Multimedia Technology and Marketing Trends to follow in 2021

By 2021, according to Gartner, companies need to understand how people interact with and experience digital multimedia technology while understanding the technology itself.

“Domino’s Pizza, a major pizza chain in the USA, wanted to offer its customers the ability to place an order through as many terminals and platforms as possible through the use of digital technology. The solution is to create a multi-experience strategy. Customers could order their favorite meal using any device, from the phone to the smart speaker, and the order could be tracked via a pizza tracker and delivered via a standalone vehicle,” Gartner says.

The way consumers interact with brands has changed in recent decades. Digital experiences are no longer derived from “only digital” businesses. As companies adopt digital solutions, it’s important for them to understand the trends that are revolutionizing the way customers live digitally.

Businesses understand the value that a seamless digital experience adds to overall customer satisfaction. “It’s important for executives to understand how digital experiences are built and delivered,” says Daniel Sun, Vice President Analyst, Gartner

In its new global report, Kantar identifies 3 major trends and predictions that should reshape tomorrow’s multimedia landscape and brand marketing strategies.

Multimedia technology will continue to redefine the media marketing landscape in 2021, creating both opportunities and challenges for marketers.

As advertising spending on social platforms and other media platforms continues to increase, technological innovations will also allow for a revival of real-world engagement.

According to Kantar’s Global Trends and Media 2020 Predictions report, marketing and media professionals will be challenged to develop the skills, role models, and measurement capabilities needed to meaningfully engage consumers in a now overburdened media ecosystem.

Kantar predicts a digital paradox: while new and evolving media channels will create new opportunities, the deluge of digital contact points will make it more difficult to connect with consumers.

Industry experts will also have to manage the “data dilemma” of responding to consumer demand for relevant and personalized content without undermining their trust and privacy.

And as third-party cookies, a targeting tool widely used by brands, begin to reduce their footprint, advertisers will need to find alternative tracking and measurement solutions.

Kantar’s Trends – Media 2020 Predictions revolve around three main themes:

  1. The technological trends that are transforming the media landscape

5G finally becomes real

The marketing and communications industry will be one of the main beneficiaries of the 5G era, ensuring it reaches and engages consumers more. But to take advantage of this opportunity, it will take a significant transformation on the part of marketers. 

Streaming battle rages

New players will see the battle of streaming platforms intensify, but this increasingly crowded market will lead to consumer fatigue with subscriptions.

Turn up the sound

As we enter a new era of audio advertising, brands will increase volume and find their voice through new audio channels that are starting to grow in importance among the general public.

Content and Commerce: the meeting of the third type

Content and commerce will converge as shoppable ads become more widespread, moving from social advertising to television and digital signage, resulting in ever-increasing autonomy for closed-circuit platforms.

  1. New spaces that brands can credibly occupy

Back to reality

Brands will rebalance their digital presence with more real user experiences, which means we could see a slowdown in the rise of digital advertising.

Brands take a stand

Like consumers, brands will become more radical in 2020. But they will always need to ensure that their media strategies are consistent with their values and objectives.

Maturity in 2020 for influence marketing or how to measure what matters?

Influence marketing will mature as brands begin to collaborate more deeply and take the measure more seriously in 2020 by analyzing more strategic metrics. 

Get ready to play, e-sports is the new eldorado

This growing activity will quickly become more widespread over the next 12 months, providing lucrative opportunities for media and advertisers who will master the rules of the game.

  1. The context and catalysts for change

Turn around and face change: a trend towards media internalization

The “in-housing” trend will continue with a growing number of brands that will establish their own teams of digital experts in-house, pushing agencies and advertisers out of their traditional comfort zone towards a new collaborative and exciting space.

Cookies start to weaken, recipe changes

The disappearance of cookies could leave many marketers in limbo. Advertisers need to prepare now for the new “mixed economy.” The direct integrations to come between publishers and measurement partners will allow for the first time a true cross-channel measure.

The data dilemma: making good use of it

In the face of stronger data control legislation, privacy ethics will be at the forefront in 2020 and marketers will develop personalized, individual-focused rather than technology-based communications initiatives.

Society: the new era of marketing

In the era of the increasingly lucid consumer waiting for answers in the face of current societal tensions, brands that go from a simple economic actor to a social actor evolving in this context will be able to win over the public with their commitment.

“2020 will be an exciting year for marketers. The growing possibilities for advertising and content, as well as the data generated, create a plethora of opportunities for the market; but these new perspectives are bringing new challenges.

Emerging new technologies could transform media use, and bring other changes to the industry, such as the disappearance of third-party cookies. This will force marketers to change the way they measure screen audience and campaign effectiveness.

Other channels, such as influence marketing and new audio devices, will face a watershed moment and their credibility could be jeopardized if they do not evolve and deliver on their promises.

The market will need to better understand how it works between the different points of contact and makes it effective for brands – online and offline.”, Says Anne-Lise Toursel, Director of Media-Creative Experience, Insights Division, Kantar.

Meanwhile, the sports sector will continue to use Pay-Per-View as one of the main mediums to reach their fans who are still confined at home. 

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