(No) Advertising in 2025
Bye bye native advertising and influencer marketing. 5 predictions for the future of advertising
2020 has arrived, and digital advertising is already experiencing major challenges. Brands are looking for more engaging ways to connect directly with consumers. News and Magazine publishers try to shift readers to pay for high quality content. Consumers stir away from digital advertising by using ad-blocks and ignoring ads.
Based on analysis on trends in advertising and content, here are 5 predictions for where advertising is headed in 2025
I | Less publishers, less free high-quality content
The decline in online news is not something new. From 2004 nearly 2,000 newspapers have filed for bankruptcy. The main reason is the total drop in circulation, with digital advertising unable to compensate for revenue loss.
Major publishers are exploring the tradeoff between providing a free access and charge users for content.
While many leading publishers provide minimal access to several articles, publishers will take a bolder move by limiting access only to paying readers, at the expense of losing the mass who are not willing to pay for news and magazines online.
In the new ecosystem, surviving publishers could maintain a steady income from a core of subscribers, alongside offering an almost exclusive access to high-quality content.
[Read the full analysis here: ‘4 Reasons Why ‘Netflix for News’ Fails’ ]
II | Native advertising will be fiercely regulated and abandoned by brands
Native advertising across media will be closely regulated, with more disclaimers and transperancy to the user.
The ambiguity around the authenticity of content is also what drives the interest in native advertising. Users that read content without knowing it holds a certain agenda are also more open to read it with no psychological barriers. On the other hand, a fierce regulation already equips the user with skepticism towards the content itself, specifically around non-entertaining content.
According to Reuters Institute, native advertising is associated with fake news, and sentiment towards a brand may be negative when the reader discovers a seemingly authentic content is in fact a content marketing.
43% in the U.S. have felt disappointed or deceived when they found out the content was sponsored by a brand or a company. This type of confusion is usually caused when sponsored content is not clearly labelled.
As the ‘magic’ of native advertising will fade, brands would prefer to invest in more traditional methods to engage consumers.
[Read the full analysis here: ‘I Think We Got Some Trust Issues, Ad’]
III | Influencers will adopt a new business model
Lifestyle brands are investing heavily in influencer marketing, and even create new jobs to focus on that area.
However, the likeliness of influencers to promote anything when the price is right, casts doubt on authenticity of influencers as a whole. A recent BBC documentary illustrated how influencers agreed to promote a fake drink that contains cyanide, and admit they do not try all products they promote.
Additionally, consumers are not likely to adopt automatically products that are being promoted by influencer. One of the strongest examples is the collaboration between Kim Kardashian and Carolina Lemke, an Israeli sunglasses manufacturer, that was terminated due to low sales.
As influencer marketing progresses, less authenticity will require influencers to shift away from being a walking ad to reform a more genuine connection with their audience.
[Read the full analysis here: ‘The Future of the Walking Ad’]
IV | Brands will shift budgets to owned assets and media
Premium brands already invest heavily in a direct connection with their target audience through websites and reward programs. The ability to connect directly with consumers results in major commercial benefits, specifically around improved margines due to cutting the middle men.
Moreover, stronger assets reduce dependency in external sources that are being used to achieve marketing goals. Corporations like P&G already manage a considerable percentage of media buying in-house, thus receiving more control and data in the process.
To create a direct connection, brands will favor investing in activities that endure, instead of spending funds to achieve their goals.
[Read the full analysis here: ‘How Paid Information Affects the Consumer Journey’]
V | Total advertising spend will decrease
Digital advertising is already showing signs of decelaration, but still outperforms other media in growth.
The major benefits of digital advertising are the ability to track and measure engagement. For that reason traditional media also shifts to digital, such as in the case of addressable TV and podcasts.
Yet, total advertising spent is already stagnating, and digital is growing at the expense of traditional media.
5 years from now, the share of digital advertising will account for a larger share, only from a smaller pie.
[Read the full analysis here: ‘The Glass Ceiling of Digital Advertising’]
The predictions are based on research and analysis around Prandz’ value offering to transform brands into publishers.
