Marketers Gear Up for 2024 Media Planning With Transparency, AI Protection, Data Optimisation

Amit Relan 1 Apr 02, 2024

It’s that time of the year again.

As the financial begins, the marketers are all geared up to revamp their media plan. Like every year, there will be budget setting, campaign design, channel selection and many more decisions.

However, with the evolving digital landscape, this will not be enough in 2024. Marketers need a holistic media plan to ensure they can optimise and safeguard their brand from the increasing digital risks. Marketers need to think beyond execution and consider other factors which can help them ensure they get the best out of their returns and also protect brand integrity.

Here are a few things marketers need to consider before creating a media plan in 2024:

Who is watching your ads?

The digital landscape is evolving, and along with the opportunities, there is a black box. With the increasing demand and the money at stake, the need to validate the ad traffic has increased twofold. As per a report by Statista, the ad spend wastage estimated in 2022 was USD 54 Bn. This number will increase by a third in 2024, close to USD 72 Bn.

This further highlights the need for a solution to help marketers identify the percentage of invalid traffic coming on their ads. Invalid traffic not only leads to wastage of ad spend, but it also wastes the marketer’s efforts. The time invested in spam leads or optimization of ad campaigns based on inflated traffic doesn’t lead to a fruitful end, resulting in budget misallocation and unreliable revenue prediction.

Is the ad appearing in the right place?

2024 is the year focussed on privacy and data protection. Transparency is also an important part that completes this puzzle. In the open web programmatic ecosystem, there have been a lot of questions about its accuracy and authenticity. According to a report by Integral Ad Science, 42 per cent of marketers agree that transparency is a primary challenge in programmatic buying channels.

Marketers need to make transparency the core of their media plan to ensure their ads appear in a safe environment and reach the intended audience. This insight will enable brands to reduce the risks of appearing behind objectionable content and losing consumer trust.

Is your media plan AI-protected?

AI is making strides in the world of digital. From ChatGPT to BARD, and now the text-to-video AI capability, there is a rapid rise in the adoption of AI which will further increase in 2024. AI is a double-edged sword for marketers. On one side it is creating an evolved way to research, create and drive results. The other side of the coin is the usage of AI to commit fraudulent activities. To combat the impact of generative AI-driven fraud, marketers need AI-driven solutions.

The capabilities of AI can enable marketers to get automation, and predictive analysis, help in precise targeting by identifying patterns and predictions and provide real-time optimisation. Leveraging the capabilities of AI-driven solutions marketers can automate their manual efforts, thereby generating precise results and staying ahead of the evolving threats.

Are you using data to its optimum level?

Data and effective optimization go hand in hand in the digital landscape. Marketers who make data-driven decisions can make informed decisions, drive strategic actions and stay ahead of their competition. Customer-focused insights and strategic data help businesses to optimise their media plan effectively. It helps to get a clear vision of which channels they need to serve, what works and what doesn’t and many more unanswered questions.

Way Forward

Media planning is a crucial part for marketers and with the evolving digital landscape, it needs to evolve too. Traditional media planning might not be effective to drive results and marketers need to have the right set of tools and strategies for better results. By considering the above measures, marketers can ensure transparency across their digital channels, safeguard their brand image and reach the audience that matters.