‘More volatile now’: Digiday editors share top takeaways from 2023
Dec 26, 2023
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The hosts discuss top trends in the media industry, the challenges and events of 2023, the evolution of influencer marketing, and the impact of generative AI on various industries.
The shift away from scaled media plays to more niche and franchiseable media was a prominent trend in the media landscape in 2023.
Budgets in the ad market became more volatile than ever, making long-term advertising strategies difficult to commit to.
Deep dives
Shift from scaled media plays to niche media
One of the main trends in the media landscape this year was the shift away from scaled media plays to more niche and franchiseable media. Companies that were heavily reliant on social platforms for traffic and ad revenue saw a decline in audience and revenue from those platforms. This led to a reevaluation of strategies, with a focus on creating unique and niche media assets rather than striving for scale. This trend was observed more prominently in the digital media space, while in TV and streaming, scale still remained important for ad-supported services.
Volatility of budgets in the ad market
A significant challenge in the ad market this year was the high volatility of budgets. Investment chiefs from various agencies noted that budgets have become more volatile than ever, affecting all areas of the ad market, including traditional TV. This volatility has made committing to long-term advertising strategies more difficult, leading to hesitance in making upfront commitments. It remains to be seen if this volatility is a temporary phenomenon or a new normal in the industry.
The rise and potential challenges of AI in advertising
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prominent in the advertising space, with its applications ranging from content creation to data processing. However, there are concerns about the impact of AI on creative jobs and the potential for AI-generated content to be misused or violate copyright. While AI offers opportunities for efficiency and innovation, it also poses challenges in terms of regulation, sustainability, and trustworthiness. The industry is still exploring the full potential of AI and grappling with ethical and practical considerations.
The rarity of a successful brand moment like the Barbie movie
The success of the Barbie movie in creating a cultural moment and engaging multiple brands through licensing is a rarity in the marketing world. The Barbie movie was a result of years of development and a strong history of the Barbie brand. Marketers often struggle to replicate such moments due to short-term thinking, budget constraints, and the need to report quarterly earnings. The Barbie movie's success highlights the importance of long-term planning, creative teams, and brand history for the creation of impactful marketing moments. However, it is unlikely that every brand can achieve a similar success, and each marketing strategy must be tailored to the brand's unique circumstances.
This year was another one for the advertising and media history books, but not for the ways that marketers and media execs hoped for at the start of 2023.
Brands’ advertising budgets never quite found their footing and the competition for ad revenue only got steeper. On top of that, the platforms are no longer reliable places to drive traffic or revenue but competing with their scale is a losing game. Plus generative AI is quickly finding its way into virtually every facet of the industry — for worse or better.
In this final episode of the year of the Digiday Podcast, senior marketing editor Kristina Monllos and senior media editor Tim Peterson join co-hosts Kimeko McCoy and Kayleigh Barber to discuss some of the top trends from the past year and which challenges and opportunities are expected to continue in 2024.
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