Dentsu sets out 10 media trends with momentum for 2024

Dentsu has today published its annual media trends report, which highlights 10 key catalysts of change in the media industry worth watching over the coming year.

The Pace of Progress: Dentsu 2024 Media Trends gathers insights from the holding company’s media agencies Carat, Dentsu X and iProspect to “showcase the most pressing topics and the best opportunities for the future”, according to Peter Huijboom, global CEO, media international markets.

Three of the trends relate to generative AI, which 63% of marketers have started engaging with in their company, according to Dentsu’s 2023 Global Media Client Survey from September.

The trends are:

Trend one – the rise of generative search

Generative AI will transform how people access information, from search engines to commerce platforms.

Trend two – creativity reimagined

The augmentation of human creativity through generative AI in fields such as content and copywriting, as well as image development.

Trend three – generative optimisations

Leveraging generative AI for simplifying advertising production, targeting, and effectiveness at scale and pace.

A further four trends are grouped under the theme of tech platforms’ efforts to better monetise their offerings:

Trend four – a world of lookalike apps

As platforms become progressively similar, attracting audience attention has never been more important for brands.

Trend five – from walled gardens to walled pipes

Platforms have a more defensive stance on their data, which opens the larger question of the delicate balance between protection and discoverability.

Trend six – the identity refocus

A doubling down on people intelligence by media platforms as third-party cookies approach the end of the line.

Trend seven – more ads for more returns

Expansion of advertising into new areas for most platforms, with new formats, opportunities – and risks – emerging as a result.

The final three trends relate to how advertisers increasingly see their interaction with media through the lens of social value and sustainability:

Trend eight – the new faces of growth

With media consumption becoming increasingly diverse and personal, brands must adapt to reflect the needs and identities of audiences and stay relevant.

Trend nine – safer, better, faster, stronger

Amid a fast-moving digital landscape, new developments in brand assurance aim to create safer environments for both people and brands.

Trend 10 – more attention, fewer emissions

As brands implement carbon media efficiency strategies, optimising for attention should lead to decarbonisation through optimised and improved impact.