Six display trends essential to success

Today’s consumer journey is more complex than it has ever been. Our data shows that, on average, a consumer in the UK has nine touchpoints, across multiple channels and devices, before making a purchase. This means more opportunities to engage with potential customers in different ways but also increased pressure on marketers to prove ROI effectively.

So the importance of transparency across the full purchase funnel is undeniable. As well as this, having the transparency into your campaigns’ performance and ad-level insights allows you to continually optimize.

Mastering the art of storytelling

American marketing entrepreneur and blogger Seth Godin said: “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” The way some brands stand out in the digital world while others are overlooked is often down to the way they communicate. Display marketing – as part of cross-channel, well-rounded campaigns – is essential to this communication through storytelling. Fashion retailers do not sell clothes, they help people express their individuality and style. Hotel websites do not sell hotel rooms, they help travelers make great memories. The emergence of storytelling platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, as well as the explosion of video and shoppable content, are raising the stakes in audience engagement and provide the opportunity for smarter storytelling.

Using data to your advantage

Making the best use of data is key. With over 80 businesses worldwide and a global membership that exceeds 900 million consumers, Rakuten Inc is the sixth largest internet services company in the world. As such, we pride ourselves on our understanding of the importance of building the right relationships, data and inventory to aid expansion into lucrative markets.

Ensuring business decisions are based on concrete and accurate attributed value is essential to maximize ROI – understanding which touchpoints and strategies drive conversions is key to engage and influence in moments that deliver results.

The continued growth of social

For nearly half a decade, paid social has maintained consistent growth of around $6bn dollars a year. So, it’s no secret that it’s a huge growth area for digital marketing investment. A report from Zenith in late 2016 predicted paid social ad spend will reach $50bn dollars by 2019 – making up 20% of all internet advertising spend. In order to maximize the value of social, advertisers are looking towards better creatives across these channels, and data that lets them see social in the context of cross-device advertising.

AI driven advertising

The words ‘artificial intelligence’ might make you think of a world in the future where we’re ruled by robots. But the fact is, AI is already here and driving many aspects of performance marketing. AI-driven display campaigns are designed to help marketers achieve greater results by increasing the efficiency of display media and ROAS. Ensuring better productivity over time, combining direct and programmatic buying powers, user segmentation and conversion-predicting algorithms, consumers who are highly likely to convert can be accurately targeted.

Embracing programmatic TV advertising

According to eMarketer, programmatic accounts for 70% of all digital display ad spending – it is the norm for media buyers and has ruled the industry for quite some time. Marketers are now looking to make use of the infrastructures and buying methodologies in place to access other traditional marketing channels, such as TV. In the future, widespread adoption of programmatic TV will follow technology enabling personalization across broadcast media becoming smarter and easier for marketers to use.

Make sure you are incorporating these trends into your marketing strategy to turbocharge your digital marketing campaigns. What can be inferred from the above is that the future success of your brand rests on the perfect marriage of tech and human abilities. Combine advanced technological capabilities, the accurate measurement of performance across channels and devices and the human understanding of what motivates your audience and watch your efforts yield incredible results.

Rakhee Jogia, Regional Director of Rakuten Display Europe, Rakuten Marketing.

Tel: 020 7427 8152

Email: rm-salesuk@mail.rakuten.com

Web: marketing.rakuten.co.uk

Twitter: @RakutenMKTG_UK