There are 6 trends we are looking at for 2024. There are big opportunities for businesses to grow, but a looming recession will be a challenge for businesses.
1. AI
AI will continue to rock the world. Big businesses, small businesses, technologically savvy businesses, and less savvy businesses will be able to use AI for their businesses. We’re using AI for idea prompts on SEO articles and copywriting. We are exploring using AI to supplement our knowledge base and even rote tasks internally.
2. Data and Attribution
We expect companies with smaller ad spending to adopt combinations of consumer journey tracking and attribution systems. Think a CDP like Twilio Segment and / or Triple Whale.
3. Creative Testing Continues To Be Critical
There is no getting around it. Where media buying was once the domain of math, data, and iteration, that domain has expanded to creative. Ideally, brands should be creating new ads at least every 3-4 weeks to learn what works for a campaign. Social media content posting should play into that equation of creative testing. Pick the top 5 creatives on social media and run them as ad tests. Continue to use influencer content and UGC content as ad-testing opportunities.
4. Cookieless Future
We are getting closer to Google’s cookie deprecation deadline and deployment of Protected Audiences. There will be increased focus on first-party data, closed-loop attribution systems, and contextual targeting. Big advertisers will lead the charge. Small advertisers will carry on business as usual.
5. Retail Media
Is 2024 the year of retail media? I don’t think so, but I do believe greater adoption will take place among media buyers. Google and Meta represent 49% of all digital advertising revenue in 2023, but threats abound from streaming and retail media.
6. Recession
We’ve been staving off a recession for years, and indicators suggest consumer spending is slowing down. Interest rates are high, which makes it more challenging for businesses to borrow money and expand. I believe interest rates will start to lower in Q4 of 2024, slowly easing the burden into 2025.
Companies will continue to stress over marketing spend, but if there is any time to market it’s now.
We put together a comprehensive Recession Marketing Guide & Business Success Guide that will help companies act swiftly.
Research shows that companies that increase marketing during recessions come out on top in dramatic ways as the economy improves. You can read recession marketing guide here. In addition to looking at the business research supporting the growth opportunity for marketing during a recession, it shares the stories of 18 top companies that were created, or thrived during recessions. Top companies inlcuding AirBnB, Instagram, Foursquare, Uber, and Square were all created in the 2007 to 2010 Great Recession. The guide shares actionable ideas for how businesses can act to create favorable growth outcomes.Â
