have the required skills to effectively use the technology and integrate it into the business processes. Today marketers can access various webinars where media partners that specialize in DOOH, Digital Audio, Gaming and other media share their insights and expertise.

Marketers can also take online courses for Digital Media Buying and Planning to learn how to develop effective media plans and execute digital campaigns.

Looking Ahead

Making it through this digital transformation is key to the success of many businesses. It’s been proven that digitally mature companies are 23% more profitable than their less mature peers.

Digital marketing maturity may seem like a lot of work, but trust us—it’ll be worth it. Briefbid helps marketers plan multi-channel campaigns and discover channel-specific media vendors to execute digital campaigns across the entire marketing landscape more efficiently.

Our platform automates marketing team workflows from media planning to vendor vetting and campaign management, eliminating any inefficiencies and keeping things neatly in one central place. Start your free trial and see for yourself!