At the beginning of the year we made some predictions about the direction of advertising in 2024. As we’ve just past the half way point, were we on the money or way off mark? Let’s take a look…
Prediction: Press to hold steady.
We have sadly seen the continued decline of press circulations. However, this is only part of the story. Our clients are still getting good results from press advertising. When advertisers see a drop off in print volumes they need an agency that can think creatively to keep responses high. It’s not just about rates, testing is imperative to keep your advertising working. Whether it be refreshed creative, new titles, sections or sizes we leave no stone unturned when making sure our clients continue to see good returns on their press spend. And it works, press advertising is still the backbone of many of our clients’ media schedules. We’d say press is more than steady, it’s hard work but it’s booming for many of our clients.
Prediction: TV advertising to be big for direct response advertisers
TV advertising continues to go from strength to strength for AJ clients. Total spend is currently up over 16% compared to the same period last year. In addition we are continuing to add new clients to our TV portfolio. A number of our TV advertisers are seeing record sales figures that are directly attributable to their TV advertising activity, no mean feat in the current economic climate. Looking further ahead to 2025 the indications are that TV will continue to be a key media channel for many direct response advertisers.
Prediction: Humour to return to advertising creative.
A difficult one to track. We have seen a gradual drift towards ads that cut through the noise by making us laugh. It’s not difficult to see that if you want to build positive brand associations then showing people something funny is a good first step. This is particularly pertinent after the past few turbulent years. In a fairly sombre world people are actively looking for lightheartedness in their entertainment and adverts are no exception. Adverts such as Magnum’s “Fake”, Andrex’s “Post Poo Euphoria” and Paddy Power’s “Europe’s Favourites” are all good examples of why we need to keep our sense of humour now more than ever. We can’t say for sure that we’re seeing more humourous ads than recent periods but we certainly welcome anything that makes us laugh.
Prediction: AI to take over the world
Yep, big tick on that one. Helen Gower is currently in Mauritius whilst ChatGBT writes her blog posts for her. We love AI.
Just kidding. The use of AI is a hotly discussed and much debated topic. Whilst we are enthralled and horrified in equal measures by AI’s phenomenal capabilities it’s clear it’s not going anywhere and those who learn how to use it as an effective tool will reap the benefits. We tentatively welcome Labour’s proposal on regulating AI and will watch with interest to see exactly what this will involve and how it will help business, in particular advertising and the creative industries navigate this unchartered territory. One thing we do know is that AI is not yet a substitute for human creativity and quite possibly never will be.
So what’s the verdict?
Overall, it looks like our crystal ball was pretty accurate. 2024 is shaping up to be an exciting year. We’re seeing that companies who remain agile, embracing new technology and ideas are seeing the best results. 2024 is also looking strong for us as an agency with new client wins and strong campaign results. Get in touch if you’d like to be part of the AJ success story.