#Marketing Trends

Pew research reports that around 86% of Americans consume news on smart devices like phones and tablets at least some of the time, while 57% do so “often.” Though television, radio, and print media still have their audiences, they are significantly outpaced by digital platforms, which are typically ad-supported. Simply put, the advertising audience for news is huge. Many advertisers are concerned about placing ads next to news reports, fearing that contentious topics or other bad news will cast a poor light on any ads surrounding the content.

2024 has been a year of seismic shifts in social media– none more dramatic than the potential ban of TikTok in the United States. While the app was temporarily reinstated, users and brands are scrambling to explore alternatives. Which platforms will rise to take TikTok’s place? Let’s dive into some of the frontrunners and explore how they might impact your marketing strategy. The Background Behind the Ban In July 2024, the Biden administration signed a divest-or-get-banned law targeting TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, which was deemed a national security issue for its popularity, the data it collects, and its association with the Chinese government.

This week, Genius Monkey is taking a look at the trends that we expect to continue into this year so you can be prepared for what the industry is likely to become. From an emphasis on first-party data to a TikTok-shaped void in social media advertising, there’s a lot to dive into: The Increasing Importance of First-Party Data In 2024, Google announced that it would, in fact, NOT depreciate third-party cookies in Chrome.

Connected television (CTV) has stood out as the black sheep of the programmatic family for a while, featuring the lowest total ad spend and the trickiest audience tracking of all mediums. Early rumblings in the industry and consumer habits have convinced Genius Monkey for some time that CTV is a slumbering giant, waiting for the right moment to awaken and take the digital ad industry by storm. That day is quickly approaching, and it’s time for advertisers to take note.

The holiday season is undoubtedly the biggest time of consumer spending in the entire year. If you play your marketing cards right, you’re likely to experience an influx of new customers buying from you for the first time. For all the revenue the holiday season creates, those new customers are the true prize that can help your business grow – if you can convince them to stick around. Plenty of articles will tell you how to optimize your marketing to get as many customers as possible during the holidays; today we’re looking at what you can do AFTER the season to retain their business and further build your customer base.

MFA, or “Made For Advertising”, is the boogeyman of digital advertising, scooping up some $20 billion of wasted ad spend on bot sites, unviewable ads, or ad farms. The Association of National Advertisers reports that buyers have been spending less on MFA overall in the last few years, but it’s been on the rise in recent months. We all know MFA sites when we see them; so why are they so hard to circumvent?

Advertisers rightfully view the end-of-year holidays as the biggest shopping time of the year; the 2023 season turned in a staggering $964.4 billion spent. Focus on it too much, however, and you just might miss other opportunities where consumers are happy to open their wallet. Genius Monkey data shows that personalizing ads around current events increases click-through rates by 35%! Let’s take a look at the other big shopping days through the year and the best strategies for making them work for you!

The Winter Holiday season is easily the biggest time of the year for advertisers and businesses alike. With thousands of other companies competing for space in your target audience’s brain, what can you do to stand out from the crowd and attract those holiday dollars? Thanks to years of experience and a recent report from our partner Experian, Genius Monkey has the tools your business needs to thrive this season.

Industry staples like display, video, and OTT have been in place for some years, but there’s a looming shadow on the horizon; a massive media powerhouse that has only begun to dip its toes into everything digital advertising has to offer: gaming. No longer a niche medium, video games have gone mainstream and reach a worldwide audience of 3.32 billion players. A recent report from Comscore highlights just how large and diverse the gaming audience has become; it’s not just kids playing games these days.

Artificial intelligence occupies a weird place in modern culture. Simultaneously the harbinger of doom and a technological savior, some are worried it will kill every creative industry while others are happy at how easily it accomplishes menial tasks. AI is unlikely to go away anytime soon, so the best thing for advertisers to do is understand its potential for both good and bad, while looking at industry trends to see where this is all going.