Digital marketing trends for 2024 as marketers lose third-party cookies

The past couple of years have seen the needle moving for Digital Marketing in unprecedented ways, so much so, that what didn’t exist until some decades back has now made its way into the media mix of almost every brand.

As a result, what has also burgeoned is the digital ad campaigns that are executed almost daily as well as the skyrocketing number of digital advertising agencies that are being established each day.

But for what it's worth, it is owing to the technological advancements, changing consumer behaviours, and a rapidly expanding digital landscape with the number of smart devices increasingly multifold that advertisers are spoilt for choice.

Last year, a lot of digital marketing veterans predicted that brands would be betting big on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) based approaches for ads in 2023 and quite true did it stand in reality.

This year, the one thing that stood out quite prominently was the focus on personalisation and contextual targeting in the wake of Google’s plan of gradually phasing out its third-party cookies by the second half of 2024.

Sanjeev Jasani

Speaking to BestMediaInfo.com, Sanjeev Jasani, COO, Cheil India, an agency which is now focussing on building its non-Samsung arm Cheil X, pointed out that given that in the past one year, the advertising business in itself has undergone a transition. Today, television is not the only weapon that agencies have in their arsenal, all the other functions such as creative, media, retail, OOH, brand experience and e-commerce amongst other functions have become increasingly important. This shift reflects the modern adworld’s emphasis on building consumer experiences across various touchpoints.

That being said, what is likely to happen in the cookieless world as per him is that all of the aforementioned touch points will become even more active as capturing first-party data will be the only solution that one will have to provide unique experiences at various touchpoints.

“Mentally, we are geared for that. While I will not rattle off technology and CDP platforms that are in place to capture first-party data, at the core of it, it is not about capturing data and building your own data lake. It’s about identifying what is it that you can do from it to understand consumer behaviour and basis that tap into great consumer insights to eventually grow your business. I think that’s where the trick lies and that's where our focus is as well,” he said.

Amardeep Singh

According to Amardeep Singh, CEO, Interactive Avenues, the heartbeat of 2024 pulses with promises of innovation, with Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and neuromarketing emerging as the guiding stars.

His predictions for 2024 include AI taking an increasingly pivotal role in contributing to the creation of personalised ad content, optimised ad placements, and more accurate predictions of consumer behaviour. Additionally, he foresees the growth of immersive technologies for providing consumers with more immersive and engaging experiences via AR, VR and Mixed Reality; heightened emphasis on ethical advertising practices and sustainability driven by consumer demand for corporate responsibility and transparency.

“The rollout of 5G networks will facilitate faster and more efficient ad deliveries, particularly for high-quality video and interactive content. On the other hand, blockchain technology might also foster decentralised advertising ecosystems, offering increased transparency and control to advertisers and consumers. Additionally, he said that leveraging neuroscience to understand consumer decision-making processes will become more mainstream, leading to more effective ad strategies,” he said.

Rohan Mehta

As for Rohan Mehta, CEO, FCB Kinnect and FCB/Six India, while digital is something that has tailwinds, it is also something that will keep growing substantially as the opportunities associated with the same are immense.

“There's always a peak of heightened expectations followed by a trough of disillusionment, and that is the hype cycle that goes on. Case in point being, the pandemic was the peak of hype and expectations of digital, and then Q4FY23 and Q1FY24 were the troughs of disillusionment, but now I think that the growth trajectory will be very normalised and continuous because many new opportunities are coming in,” he said.

Also, with AI coming into play, it has become a fertile territory for the digital marketing industry to innovate and that too on different social media and digital platforms, for he believes that how Google search revolutionised his generation, AI is going to be the next revolution.

Apart from AI, the trends that he foresees gaining more momentum and gravitas in 2024 include omnichannel advertising as the lines between mainline and digital just keep blurring and therefore one needs to think across platforms with the consumer at the centre of the universe.

“In 2024, what will also happen is brands will invest big in long-term brand building, creating brand platforms, and even on the media side, to capture the top of the funnel and in turn drive the bottom of the funnel via performance marketing as the same has been used to address the latent need of something. But with tools and technologies, the same has become saturated and therefore further investment into the bottom half of the funnel doesn't lead to further outcomes,” he added.

Harshil Karia

Similarly, Harshil Karia, MD and Founder, Schbang, also highlighted that a major trend that he foresees to pick up this year is that AI will become a mainstay rather than becoming experimental.

Additionally, he also pointed out that the level of tools being used by clients concerning the creation of CDPs, personalisation journeys, and of avenues to better utilise their first-party data will only increase and he is confident that soon the digital marketing arena in India will start reaching a stage of maturity.

“With OpenAI, customisation is a key focus across three dimensions. Firstly, leveraging the OpenAI API for client tool development. Second, implementing 22 internal tools as bespoke bots for diverse creative processes. Third, it elevates design capabilities by harnessing the synergy of design and AI throughout our ecosystem. Additionally, our code team is exploring AI applications to enhance coding efficiency and optimise code stacks,” he further mentioned.

Rupak Ved

Sharing slightly similar views, Rupak Ved, COO, LS Digital, also mentioned that this year is likely to see focus shifting or rather surging towards First-Party Data. With the diminishing reliance on third-party cookies, companies will have to emphasise on collecting and leveraging their own customer data obtained through direct interactions for personalised marketing campaigns.

The other trend which will also see a significant spurt that of Privacy-Centric Marketing. “The emphasis on user privacy will become more pronounced. Marketers will need to adapt to new methods of targeting and tracking that respect user privacy. Contextual advertising, where ads are targeted based on the content of the web page rather than individual user data, might gain prominence,” Ved said.

He also believes that alternative tracking technologies such as Google's Privacy Sandbox, which aims to offer privacy-friendly solutions for targeted advertising, are most likely to emerge. Moreover, he also highlighted that new identifiers or technologies that comply with privacy regulations while allowing targeted advertising might be developed and adopted.

Mitesh Kothari

As per Mitesh Kothari, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, White Rivers Media, while 2023 painted a vibrant digital landscape powered by AI's creative and personalised touch, India's festive spirit and empowerment of the FinTech sector, this year for the advertising industry will be that of reinvention.

Delving further into some of the highlights of the year gone by for him, he mentioned that education experienced a metamorphosis as classrooms migrated to the cloud, bite-sized learning thrived on smartphones; EdTech startups democratised knowledge, bridging geographical and economic divides; rural India embraced the digital revolution and social media platforms transformed into marketplaces, with influencers holding the power to make brands.

Picking up from this all, Kothari added that in his views, 2024 will see AI's dominance deepening and weaving itself into every facet of the digital experience.

“The Digi-verse of AR and VR beckons with immersive possibilities, blurring the lines between reality and virtual worlds. Sustainability will become a key driver, with brands embracing eco-conscious practices to resonate with a climate-conscious generation. So, buckle up. 2024 will be an opportune year to embrace the possibilities,” he said.

Shradha Agarwal

Sharing her views on the topic, Shradha Agarwal, Co-founder and CEO, Grapes, also mentioned that driving performance through online media will be one of the biggest things in 2024 and to do the same one would need to understand data, owing to which Data Analytics will become all the more important as everybody will eventually be grinding on data.

The other big thing for the ad world in 2024, in her views, will be innovation, so much so, that there will be a huge fight between the relatability of the campaign versus the innovation in the campaign. Hence, a lot of agencies, as per her, will try to go and sell innovation even though they may or may not be relatable.

“Every agency and every client spends about 40-45% of their marketing budget on topical marketing today, but what they often forget is to answer the question of how the same affects their brand. Hence, we also created our proprietary model called COT, where we define topical marketing by Class and Ownership wherein we first decide what is the brand trying to do with the creative and then guide them on how much money should they spend on creative or even media. For this, we have to take out the entire budget of the client and ensure that he/she achieves their objectives,” she added.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com