2024 has been a disruptive year for generative AI (genAI), which transformed from a buzzword into a practical part of marketing workflows, and commerce media as more platforms launch. Meanwhile, advertisers are still figuring out the lifespan of third-party cookies. And connected TV (CTV) advertising got a big boost from Prime Video.
This year, genAI has been integrated into search, social media, and ad generation. Marketers are taking advantage of personalization and efficiency opportunities the tech presents.
“I think [genAI implementation] is going to be a huge part of the CMO job this year,” predicted our analyst Yoram Wurmser on a February episode of our “Behind the Numbers” podcast. Indeed, marketing executives at both Colgate-Palmolive and Kellanova consider themselves responsible for the change-management processes that come with adopting genAI.
Marketers have moved beyond the buzzy and controversial genAI use cases into somewhat more “boring” use cases for personalization and segmenting, Wurmser said.
Google abandoned its third-party cookie deprecation plans in July, but marketers don’t have much faith in the cookie’s long-term usability.
“Ultimately, cookies are not the future of digital advertising. The tides turned in favor of consumer privacy a while ago,” said our analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf.
Marketers can still use cookies, but consumers are opting out of being tracked. They need to focus on privacy-forward solutions, benefiting companies with rich first-party data.
Commerce media, which extends beyond retail media networks into any network that can leverage first-party data to target ads, blossomed in 2024. “Over the past year, we've seen JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, and Citi all make moves to launch their own commerce media businesses. And it makes sense. Banks have a ton of first-party data they can leverage,” our analyst Maria Elm said in July. Travel media networks from businesses like United Airlines and Expedia also popped up in 2024 as businesses aim to monetize their data.
And existing retail media networks have pushed non-endemic advertising to keep growing. “[Retail media networks are] increasingly looking at opening up ad inventory beyond the brands that they carry in order to continue fueling the growth of what they've recognized is a very profitable revenue stream,” said our analyst Sarah Marzano.
US CTV ad spend will hit $28.75 billion this year, a growth of 18.8% YoY, per our March 2024 forecast. Amazon Prime Video launched its ad tier in January and defaulted all of its subscribers into that tier, contributing to CTV’s overall growth.
“We saw what happened when Disney and Netflix launched ad tiers, and Amazon’s entry into that world is having a much bigger impact, dollar-wise,” said our analyst Paul Verna.
This year, five businesses will see over $1 billion in US CTV revenues, up from just two in 2020.
This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.