Technology is becoming ubiquitous with internet access available almost anywhere through the explosion of mobile and web-enabled devices, from tablets to fridges.
In New Zealand Smartphone penetration is expected to grow to 50 percent by early 2013 and tablet penetration is expected to grow 100 percent YOY from 13 percent to 27 percent. This growth in technology is rapidly changing consumer behaviour, impacting the ways in which digital advertising can be best used in order to deliver cut through and relevance regardless of channel or media engaged in, be it paid, earned or owned.
I anticipate that paid digital media expenditure will continue to grow stimulated by new devices, targeting options (audience, behavioural, location) as well as real-time audience bidding via demand side platforms.
I expect that paid digital media expenditure will also grow significantly as user demand drives traditional media to become intrinsically interactive. In the future everyday objects will leave a data trail in the same way that our online activities already do. This will provide increased opportunities to deliver personalisation and new methods for advertisers to persuade and engage. The most immediate opportunity for New Zealand will mirror international trends, with an anticipated shift in traditional TV viewing to social.
In New Zealand the Smart TV market is growing, while we are also seeing a shift towards dual screening with 63 percent of smartphone users now simultaneously using their smartphones while watching TV . This technological and behavioural change is providing the opportunity to leverage mass TV with the data and social driven digital space. The NZ market is already taking advantage of this change through developments such as the ‘My Kitchen Rules’ application which allows people to live score meals while dual screening.
The future of digital advertising is also social. In June, New Zealanders created 153 million like stories and 8 million status updates. This ability for people to create earned media has provided authentic social proof for brands, emphasising the importance of a paid, earned and owned digital advertising strategy.
Paid media drives traffic to the owned media destination, drives owned media engagement and creates earned conversation, while owned and earned media can also provide insights to inform a more efficient use of paid spend.
Paid, earned and owned is currently in its infancy in New Zealand. However, as the market continues to fragment, the convergence across all elements will be key, to deliver competitive differentiators, amplify and spread relevant brand messages, build potential advocates, and deliver effectiveness through real time insights.
I believe the myriad of touch points have become an essential part of the dynamic customer journey, providing the opportunity for the New Zealand digital advertising industry to grow across paid, earned and owned assets developing a more personalised, contextual, relevant and useful brand experience.
And if we are lucky, maybe the future of digital advertising will also include a little bit of catvertising. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkOQw96cfyE
- Steph Pearson is a senior digital planner/buyer at DraftFCB. She has been with the agency for around two-and-a-half years.
