As 2024 comes to a close, 2025 is just around the corner. What changes can we expect in the digital advertising landscape? Here’s a summary of the key Ad trends!
1. Before we dive in: A Recap of Digital Advertising Highlights in 2024
1. The decline of third-party cookies: A growing focus on stable first-party data sources.
2. Generative AI applications: Increasing efficiency and enhancing brand exposure.
3. Social media dominance: The rapid rise of short-form video content and the reign of KOL (Key Opinion Leader) marketing.
4. A stronger emphasis on personalized marketing by brands
In 2024, driven by the widespread adoption of the internet and mobile devices, the rapid growth of social media platforms, and the ongoing expansion of e-commerce, global digital advertising spending is projected to reach approximately $670 billion—potentially surpassing $1 trillion. This marks a growth of over 11.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from $600 billion in 2023, with digital advertising accounting for about 70% of total ad spend. Notably, the regions with the fastest growth rates in ad spending are the Middle East and South Asia (India), reflecting a significant rise in the importance of digital advertising in these emerging markets.
[Reference: Global Information – Digital Ad Spending Global Market Report 2024]
2. Looking Ahead: Will 2025 Continue 2024’s Trends or Bring New Challenges?
(1) Widespread AI Integration in Advertising
Generative AI, which has quickly entered industries and individuals’ lives, is transforming traditional approaches to ad creation and placement and ushering in a new era of efficient and personalized marketing.
Boosting Ad Creation Speed
Generative AI enables the rapid production of ad assets and copy, reducing the heavy time and labor costs traditionally associated with creative processes. While challenges remain—such as ensuring accurate prompts and aligning AI-generated visuals or videos with product expectations—the undeniable advantage lies in the substantial time savings on creative ideation.
The Rise of Personalized Marketing Content
AI-powered user behavior analysis enables tailored advertising. By examining users’ interests, purchasing behavior, browsing history, and search habits, AI delivers personalized product recommendations and ad content, enhancing consumer interaction and engagement.
Data Analytics and Click Prediction
AI facilitates real-time tracking and interpretation of audience reactions. AI can accurately predict ad click-through rates by analyzing massive datasets, enabling more data-driven and strategic ad placement. This results in faster production of in-depth insights and actionable reports.
(2) Retail Media Advertising Gains Traction
In recent years, the emerging digital advertising model known as Retail Media Networks (RMN) has gained significant attention. In essence, RMNs leverage consumer data to offer advertising services within retail platforms. These platforms include official apps, websites, social media accounts, streaming services, digital out-of-home (DOOH) displays, and in-store signage, covering both online and offline spaces.
As third-party cookies wane, retailers’ first-party data—such as membership and sales information—has become a valuable asset for precise targeting. This data enables a more accurate depiction of audience profiles, enhancing ad targeting efforts.
From a marketing funnel perspective, retail media ads not only strengthen audience impressions of products but also capitalize on the shopping-oriented nature of retail platforms. The synergy between ads and product browsing significantly boosts the chances of conversion during the purchase phase. For marketers, tools like conversion attribution analysis, online and offline data tracking, ad placement during the shopping journey, and ad design provide deeper insights into consumer behavior.
(3) The Influence of Social Platforms and the Power of Short Videos Continue to Expand
Using Social Media as a Search Tool
For Gen Z users, social platforms have become a go-to source for finding new information. By utilizing hashtags, recent posts, or short videos, they efficiently locate the content they need.
The Rise of Social Commerce
Social commerce refers to the ability to sell and complete shopping processes directly within social platforms. Users can purchase recommended products in real time while browsing social media or watching live streams, significantly enhancing the shopping experience.
Short-Form Video Marketing
With modern attention spans decreasing, advertisers are increasingly leveraging short videos to capture users’ attention. The challenge lies in creating compelling and resonant content within a short timeframe to ensure the brand and product remain memorable to users.
(4) The Growing Adoption of Programmatic Buying
Programmatic buying, powered by AI and automation, uses real-time bidding (RTB) or predefined criteria to complete ad transactions efficiently. This approach allows advertisers to deliver the most relevant content to the right audience at the right time, improving both efficiency and precision.
According to Dentsu Group’s forecast, global programmatic ad spending in 2025 is expected to reach $817.7 billion, reflecting an 11.1% growth. Programmatic advertising will account for over 70% of total digital ad spending, highlighting the industry’s shift toward automation and data-driven strategies.
[Reference: Global Ad Spend Forecasts 2025: 5.9% Growth Predicted as Algorithmic Strategies Reshape Media Investments]
Precise Audience Targeting
Leverages user behavior and preferences for personalized ad delivery, boosting engagement and conversion rates.
Cost-Effectiveness:
Reduces labor and time costs through automation, ensuring advertisers pay only for genuine audience exposure and maximizing ROI.
Real-Time Data Analytics and Optimization
Allows advertisers to track performance, adjust audience targeting, or modify bids instantly for optimal results.
Cross-Platform Integration
Supports seamless ad delivery across multiple media channels and devices, covering every stage of the consumer’s digital journey.
For instance, AI Advertising (MI-DSP™), an AI-driven real-time bidding platform from Groundhog Technologies, provides a robust programmatic buying solution built on RTB technology. Contact us using the form below to stay ahead with the latest ad strategies and maximize your brand’s visibility!
