Online and mobile marketing continue to gain in importance

Marketing managers will therefore focus even more on online and mobile advertising in 2016. "In order to strengthen brand perception and appeal to new target groups, companies will have to develop even more targeted creative content in the future. As mobile devices are increasingly influencing consumers' media and consumer behavior, marketing decision-makers will have to devote more resources to adapting advertising to the requirements of smartphones and tablets," says Bernd Büchner, Managing Director of Millward Brown in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Millward Brown has identified a total of seven digital and media trends for 2016:

Content marketing continues to gain ground: More and more companies are becoming content developers in 2016. With the help of content marketing, brands can engage with consumers in real time and improve brand perception or acquire new customers. To be successful, however, the content developed must be creative, authentic and, last but not least, tangible. In the age of ad blockers and broad targeting in traditional media, content marketing could become the holy grail of the communications industry - as long as the results are matched by an ROI.

Customer Journey 2.0: Consistent brand management across all touchpoints: Marketers need to rethink the customer journey if they want to drive brand growth while meeting sales targets. As digital technologies and platforms have changed consumer behavior and entire business practices, successful marketing decision-makers in 2016 are abandoning silo thinking and bringing media and sales teams together. As a result, detailed consumer journey paths can be developed that show the path from initial brand or product awareness to purchase. However, in order to generate sustainable growth, consistent brand management must take place across all touchpoints.

Online and mobile dominate the media mix: The "one size fits all" principle has become obsolete in media planning. In addition, online and mobile are not just two additional channels, but are independent media formats that require specific content and involve different levels of activation. Accordingly, there is media content that is well suited to attracting attention to a brand or product, while other formats promote sales. Marketers therefore need to differentiate between how and where consumers consume content - not between platforms and technologies. The optimal media mix today consists not only of TV and radio, out-of-home, print, online and mobile, but also includes online video content, news and information sites, content hubs, social media, gaming elements and online commerce.

Online video advertising is the fastest-growing advertising format: Due to increasing video consumption on mobile devices, online videos remain the fastest-growing advertising format. Research by Millward Brown shows that online ads are a cost-effective way to increase a brand's reach and effectiveness beyond TV advertising. The majority of online video traffic in 2016 will be mobile - which will lead to a change in advertising video formats and corresponding business models, for example in the area of new billing modalities: marketers can choose between cost-per-impression (CPM), cost-per-view (CPV) and cost-per-completed-view (CPCV). As the majority of consumers reject non-skippable videos, marketers should already include digital formats in the creation phase and make them usable across all screens - otherwise advertising spend will be wasted unnecessarily.

Above all, mobile advertising must be effective: As consumers spend a considerable amount of time on mobile devices every day, mobile advertising remains a popular advertising tool. Marketers will therefore continue to spend a high proportion of their advertising spend on it in 2016. Although mobile advertising content is an effective means of reaching customers, there are also challenges in terms of acceptance and creativity. As in the online sector, marketing managers need to incorporate their mobile plans into the creative development process as early as possible.

Networked television will not replace traditional TV commercials for the time being: Internet-enabled televisions are permanently changing TV usage behavior and the way consumers consume commercials. Among other things, they open the door to on-demand content and thus to ad-free platforms. At the same time, personalized advertising reduces wastage by directing advertising content to the right target group and allowing smaller local brands to use television as an advertising medium. In 2016, smart TVs do not yet pose an immediate threat to traditional advertising formats. In the medium term, however, there will be a turning point that will have a major impact on the future of television advertising.

Header bidding is driving change in programmatic advertising: Header bidding continues to gain in importance in 2016 - and thus contributes to an improvement in programmatic advertising. Media buyers in particular benefit from header bidding, as the process is more transparent and they are shown both the placement and target group of the website before placing a bid. But publishers also benefit from header bidding: they have more control over their advertising inventory and can generate more revenue. Nevertheless, marketers are faced with the challenge of finding the right balance and formula for success in the allocation of ad tags when it comes to viewability in programmatic advertising. In addition to a great deal of effort, this also requires effective cooperation between the companies involved.

"Advertising campaigns can now be increasingly tailored to specific target groups. Thanks to technologies such as connected TV or content marketing strategies, marketers will be able to deliver appealing content to the relevant targets and reach them in a creative and effective way," says Büchner.

A detailed overview of digital and media trends for 2016 is available on the Website from Millward Brown is available for download.