The advertising landscape is dynamic, so we must evolve with its media buying trends and strategies. And being in the marketing industry, it makes double sense to do so.
We have explored the trends we expect to be key focal points for companies’ media buying efforts in the remainder of 2024.
So, get your notepads ready as we discuss the six media buying trends you should include in your media planning.
But before we dive into the trends, let’s know about Marketers’ favorite topic, Media Buying.
What is Media Buying?
Media buying is crucial in advertising, especially in performance marketing and pay-per-call advertising as it involves selecting the best locations, placements, and times to run ads for maximum impact on target audiences.
The goal is to secure ad placements on platforms that best align with a brand’s target audience at the right moments, ensuring audience engagement while aiming for the lowest cost per acquisition.
This process includes purchasing traditional media like television, radio, print, and outdoor advertising, along with digital channels such as websites, social media, streaming services, and apps.
Media Buying Trends and Strategies making transformative impact over the years
1. Zero Party Data
Zero-party data, which consumers voluntarily and intentionally share with brands, is becoming a vital tool for businesses.
Unlike third-party cookies that collect user information indirectly and often without explicit consent, zero-party data involves a direct exchange where consumers share insights about their preferences and behaviors.
This shift is becoming increasingly significant due to the declining effectiveness and acceptance of third-party cookies. Examples include interactive surveys and quizzes that capture user preferences (e.g., Typeform, and SurveyMonkey) and platforms like; ZoomInfo Sales, and Yellow Pages, etc..
The value of zero-party data lies in its accuracy and the genuine insights it offers, derived from information that consumers willingly provide. As businesses seek to enhance their customer engagement strategies, leveraging zero-party data can create a valuable feedback loop and foster stronger, more personalized relationships with their audiences.
2024 is expected to be an important year for setting up the usage of zero-party data in marketing and customer relationship management.
2. Privacy
With the usage of stricter data privacy regulations, coupled with growing consumer privacy concerns, data transparency and compliances have become paramount for performance media buying & planning and media buyers.
In 2024, accountability around data privacy practices is expected to increase, requiring a greater focus on ethical data collection, consent management, and following regulatory rules.
Advertisers and Media Buyers need to prioritize transparency and user consent in their media buying trends and strategies to build consumer trust and follow regulatory risks via the right media placement, eventually helping in media optimization.
This shift requires a thorough approach to ensure data privacy practices not only comply with legal standards but also meet consumer expectations for transparency and ethical handling of their personal information in the process of ad placement.
3. Online Communities to leverage knowledge & build ad placement plans
Linking forums like Reddit, and Quora with media buying strategies goes beyond traditional advertising—it boils down to extracting knowledge and knowing what might work and what might not.
These dynamic platforms provide brands with unique opportunities to engage with niche audiences in, for instance, r/advertisers (a community on Reddit catering to Advertisers and their interests) on Reddit through discussions and value-based content.
By perfectly aligning their advertising efforts with community interests, and participating in ongoing conversations, media buyers can understand the trends in the media buying and ad placement industry.
This strategy is not just about spreading reach; it offers advertisers and media buyers a chance to deliver their messages in personalized and impactful ways. Brands can connect with their audiences in places where they actively seek recommendations and peer reviews.
Overlooking the potential of such forums in the media buying strategies, brands get behind and fail to make an impact on media optimization.
4. UGC is the OG
New ad rules and regulations on platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram frequently emerge, and consumers’ desire for content other than personalized options has made it difficult for marketers, advertisers, and media planners to do their jobs.
Who is their knight in shining armor?
The uprising of the UGC content or more broadly speaking, Influencer Marketing, a type of marketing concerned with collaborating with individuals who have a significant loyal follower count, valid knowledge, & social influence in a particular industry or niche.
Influencers can tailor the raw messaging and campaign ideas to cater to the specific groups they’re trying to speak to with dynamic content. And help in media optimization & expediting the media buying process.
Truly a piece of cake for brands to make sure that they’re floating the right information, and to the right people.
5. Programmatic Buying
By the time you finish this article, millions of media buyers and advertisers probably would have run a few thousand of campaigns via programmatic advertising, adding to the process of media placement.
Sounds like a hefty job, right?
However, automation and machine learning handle it effectively.
Media buyers and media planners have been using programmatic platforms like anchors to their ships to automate ad buying, ad placement, making performance media buying trends and strategies optimized for campaign performance in real-time.
6. Shoppable Experiences
There have been studies notifying us that the attention span is going low. And would lower in the not-so-distant future.
And allowing consumers to shop directly from social posts, ads, and videos, and take them directly to a sales inquiry, service page, shopping cart, or checkout page helps stay relevant to the attention of the consumers.
Such shoppable experiences do more than catalyze impulse purchases.
They give the conversion funnel a jump start by deleting the steps to see where the drop-off (or the bounce rate) is.
Pairing shoppable experiences with retargeting the audience can be an absolute hit.
Key Takeaways from the Media Buying Trends and Strategies
Conclusion on the Media Buying Trends and Strategies
Staying ahead in the rapidly evolving performance media planning & media buying landscape requires proactive adaptation and strategic innovation.
By focusing on the latest media buying trends and strategies like zero-party data, online community engagement, user-generated content, and programmatic media buying, brands can stay ahead of changes and take full advantage of new opportunities.
