“Understanding how consumers are spending their time and money is paramount to your business being successful,” our analyst Jeremy Goldman said on “The Future of Digital 2024” webinar. Here are three shifts in media consumption, purchasing behavior, and mobile usage, and how each is prompting new advertising strategies in streaming, social search, and gaming.
The digital shift: Streaming ads are the new norm
“The average person who is streaming is getting more and more comfortable with the fact that they’re seeing ads on streaming platforms. As a result, new inventory is opening up,” Goldman said.
The recent rollout of Prime Video ads isn’t the only contributor to rising competition in connected TV (CTV) advertising—other subscription over-the-top (OTT) players are stealing market share.
US adults will spend 4.1% less time on Netflix in 2025 than they did in 2021, but they’ll increase time spent by 4.2% with other subscription OTT services, according to our forecast.
The opportunity: Spread your CTV ad budget
Linear TV ad spend is expected to decline three consecutive years starting in 2025, when it will account for only 13.4% of total media ad spending, prompting advertisers to put their dollars elsewhere.
“Diversify your spend across different channels, especially at a time when CPMs are relatively affordable and there are targeting and personalization options to take advantage of,” Goldman said.
The digital shift: Social search fuels product discovery
Five years ago, paid search strategy was completely Google-dominated, focusing mostly on the lower-funnel buying journey. Today, the funnel has expanded. “Consumers, especially younger ones, are searching on a constellation of platforms before they’re anywhere near ready to convert,” our analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf said.
Some 43% of Gen Zers will start their online product searches on TikTok, per February 2023 data from Jungle Scout.
Social impressions are growing and costs are declining, while click-through rates are holding up, per October 2023 data from Skai, allowing advertisers to experiment at comparatively lower costs.
The opportunity: Increase your presence where shoppers want to learn more
Brands should seize their chance to own and control their social media image, “essentially bidding against their own name when people search for it,” Goldman said.
To do so, ensure organic social content is searchable by incorporating relevant keywords and hashtags.
Create content that relates to popular search trends and queries, such as how-tos and explainers.
The digital shift: Gaming claims more mobile time
“Even older demographics that are spending more time through mobile devices are doing so playing games,” Goldman said.
By 2027, 26.5 million US digital gamers will be 65 or older, per our August 2023 forecast. That’s the third-largest age group we track, preceded by digital gamers aged 25 to 34 (33.0 million) and 35 to 44 (28.3 million).
Most digital gamers (90.1%) will play on mobile devices this year, compared to 51.2% playing on consoles and 38.2% on desktops and laptops, per our August 2023 forecast.
The opportunity: Trial and error with mobile gaming ads
As developers release more high-production mobile games, they will also add more in-app buying options for subscriptions, game currency, and premium content, giving brands more options for ad formats. Intrinsic ads, for example, blend into the gaming environment, often with 3D effects as a graphic billboard.
“It makes sense to look at gaming ads and see if there’s an opportunity to even test and learn,” Goldman said.
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