2022 Informed: Martech predictions

Ben Murphy, UK MD of audience measurement firm Quantcast gives his predictions on connected TV advertising, a post cookie future, attention metrics and the importance of independent online publishers

1: Interactive and more personalised adverts will make CTV stand out

“Connected TV advertising (CTV) has been growing, and I expect it’s going to explode in 2022. According to OFCOM, broadcast TV’s share of all adult viewing fell to 61% last year in the UK, and that number is only going to drop further. This creates a fantastic opportunity for CTV to grow.

“While the shift from broadcast to CTV is happening, ad spend has yet to completely catch up – but it’s already on its way. Data from eMarketer has revealed that CTV ad spend will reach $14.44 billion this year, up 59.9% from 2020. This increase is a clear indication that 2022 will follow suit.

“For brands, it’s an exciting time to expand into CTV and reap the benefits. The market isn’t as saturated, so they will have better exposure. As with any new platform, it is now time to experiment and innovate new metrics that will show value and define its potential as an emerging platform. The potential for interactive and more personalised adverts could be what makes CTV stand out. I can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store.”

2: A Post-cookie future

“The optimism in the recent IPA Bellwether Report shows how brands are fully embracing the new opportunities that post-pandemic life offers. However, it is important that marketers and media owners don’t go from one crisis to another and we’re urging businesses to future-proof themselves against the demise of third-party cookies in 2023. Although Google has delayed the deprecation of the third-party cookie in Chrome until 2023, around 36% of the UK market has already done away with it (Safari and Firefox). While publishers and marketers don’t have the responsibility of creating the technology, they must start implementing methods and techniques that don’t rely on third-party cookies, to stay relevant and be prepared for the transition.”

3: Attention metrics will make the advertising landscape much fairer and transparent

“As we transition to a post-cookie world, there will be a massive shift in not just how we reach audiences but how we measure effectiveness. There’s a real opportunity for attention metrics to completely change the advertising landscape forever, making it much fairer and more transparent. This, however, will not happen overnight and will require industry cooperation.”

4: Online advertisers will prioritise independent publishers  

“The open internet is such a valuable source of information, and we’ve seen a worrying trend in the consolidation of ad budgets, which fund content creation, into the hands of a handful of tech giants. This has made it more difficult for advertisers to fund the diverse content that we all rely on for news and information – with major implications for society. Over the next few years, the industry is going to move towards prioritising advertising on the free and open internet and supporting the independent publishers who make it the incredible and diverse resource that it is.