Top Trends for 2024
Heading quickly into February 2024, I am normally one to steer clear from the New Year predictions, however, I decided that this January I would embrace the trends game and provide a round-up of digital marketing trends and influences that I feel are likely to shape at least some of our next 11 months.
One of the biggest things to really happen last year is third-party cookies, or the removal of – and already in full swing, most digital marketers will have adapted to first-party – opt-in data, contextual targeting and privacy-centric attribution models – those provided by the new GA4 being an example of this in effect.
In addition, – Ad tech companies and marketers have been heavily investing in alternative technologies, such as Unified ID solutions and Privacy Sandbox initiatives to allow digital marketing to have a degree of accountability whilst observing the third-party cookie requirements.
The following is a statement from one of the Google developer’s pages, stating that much of the safety measures that third party cookies bring into play to help prevent Fraud and security breaches, are now secured and as such, provides the timeframe for the completion.
“To facilitate testing, Chrome has restricted third-party cookies for 1% of users from January 4th, 2024. Chrome plans to ramp up third-party cookie restrictions to 100% of users from Q3 2024, subject to addressing any remaining competition concerns of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.”
The change has indeed brought some significant moments of chaos to most insights teams with marketing and strategy responsibilities. Many a campaign manager will have wondered how they are expected to do their jobs without the ever-faithful cookie providing user data for the users interacting with individual campaigns, however, contextual cookies should see a welcome move back to profiling the campaign delivery – think back to the traditional print days where we segmented our audience based on what they read and when, the exact same information should be available to any advertiser on any digital channel, whilst allowing the user details to remain completely anon – and become a number. However, it is clear that continual evolution of this will be necessary to allow this data to remain accurate and as cited earlier not give rise to fraud or security weakness.
I would also predict that the popularity of opt-in will become far greater, and I can envisage many a device app that would serve the user in this respect – we are already starting to see this come through in the ‘New ways to search’. It is my opinion that those that shop – love to shop – and therefore it stands to reason they will buy into more store or brand loyalty if they get the opportunity to store visual and/or interactive prompts conveniently.
If you are interested in having some professional clarity on your reporting and recommendations on the factors changing or altering the key metrics for your business, engagement and conversions – think about opting for a Google Analytics Freelancer to provide the customised reports and insights to help improve the tracking and explorations of the data.
On the subject of Email Marketing Trends ...
On the subject of what is trending for email marketing, I asked for some help from Mayank Batavia, Head, Marketing and Partnerships for Quick Email Verification, to provide some ‘in the moment’ insight from the perspective of a specialist involved in the delivery of email campaigns at scale.
Organisation: QuickEmailVerification
Website URL: https://
About QuickEmailVerification: An estimated 22%+ email addresses go invalid every year, for reasons like people switching jobs, closing businesses, and more. If you send out an email campaign without verifying the email list, there’s a huge risk of unusually high percentage of emails bouncing back undelivered. And bounced emails lower your sender reputation and your ability to reach genuine prospects. We specialise in verification of email addresses. Using a series of advanced tests, we determine if an email actually exists and, if it does, what kind of email address it is (Free, Disposable, Role address, etc). That helps marketers clean their existing email database and accept only valid, deliverable email addresses during sign-ups.
“Here’s a clear trend in email marketing that we see getting stronger than ever in 2024: Email personalization at scale.
In our mid-year survey last year, 50% of our respondents reported having missed their engagement goals. And lack of personalisation is definitely the single biggest cause behind that.
With an increase in promotional emails, it’s only natural that subscribers/recipients are on what we call a Delete Spree – they are in a hurry to delete, en masse, emails that don’t appear relevant. So the marketer and the composer of the email are hard-pressed to improve engagement levels.
This trend is a four-dimensional space. Two corners are occupied by better email analytics and improved use of AI. Better tools and an increasingly interconnected society help marketers better understand subscribers. And AI helps them speed up the email marketing strategy and assists in creating outlines faster.
The other two corners are occupied by data privacy regulations and intensifying competition. Data privacy regulations make sure marketers do not snoop on their subscribers outside of what the subscribers permit. And with intensifying competition, business organisations are constantly finding novel ways to remain compliant while they understand – and sell to – their email subscribers better and faster.
In light of all this, we believe emails will emerge as more sophisticated, more personalised channel and eventually give way to marketing for one (well, almost).”
AI is the hottest topic
In terms of introducing the very hot topic of AI trends for 2024, it is fair to say that everyone has an opinion about what is trending, what is already in existence and where AI is taking us, what we need to be careful of and what it should be used for.
I can only really comment on its use within a coding environment or from a search perspective, as it is these areas for which I am able to provide a degree of knowledge – about the structure and implementation and the benefits these should bring. In an age where coders are so crucial and therefore so limited, AI does shine with beacon bright promises of being able to solve several issues within the industry. I am hoping these will bring benefits in terms of site functionality, security and speed and allow the project manager of ‘a development project’ to be able to access and harness greater planning and resources, this is already happening.
Additionally, searches both organic and Paid are becoming more advanced in terms of their ability to match queries beyond the actual word typed and take the browser into an ever-advancing scenario allowing factors such as language nuance or time of day etc.
A professional View on 2024 - The Agency
I wanted to reach out to others in the tech and digital marketing spaces on this one, to try and present a view from an expert or professional perspective and provide you with a more 3 dimensional view of what industry challenges and successes may be on the horizon.
Paul Mario Vratusha from D Studio Consulting introduces his 2024 predictions in the following:
“As an agency, we are leveraging AI to analyse data more efficiently, allowing for more targeted and successful campaigns.”
Another trend is the growing importance of video content. With the increasing popularity of short-form video platforms, brands need to adapt by creating engaging, concise, and visually appealing content. Recognizing this, our agency has expanded our video production capabilities, ensuring that our clients’ messages are not just heard but seen in the most compelling way.
Sustainability and ethical marketing are also coming to the forefront. Consumers are increasingly aligning with brands that demonstrate social responsibility. We’re responding by helping our clients develop and communicate their sustainability initiatives, ensuring their values align with those of their customer base.
Finally, the rise of voice search and smart assistants is shaping SEO strategies. We’re optimizing our clients’ content for voice search, ensuring they remain visible in this evolving digital ecosystem.
In summary, 2024 is about embracing technology, authenticity, and adaptability our agency is at the forefront, evolving our product offerings to meet these trends head-on, ensuring our clients stay competitive and relevant in an ever-changing digital world.
Website: https://dstudio.consulting/
About: Director and Partner at D-Studio Consulting. An experienced Senior Managing Partner with extensive experience in the fields of investing, business development, marketing, sustainability, and consulting. Developed a high level of proficiency in Business Planning, Advertising, Marketing, Project Management, and Team Leadership.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-mario-vratusha-5936495a/
Expert Opinion - Trending in AI
I also asked some expert’s opinions to comment on what elements of AI are shaping their 2024 and I selected the article linked below.
If you would like to delve deeper into the subject take a look at this article by Vincent Koc, a highly accomplished, commercially-focused technologist and entrepreneur with a wealth of experience focused on data-driven and digital disciplines. Currently, Vincent serves as a data leader in Australia as well as a lecturer for artificial intelligence in the US.
https://towardsdatascience.com The main sections of the articles are introduced as follows.
1. Generative AI Leaps From Hype To Center Stage
2. Expect To See The Next Generation Of Neural Networks
3. Every Data Platform Launches Their Vector Data Feature
4. Rush To Control The Hardware And Platform Supply Chain
5. 2024 Is The Year Of The AI Wearables & XR
6. AI Agents Will Start Communicating With Other AI Agents
7. Generative AI Modalities Will Expand
8. Consumers & Regulators Push For More Democratized AI
9. The New Era of AI-Infused Marketing Strategies
10. The “Garbage In, Garbage Out” Dilemma Intensifies
11. Purpose Built Smaller Foundational Models Commonplace
12. The Dawn Of AI Marketplaces For Agents
13. AI Products Will Go Beyond SaaS Model
14. BYO AI Movement Pushes Need For Secure Digital Identities
Some key paragraphs selected from this external article include:
“This year, we’re witnessing an intimate revolution in how we interact with technology, with the world of AI and wearables fusing alongside extended reality (XR) devices… They are about enhancing human interactions, offering real-time AI assistance, and providing an augmented experience of the world around us.The potential for AI wearables that interact with generative AI models like ChatGPT is particularly exciting, offering a blend of convenience and intelligence unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
“We will see the advent of agents going beyond supporting individual needs like writing my email, solving a customer support issue or ordering my groceries to an ecosystem where agents will start to interact with other agents.”
“Generative AI is set to grow out of its current boundaries of text, code, image, video, and audio. We will embrace more immersive modalities that help science with protein structures and materials or engage additional senses like 3D, smell, and taste.”
