Mumbai: dentsu International has compiled and released the insights and projections of all its global media agencies into the comprehensive 2023 Media Trends guide for marketers worldwide for the second year in a row.  

The analysis released on Thursday covers the top media trends to watch out for in the upcoming year, drawing on experts and professionals from Carat, dentsu X, and iProspect.

With over 35 pages of commentary, dentsu 2023 Media Trends examines ten industry trends that will shape how brands tap into shifting consumer behaviour and have significant implications for future campaigns and budget allocations. The unique report conveniently groups these key 2023 trends within three overarching categories reflecting the core themes of content, commerce, and community.

Speaking about the report and the collaboration involved, dentsu International global CEO, media & global clients Peter Huijboom said, "This year we witnessed a very different geopolitical landscape and a new and challenging economic outlook, which has forced brands and people to really stop and re-evaluate many things. Through all this uncertainty, we’ve been able to see the emergence of new consumer behaviours, exciting tech innovation, and the spark of profitable new media opportunities for brands."

"As a leading agency network, we pride ourselves on knowing people better than anyone else and understanding what’s next. This couldn’t be made clearer than within this 2023 Media Trends report: our media specialists from around the globe have once again identified those burgeoning societal shifts impacting the industry and brought them into the spotlight," he added.

The key predictions for the direction of the media industry into 2023 and beyond mentioned in the new dentsu report are:

Content:

2023 will bring changes in the content people consume and how they do it. The speed of the shift to digital platforms shows no signs of slowing down, especially in the video-on-demand and gaming industries. The changes in the general economic landscape will lead consumers to evaluate the number of platforms and associated costs linked to subscriptions. The advance of advertising streams may not only provide an alternative to consumers, but it will also provide brands with an opportunity to attract the attention of consumers and capitalise on advertising streams.

#1 AVoD eats SVoD – Ad-funded video platform is set to overtake subscription channels with time, as major streaming platforms are adding ad-funded tiers.

#2 Games everywhere – Gaming is becoming mainstream. Games are becoming increasingly prominent on content sites to drive repeat users.

#3 Attention brings back the essence of advertising – Interest in attention is growing as brands look beyond metrics of reach and viewability to assess consumer engagement and make more effective decisions.

Commerce

Digital commerce continues to evolve, both in importance and in the diversification of sites, apps, and platforms. Consumers are now able to shop at any time from almost anywhere, paving the way for both retail sites and apps to expand their services and offerings to cater to shifting consumer demand and flexibility. The challenge for brands is to engage directly with consumers while at the same time planning and adapting for a cookieless future and respecting data privacy.

#1 From going shopping to always shopping - consumers can shop anywhere and anytime. As a result, retail sites are evolving into content sites, and commerce sites are changing into media sites.

#2 Retail media shakes up adland – Retail platforms and sites are turning themselves into advertising platforms and becoming attractive propositions for brands due to retailers’ huge wealth of first-party data.

#3 The rise of the super apps – Apps are evolving and continue to build ecosystems offering a wide range of services to anticipate and cater for users' needs.

#4 No way back for third-party cookies – Brands continue to navigate a cookieless future and advertisers will explore and test the solutions working best for their brands.

Community

Digitalised communities are a mainstay by now. They continue to change and reflect both technological and societal changes. Social media platforms are adopting their algorithms to encourage engagement, and within social media, "live" events are spilling over to other platforms, forming new communities. Consumers are now able to join global communities that align with their personal views on sustainability and responsibility. Brands should understand the motivations and formation of online communities to encourage engagement and adaptations to future campaigns to better connect with their chosen audience in the context most befitting the intended message.

#1 'Going Live' goes a long way – Brands and platforms are increasingly using the ‘go live’ functions to build a community to create interest through live events. Not only to bring consumers together but also to encourage live, active engagement.

#2 Responsibility takes centre stage – Communities are emerging through a common emphasis on brand responsibility. Platforms are opportunities to share relevant content and increasingly measure the impacts of campaigns.

#3 Social algorithms give users what they don’t know they want – It is not about who you follow as much as what social media platforms want you to see.

Each trend is examined in greater depth in the report, which concludes with specific recommendations and takeaways for marketers and brands to incorporate into their plans.