Likely Advertising Trends in 2020

Nigerian practitioners have called on governments and local business owners to deepen their partnership with marketing communications practitioners for improved performance in 2020, Raheem Akingbolu writes.

As a result of new opportunities in the Nigerian market, especially in the area of agriculture, more internet penetration and technology, findings in the marketing communications landscape have shown that the industry will be more active in the year 2020. On the global trend, a report by FinancesOnline Review for Business has predicted eight advertising trends for the new year.

Meanwhile, it has been established that total global ad spend was less than expected in 2019 but with the assurance that a number of events this year would help industry growth.

That’s according to data from the World Advertising and Research Center (WARC), which few months ago predicted that there would be an overall rise of 2.5 per cent in marketing spend by the end of 2019 to a total of $618.7 billion. It marked a downgrade from WARC’s February, 2019 projection of 4.3 per cent.

The downgrade was said to have been driven by a slowdown in consumer spend and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The report however predicted that it would be a brighter picture for 2020, where ad spend is set to grow six per cent to $656 billion, driven in part by the U.S. Presidential Election and the Olympic Games, which will be held in Tokyo.
Besides, it has also been forecasted that spending on internet ads — mainly on Alphabet -owned YouTube and Google, as well as Facebook — is set to make up more than half of all global spend for the first time this year.

In Nigeria, it has also been discovered that many factors will boost the entire marketing industry. A former Registrar of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, (APCON), Bello Kankarofi told THISDAY that change in preference and emergence of new technologies, among other factors will boost the marketing communication industry.

“In 2020, technology will surely play a huge role in the industry. Also, the opening up of the Agricultural sector by relevant stakeholders will need marketing support. Another important factor that will help the industry is the growth of the SMEs. With all these and government support, practitioners can be sure of boom in their businesses,” he said.

Expectations
For the President of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Emmanuel Ajufo, the first major thing government should do to impact the industry in 2020 is to constitute the APCON council which serves as the umbrella body of the entire marketing industry. He has also predicted that Nigeria’s 60th independent anniversary will boost advertising business.

“What will gladden our hearts more than any other thing is for government to give us a council. The Industry is truly suffering as a result of this.

Similarly, 2020 is a significant year for Nigeria as the Country will turn 60. I hope that the Advertising industry will come together to partner with government to project our country positively to the world at large.

In our Sector of the Advertising industry, the first part of our research we promised has started. The outcome of the research should come out early in the new year.

“Our internal cohesion is getting better. New members are coming in too. We have also resolved with JC Decaux as you would have probably known. So, things are looking up for the better for our Association.

We strongly believe that despite the challenges of the country, the Advertising Industry in general and our Sector in particular will continue to witness growth,” Ajufo stated.
While thanking OAAN members for their support so far, he encouraged them to be steadfast and continue on the part of professionalism.

Also speaking on what 2020 may bring, the President of the Experiential Marketing Association of Nigeria, (EXMAN), Tade Adekunle, admitted that the year 2020 will come with its own challenges, considering submissions from the various analysis of 2020 by experts but he pointed out that there are also opportunities for those who can position themselves to think out of the box. Like OAAN President, Adekunle also called on Government to take practitioners in marketing communications industry as partners.
“To positively build the image of this country marketing business should not be left in the hands of quacks or “l sabi am” but practitioners who will take a wholistic view of the situation and strategically proffer solutions. The practitioners are forever ready to partner with government.

“For EXMAN members, we need to tilt the scale in 2020: be more innovative, creative and challenge ourselves to proffer solutions that will add value to clients’ bottom line. From all analysis so far with respect to 2020, the signs are good and practitioners in the field of Experiential marketing are up to the task,” he said.

Likely trends in 2020
Digital revolution notwithstanding, experts have concluded that print advertising isn’t dead and that it would still play a vital role in 2020. In the last few years, findings have shown that print advertising has silently made its moves in order to innovate so as to keep up with the digital world. However, the qualities that made it an effective medium – being trustworthy – never changed. Of the eight likely trends in 2020, which was recently predicted, print advertising top the list.

Video Advertising

More than the recent past, video advertising appears to be redefining the Nigeria’s advertising landscape. For starters, video advertising is still the top marketing medium today. Not surprising since it has already been big since the television era. The rise of the internet, computers, and mobile devices only provided more platform for video ads to appear. It’s probably still going to be one of the most important advertising trends in the next 5 years. Sales reps and their sales tools are only too happy to accommodate these video ads to stoke revenues.

There’s a lot of options on where to place a video advertisement in this modern time. YouTube may be the biggest video platform but social media sites are solid choices for video ads as well. Advertisers are taking advantage of the large user-base of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for their video marketing campaign.

Personalised Advertising
This isn’t a new trend but it’s one that’s sure to grow as days pass by. That’s because there is an increasing number of methods for learning more about the customers and what they want. This includes tracking of clicked links, customer behavior, purchase history, survey responses, and more.

If you’re in the customer support sector, your go-to tool in this regard would be anyone from the customer experience management software solutions. Decision makers, on the other hand, would prefer the more generalist tools, business intelligence applications.

Businesses are now trying a more people-based approach. This means that ads will now be geared towards targeting real people through emails and other registered user data. With more information available, marketers can provide customers with a better offer that’ll most likely translate into sales.

Mobile -First Advertising
Just last year, more than half of the online traffic around the world came from mobile devices. Most consumers use their phones for a significant portion of shopping, browsing, and entertainment experience. This resulted in brands making the move to ensure that their services, sites, and advertisements are mobile-ready.

This has affected almost all the digital advertising trends in the market. For instance, most videos are now filmed in an upright position to create what’s called a vertical video. That’s because the vertical format is perfect for mobile viewing. Therefore, smartphone users are more likely to find them engaging.

Social Advertising
Social Advertising is the use of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media platforms for advertising potentials. There are some benefits to paid social media advertisements. One is the sheer number of audiences that promotion can reach. Not only that but it’s also the perfect place for building a network by creating page for the brand.

The options related to social media advertisements have now exploded too. LinkedIn and Facebook offer a remarketing capability to advertisers. There’s also now an option for sending private and sponsored messages to targeted customers. The receivers can be grouped through interests, demographics, or even a custom list.

Facebook is by far the biggest social media platform. That’s why it’s not surprising that advertisers are continually finding ways to use it as a marketing tool. In 2020, experts have predicted that the social advertising will still remain a leading tool for marketing.