OOH relevancy likely to grow as technologies reshape marketing

The findings of a study on ‘Advertising in 2030’ conducted by WPPiQ suggests that companies will need to become more transparent, sustainable, and purpose-driven to meet the expectations of post-millennial generations over the next decade. And, AI will have a dramatic impact on marketing as consumers will begin to outsource purchasing decisions to machines that will optimise selections based on individual goals and preferences.

Advertising will continue to enable many people to access content and services, especially in developing countries, but experts also predict companies will begin to prioritise services over products in their marketing. Experts deemed it unlikely that people will be able to opt out of advertising entirely but expect subtler forms of marketing such as product placement and sponsorships – integrated into frictionless services and experiences – to play an increasingly important role.

However, in spite of AI & Technology led communications and engagements, the research predicts a resurgence of OOH by the year of 2030 as the report states that the more established physical media may even see a revival in popularity as consumers may come up with new techniques to avoid ads, but marketers will of course come up with new and different ways to reach them. They may even make better use of much older, more established techniques including OOH medium which is unavoidable.

On this context, Jane Ostler, Global Head of Media Effectiveness, Insights Division at Kantar, said, “I think that we see outdoor advertising, for example, having a resurgence—it will be driven more by personalisation, and you can’t really avoid outdoor advertising. Online, there will probably be other ways that we haven’t thought of yet to avoid advertising. I do agree with the thesis that there will be people who will see more advertising because they are accessing free services, and a greater divide. If you can afford to, you can avoid it.”