Big Digital Ads Updates You Should Be Aware Of

Posted on October 24, 2022 | Updated on October 24, 2022

Today’s business owners and marketers must stay abreast of digital advertising updates. Then, they can react promptly and appropriately to what’s new. Numerous societal realities, including that many people spend significant amounts of time online and are no longer as responsive as they once were to traditional ad formats, require advertisers to adapt. Here are some major digital ads updates you should know about. After learning about them, consider how they fit into your business practices. 

Netflix Will Offer an Ad-Supported Tier

Platforms like Hulu have long played ads in exchange for giving people a less-expensive subscription price. However, Netflix has been the hold-out. That’s about to change since the company will launch a new tier called Basic With Ads. 

The advertisements will reportedly be 15 or 30 seconds long and play before and during content. Additionally, marketers will have some control over where their ads play and who sees them. For example, they can apply parameters so ads don’t appear with content that may be inconsistent with a brand. That could be due to things like nudity or graphic violence. Moreover, advertisers can target Netflix subscribers by location or have their ads run with certain content genres. 

This development is still in the early stages, so it’s challenging to say how things will go. However, one consultancy firm predicts 60% of global Netflix subscribers will be on the ad-supported tier by 2027. It’s important to note that Netflix will only offer the option in 12 countries at first. But, if it gets enough interest, it makes sense that Netflix would make it more broadly available. 

It’s a good time for marketers to consider if Netflix advertising would fit into their future advertising strategies. They can start asking and answering questions. They include whether their company’s products or services are most appropriate for Netflix viewers in certain countries. Does the company appeal most to those who watch particular categories of content? Marketing professionals can make preliminary calculations for how much of their overall budgets they might devote to Netflix advertising. 

Marketers Grapple With the Disappearance of the Advertising Cookie

Apple was the first major company to allow people to opt into advertising cookies. That was a move to protect user privacy. But, third-party cookies help marketers achieve better ad targeting and measure the success of their campaigns. Google and Android soon followed suit with an announced phasing-out of third-party cookies. 

A September 2022 report from performance insights platform Appsumer shows Apple won out with this digital ads gamble. The company saw a substantial boost to its Apple Search Ads (ASA) arm. It recorded a 94.8% adoption rate during the study, representing a nearly four percentage point increase in adoption. 

Another finding from the study was that larger advertisers increased the number of channels used for digital ads. They rose an average of 1.4 channels, resulting in a total of 10.7 channels. Smaller advertisers, on the other hand, decreased their channel numbers by an average of 1.1. That meant they ended up using 2.5 in total. 

An analyst associated with the study scrutinized that finding further. They concluded larger advertisers have more resources when performance declines on a particular channel compared to smaller brands. However, they recommended small advertisers start experimenting with lean channel-diversification strategies. That’ll help them remain competitive in the post-third-party cookie advertising world. 

Federal Regulators Will Update Their Guidelines for Digital Ads

Today’s marketers must respond to the fact that many consumers no longer click on traditional digital ads. They’re more aware of attempts to sell them things and will often ignore such efforts. Marketing professionals have adapted by focusing on content-based advertising. It prioritizes publishing content or tools to help users. In such cases, the advertising is less obvious, often taking a backseat to the main content. 

United States regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also recently announced a major digital advertising update. The agency’s most recent guidelines on the subject came out in 2013. However, representatives said some marketers use those older guidelines as justification to mislead consumers. 

A public comment period ended in early-August 2022. However, the FTC sought feedback on matters like sponsored social media ads, dark patterns, and online disclosures. The organization will incorporate stakeholders’ input before publishing its new guidelines for digital ads. 

This effort is part of various initiatives led by the FTC to battle issues like deceptive ads and dark patterns. Hopefully, work in these areas will make the internet a safer, fairer place for today’s buyers. 

Sports Events More Commonly Featuring Digital Ads

Whether the event is a Little League baseball game in a local community or a globally televised match between two of the biggest sports teams, advertising banners have historically been common sights along the playing field’s perimeter. However, there has been a recent shift toward digital ads. That’s particularly true since that format enables showing attendees multiple ads per event. 

News recently broke that the National Hockey League (NHL) would use digitally enhanced dasherboards (DED) in the coming months. The NHL will put its DED in five dedicated zones of the rink, then sell advertising time. More specifically, companies can purchase 30-second increments, and there are 120 such segments to fill during each game period. 

The hockey organization will also rely on an artificial intelligence programming solution when showing the ads. For example, different ad feeds appear in the local markets of the two teams currently playing. However, there’s also an ad stream for the rest of the world and one for local advertisements. 

Also, in a Formula One first, McLaren Racing Limited will have screens for digital ads on two cars. Vehicles used for auto racing usually have sponsors’ brands painted on the cars. However, that static format restricts flexibility. Using the digital screens allows cycling through numerous sponsors during a single race or throughout a season. 

This trend could extend to other types of digital ads, too. It’s easy to imagine service vans featuring changeable ad panels that show limited-time offers or new services. Such changes might not happen soon. However, marketers should keep an eye on how these new digital ads affect the sports industry. 

Awareness Helps Marketers Prepare for Changes in Digital Ads

This overview highlights several recent and upcoming updates and trends affecting digital ads. The best way for marketers to manage these and others is to commit to staying aware of what’s new. Then, they’ll have the necessary knowledge to react appropriately and confidently. 

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