Industry experts predict major transformation by 2025

The technological landscape surrounding customer experiences, marketing, and advertising is predicted to undergo significant transformations by 2025 according to commentary from industry experts.

As companies focus on refining their advertising strategies, customer data is becoming increasingly pivotal.

Tanja Williams, Head of Client Success at Nexxen, notes that advertisers are boosting their investments in advanced data solutions for precise targeting, measuring return on investment (ROI), and personalising consumer experiences. Williams remarks, "We're seeing advertisers focus on developing their first-party data as they look for ways to reduce their reliance on cookies. This shift is empowering brands to own their data strategies, create direct connections with their consumers and better tailor their messaging."

The rise of Subscription Video On-Demand (SVOD) platforms and Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels is also altering the television landscape. The introduction of VOZ Trading and Streaming, alongside initiatives such as Foxtel's Video Futures Collective, present new opportunities and complexities for advertisers.

Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) data is becoming an essential tool for navigating this fragmented media environment.

"Advertisers are increasingly seeing the value of ACR data to bridge the gap between streaming and linear TV," Williams added.

"By providing real-time insights into what content and ads are being consumed/viewed and where, ACR allows brands to identify overlapping audiences, tailor messaging across screens and ensure they're reaching the right viewers."

Furthermore, with the growth of FAST channels, leveraging planning and measurement tools powered by ACR data becomes crucial.

Williams explains, "FAST channels are not just cost-effective, they also offer niche and highly engaging content. ACR data enables advertisers to optimise campaigns in this space by unlocking insights into viewing habits and delivering personalised ads that resonate across platforms."

The use of data analytics and cross-screen measurement tools allows companies to evaluate the effectiveness of their advertising investments more precisely. Williams concludes, "Advertisers are leveraging programmatic technology and converged insights to engage audiences in a fragmented media environment. With advanced attribution modelling, exclusive data sets like ACR and the ability to measure across screens, brands can make data-informed decisions that maximise campaign performance and ROI."

Tim Mason, CEO of Eagle Eye, anticipates a prominent shift towards real-time marketing and customer engagement through data utilisation. This trend is expected to transform the issuance and redemption of offers, enhancing the immediacy and efficiency of loyalty marketing. Mason observes, "Advances in cloud computing and AI have increased businesses' ability to collect and analyse data in real-time, enabling the creation of contextually relevant offers tailored to individual customer needs."

"Real-time issuance refers to the immediate creation and delivery of offers to customers based on their current behaviour, location, or context," he added.

"These offers are generated and sent when the business detects a trigger, such as a customer entering a particular physical location, browsing a website, or making a specific purchase. Real-time redemption refers to the immediate execution of an offer at the point of sale (POS), in-store or online, so the offer or discount is instantly applied before the transaction is completed and payment is made. Given this is now possible, we expect to see the speed of the delivery of offers increasing and we are likely to see more brands take on true real-time marketing."

Nicholas Simonsen, Head of Content at Impressive, underscores the impact of AI on content creation whilst advising brands to maintain personal and human engagement with consumers.

"AI has taken the digital world by storm over the last few years, and as a result, I have found that everyone is starting to sound the same, no matter the industry in question. Don't get me wrong, ChatGPT and AI, in general, have changed the game in so many ways, but it's reached a point now where I can pinpoint 'ChatGPTisms' in the first sentence or two of website copy."

"It all sounds so lifeless and generic. Heading into 2025, I think we'll see brands refocus on human content and on fostering that human connection between brand and consumer. With the market so saturated and spending down across the board, buyers wanted to feel connected to their favourite brands, so let's make sure we're giving it to them."

Marco Silva, Director for Customer Success at NielsenIQ (NIQ), identifies a global trend impacting markets in Australia and New Zealand, concerning the evolution of omni retail and social media commerce alongside AI integration.

Silva notes, "However, in many of these instances, the variance of acceptance by generation are quite stark. For example, nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials would use AI to automate or speed up their everyday shopping decisions (46% and 48% respectively), while just 34% of Gen X and only 20% of Boomers agree they would do the same. Segmenting experiences or providing options to support older consumers to avoid frustration or mistrust will be key to transformations that expand and not cannibalise future growth potential for FMCG brands and manufacturers."

In terms of customer data management, Derek Slager, CTO and Co-Founder of Amperity, sees fundamental shifts on the horizon.

"The customer data platform (CDP) category will continue to fragment, with vendors more explicitly aligning their positioning to their strengths rather than claiming to solve things entirely," Slager predicts. He envisions a future where companies increasingly utilise multiple specialised tools to tackle their customer data challenges. Slager believes this transformation will be paired with changes in how businesses analyse and act on their data, particularly with AI's growing influence in analytics.

"Dashboards are dead," he states, "Generative AI powered tools offering the ability to answer the questions that matter on-the-fly will be the new surface for analytics and decision making."