Display Marketing Is Still Prevalent

For digital marketers, 2017 was a year marked by controversy, increase in ad spent, a rise in mobile, and not to forget the strengthening duopoly clout of Google and Facebook. While so many changes have taken place in digital advertising over the course of time, display ads still remain prevalent in today's digital world. But the focus has certainly skewed towards mobile owing to the fact that more than 87 percent of Internet users are using mobile devices. At the same time, the industry is tackling the challenge of newer ad formats and ad-blocking technology. 

No matter what, display marketing is relevant in today's click-oriented marketing model. It's also expected to become bigger in 2018. Here are a few trends to look out for:

Ad context will remain important as always

Rotating the same ad sets by leveraging the browsing history and interests of users doesn't help marketers benefit from display ads completely. In 2017, the focus of marketers shifted to the context of the ad, and this is expected to continue even in 2018. Marketers have to focus on the context as well as the content of the ad in order to improve metrics.

Display to be at par with search 

This is because expenditure on display advertising jumped in 2016 in the United States for the very first time. Since then, marketers have changed the way they allocate marketing budgets, keeping aside a sum for display ads. At the same time, other marketing channels have reached a saturation point, making PPC or CPM marketing highly relevant today. As such, display advertising will hold equal importance as search ads for generating brand awareness and sales.

Data and personalization will rule

User data has always been driving the advertising world, and it is expected to rule even in 2018. But with user data, comes the opportunity for brands to create more personalized experiences. But marketers have to continue their efforts in integrating all data into a single CRM system, which will help them in interacting with customers across platforms in new ways. Display advertising, even in 2018, is expected to work best when integrated with other forms of communication because it provides a large pool of insightful data. 

Measurement will become different

Measurement has always been the key to understanding digital advertising performance. No matter what advertising format they use, whether PPC or CPM, marketers have to measure their success or failure. But the measurement process is expected to change in 2018, bringing in integrated tracking codes along with click-through rate and other metrics. This will help marketers know what exactly users do after clicking on their ads. This would regrade display ads and make them an important component of the digital marketing budget of brands.

The above points are just a few expectations from 2018. There's a lot in store for digital marketers next year. But creativity will continue to hold importance in the digital space, especially with the emergence of technologies like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and other interactive advertising formats. 

Are you ready to be on-trend with your digital marketing in 2018?