What might the future hold?
As we come to the end of another tumultuous year, we asked three advertising leaders; what's your take on what 2022 might bring the advertising industry? A hybrid normality and a mistrust of predictions were two of the answers.
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André (Dedé) Laurentino, CCO, Ogilvy UK
2022 predictions (really?)
In all predictions made in 2019, not one of them anticipated what Covid would do to the entire world. Ha! Here we are again, trying to read the tea leaves of our wisdom. Thank you for your indulgence.
As reality sinks in, so will the musings about the meaning of life to which most of us dedicated ourselves in the past two years. On such a massive scale, this otherwise inconsequential daydreaming will definitely have an impact. It’s already kicked off and The Big Resignation is the most evident sign of it.
Mental health has finally become a topic out in the open. And art’s role as the playground of the spirit has never been more relevant.
I think this will also affect what brands have to say and do, how creatives and production crews engage with work and how we all address the line that once separated life and work. Will it be blurred or intensified? I’m curious to see. Mental health has finally become a topic out in the open. And art’s role as the playground of the spirit has never been more relevant. So, perhaps creativity will enjoy a lot more freedom in communications going forward (if the Burberry films are any indication of this, I’m beyond happy). Creativity is a window for the soul, let’s get rid of the curtains.
Perhaps, more than anything else, all of this is wishful thinking, but I hope it won’t be ruled out by another seismic event that makes predictions the laughing stock of the gods.
Above: In these uncertain times, predictions might not be worth the website they're written on.
Justine O’Neill, Senior Director, Analytic Partners
The revival of TV
Lockdown and the pandemic saw seismic shifts in consumers' media consumption and e-commerce habits; they are using more channels than ever before, making them harder to reach and, therefore, more expensive to target in comparison to previous years. After many fallow months, there has been a surge in advertiser demand looking to tap into pent-up consumer demand. Couple this with linear TV viewing declines and a relaxation of TV booking deadlines, and the result is the best TV slots being in ever higher demand, and that means a higher price tag.
After many fallow months, there has been a surge in advertiser demand looking to tap into pent-up consumer demand.
TV can’t be viewed in isolation. Brands need to be aware of external factors that may impact their ad spend effectiveness, such as the ongoing supply chain issues – there’s no point trying to drive purchase if there is nothing there to buy!
Brands looking at their TV spend next year need to make sure they are looking at their data and responding to consumer behaviour accordingly. Adopting an agile, test and learn approach will be beneficial as it enables them to flex their TV spend and make data-driven decisions in real-time, which will increase chances for higher returns on their TV spend.
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Above [left to right]: Dedé Laurentino, Justine O’Neill and Rik Moore.
Rik Moore, Head of Insight, Strategy and Planning, The Kite Factory
Hybrid Normality
2022 will be the year of making sense and moving forward; for agencies, brands and the public at large.
Everyone is heads down at the moment, racing to the finish line of Christmas 2021, making up for what we missed last festive season, but what will life look like after Christmas and into the new year?
It will be a new hybrid of three things:
1. The pre-pandemic behaviours we can get back to.
2. The habits we picked up in the pandemic that we’d like to maintain.
3. What the long-term reality of living with the Covid virus allows us to do.
The role for brands will be to help signpost ways forward in this hybrid normality.
A hybrid normality, where the pandemic hopefully recedes and life returns. This will be scary for some to navigate, when they can’t do what was familiar before, but will undoubtedly create new opportunities for others, as exciting new paths are forged.
The role for brands will be to help signpost ways forward in this hybrid normality, provided they have an authentic and credible reason to do so.
