As economic uncertainty is expected to continue throughout 2022, business decision-makers should closely monitor the evolution of key dynamics influencing supply and demand to adjust ad investment. In dentsu's recent Ad Spend Report 2022, in Central & Eastern Europe dentsu expects a growth of 11.2% for ad spend compared to 2021, which is ahead of global ad spend rise of 9.2% this year.
Here are four key considerations to help respond to landscape changes with agility and drive growth through media.
Combat inflation through a holistic video approach
The best way to respond to Linear Television viewer erosion accelerated by an on-demand culture taking root during the pandemic and now fueling aggressive inflation is to use Linear Television more strategically.
Although Linear Television and other linear channels are still important, keep a close eye on the value derived from these channels moving forward. Ultimately there will come a point where the price associated with reaching certain audiences will become unreasonable on current models with the main broadcasters.
Advertisers will need to have additional flexibility to fragment their budgets to maximize the big screen opportunities coming to market. It is not as simple as just moving money, as there will always be higher value achieved through certain commitments, and the sliding scale of maximum efficiency needs to be continuously calculated understanding points of diminishing returns.
Such a holistic approach will help in negotiations moving forward as behavior continues to shift. Additionally, brands should invest in content and ensure they work closely with SVOD platforms to reach audiences in environments that do not support traditional ad spaces.
Boost E-commerce through retail media
Shoppers have never had so many options, from titan retailers to direct-to-consumer brands. As people constantly reinvent their unique path to purchase, media plays a paramount role in reconnecting brands to the consumer journey by enabling more personal, contextual, and valuable shopping experiences.
Retailers, marketplaces, social platforms, grocery services, and super apps are all actively developing media portfolios with unique commerce-first solutions.
Advertisers should include this growing media segment in their media mix. They should also strive to close the gap between discovery and purchase across the customer journey by making media campaigns directly shoppable where possible, leveraging the live commerce opportunity, and exploring relevant uses of technology such as augmented reality (e.g., through virtual product try-on).
Invest in brand to avoid growth plateau
It is important for organisations to keep investing in their brands to drive durable growth. Although new coming players tend to focus their media activities only on performance-based tactics, familiarity is critical in times of uncertainty and is key to shaping long-term preferences.
Therefore, advertisers should cultivate durable emotional connections with consumers through storytelling across their stores, products, and media campaigns. Performance marketing tactics can be used in a complementary way to address audiences that have been exposed to brand-building efforts.
This balance of brand and performance will enable more continuous growth and will keep acquisition costs lower than trying to force one’s way to growth solely through performance-based tactics.
Explore the gaming opportunity
As the gaming opportunity grows, brands will flock to this space, for better or for worse. It is important to understand that the inherent passion for the gaming industry demands that brands connect with the community in a meaningful way.
Brands should also remember that in many cases advertising will not be the primary revenue driver for game publishers. Therefore, to even be allowed into the gaming spaces, brands will need to focus on the value they can bring to the experience. From an advertising perspective, pivoting some pre-existing spends with trusted partners into their own gaming verticals (e.g., YouTube Gaming), or into podcasts and TV shows that talk about gaming, is a good start.
Download dentsu 2022 Ad spend report to read more of ad spend development globally, and which are the global biggest dynamics at play in marketing.
Please be in touch to hear more about our offering and service as the most integrated agency in Southeast Europe.
Florian Skala,
Chief Commercial Officer
Dentsu Southeast Europe