Priority marketing environments in 2022 according to The 2022 Industry Pulse Report
source: own elaboration
Industry Pulse Report is a periodical study prepared by Integral Ad Science - a publicly owned American technology company related to, inter alia, ensuring online safety for brands. The edition to which we will refer in the following text was published on December 17, 2021 and concerns the key online marketing issues in 2022. 230 American experts participated in the study on the basis of which the report was prepared - including advertisers / brands, publishers, media agencies, creative agencies, ad networks/ exchange and other. They had to complete an online survey and answer its questions.
One of the most important questions in the survey was about the environments that will be a priority for marketers in 2022. The respondents could choose up to 3 answers, and the full question was „Which of the following environments will be a top priority for your organization in the next 12 months?”. The most important answers were: Mobile chosen by 76% of experts, Social media indicated by 72% of them, Digital video (including OTT and CTV) - 61% respectively, Desktop environments - 56% and the increasingly popular Digital audio (including podcasts, radio Internet and in-streaming) - 48%.
Mobile
In the report, a lot of attention is paid to mobile advertising - which, after recording minor drops in 2021, once again becomes a priority for marketers. According to experts, the lifestyle of consumers has changed to hybrid, which means that mobility is of great importance to them. Forecasts say that advertising expenditure in this channel will increase by almost 14% in 2022 and will amount to over USD 162 billion, and as much as 78% of this amount will be allocated to applications. It is the Mobile channel that is considered to be the most promising from a marketing point of view - as many as 86% of respondents agreed with the statement that „Increasing mobile video consumption will be a key opportunity for ad buyers and sellers”. In addition, as many as 82% of them believe that „Contextual targeting solutions will gain favor in mobile app and web environments”. Contextual targeting i.e., ads matched to relevant websites and applications thanks to the use of, among others, keywords or lists of topics. 81% of respondents also stated that „Expanding 5G adoption will improve the mobile media experience overall, creating new advertising opportunities”. This doesn’t, however, mean that experts don’t see threats in the Mobile channel. 8 out of 10 respondents (81%) agreed that „Third-party verification will be important to ensure the quality of mobile inventory” and 77% of them believe that „Ad fraud will be a greater concern across mobile environments regardless of advertising format”.
Social media
As the report shows, the most important Social media from a marketing point of view are: Facebook, in which 71% of the companies that participated in the survey will invest, YouTube with a result of 69%, Instagram selected by 65% of respondents, and Twitter - 46%, respectively. Further mention was made of: LinkedIn with a result of 40%, TikTok - also 40%, Pinterest - 32%, Snapchat - 25% and Reddit - 23%. A key factor in evaluating the effectiveness of advertising on social media is visibility. This opinion was shared by 87% of respondents.
Although Social media is mentioned as the second marketing channel in which the respondents invest most willingly (it was chosen by as many as 72% of respondents), it is also most often indicated as the one that will face serious challenges across the media industry. Almost half (47%) of the experts who participated in the survey think so. Almost 8 out of 10 respondents (79%) agree that advertising fraud is a big worry when running campaigns using social media, 54% of them said that social media will be vulnerable to ad fraud incidents in the next 12 months, and almost half (49%) that it will be vulnerable to brand risk incidents.
In addition, experts interviewed for the report see the problem of eroding consumer trust in major social media platforms and insufficient media quality metric transparency within social media platforms. According to the respondents, Social media platforms most likely affected by eroding consumer trust in 2022 will be: Facebook - mentioned by 65% of respondents, Instagram - 53%, Twitter - also 53%, TikTok - 49%, WhatsApp - 46%, Reddit – 43%, Snapchat - also 43%, YouTube – 42% and LinkedIn - 38%. On the other hand, when asked about Social media platforms most likely to be affected by insufficient transparency in 2022, the respondents indicated: Facebook - 77%, Instagram -65%, TikTok - 61%, YouTube -56%, Reddit - 55%, WeChat - 50% , Twitter - 49%, Pinterest 43%, Snapchat - 40%, Tumblr - 40%, LinkedIn - 38% and WhatsApp - 25%. These are very important issues for marketers - as many as 60% of them admitted that their media spend will be affected by a decline in consumer confidence, and 56% approach the issue of insufficient transparency in terms of media quality indicators in the same way. However, this shouldn’t have a negative impact on the earnings of this industry - it is estimated that advertisers will spend 17% more on advertising in social networks in 2022 than a year earlier and that they will amount to over USD 72 billion.
Connected TV and Digital video
Another channel that will receive a significant portion of marketing budgets is digital video, including Over The Top and Connected TV - 61% of respondents indicated it as the environment in which they intend to invest. On the other hand, almost half - 46% of experts interviewed for the report agreed that CTV and digital video hold the most potential for innovation in the coming year. 82% of respondents believe that the shift in media consumption from linear TV to digital video alternatives will accelerate, and 81% agree that ad-supported video streaming will grow in popularity among consumers. Interestingly, 79% of respondents say that this will be the case regardless of whether the restrictions related to COVID-19 are completely lifted or not.
Digital audio
Almost half (48%) of the experts who participated in the survey said they intend to invest in Digital audio advertising, including in-stream and podcasts. It looks like advertisers will be following consumer trends and hence the growing popularity of streaming audio content by incorporating digital audio advertising into their campaigns. 78% respondents say Ad-supported audio streaming will grow in popularity among consumers. In addition, 76% of respondents stated that audio media listeners will continue to shift from terrestrial radio to digital alternatives. At the same time, as many as 81% of experts surveyed believe that Third-party verification will be important to ensure the quality of audio streaming inventory, and 72% agree that Brand risk around audio streaming content will increase as additional inventory becomes available.
