The initial uncertainty of the pandemic and ongoing lockdowns changed the way consumers buy and the way they consume media. But as users were pushed online and eCommerce began to boom, many agencies did go on to finish the year strongly. In fact, while in spring 2020 around 66% of agencies reported a drop in overall revenue, 88% ended the year extremely happy with their financial health with many experiencing growth due to the shift towards digital.
For many agencies, there are potential opportunities for growth as we finish Q1 2021 with a key focus on digital. Here we highlight why it is essential for agencies to have the digital advantage in 2021.
In 2021, global ad spend is to recover to 5.8% growth. This is still a little off the 8.8% drop suffered in 2020 but it indicates things are on the right track with growth predicted to overtake pre-pandemic levels in 2022. For the first time, digital will reach half of total advertising expenditure in 2021, powering overall growth at a rate of 10.1%.
As digital continues to grow, to ensure your clients can build a competitive advantage by making the most of their digital advertising, it is key to partner with an ad-tech provider that offers agility and access to market-leading ad-tech.
With more and more people shopping online, it’s only natural that online consumers will become ever more demanding. In fact, 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that provide offers and recommendations that are relevant to them, while 80% are more likely to make a purchase from a brand that provides personalised experiences.
As an agency, it’s key that you offer solutions to your clients that enable them to engage with their users in the best possible way whilst offering personalisation and an enhanced user experience. This starts from the ability to build tailored digital display ads, through to an effective and agile ad strategy.
In 2020, the number of average monthly visits to global eCommerce websites hit 21.96bn. This represents huge growth. Yet, global conversion rates stood at 2.58%. This suggests that there is work still to be done and that those brands that step ahead of the competition have a huge opportunity to win.
From an agency perspective, that means it is essential to solve your clients’ biggest challenges to help them find their competitive advantage. How can you help them reduce cart abandonment and boost their conversion rates? Through an effective retargeting strategy. How can you assist them to solve their inventory issues and ensure their ads are always up to date? In-feed ads mean their inventory will always be connected to their ads and will update in real-time. How can you guarantee they show the right ad to the right user at the right time? Building the use of dynamic creative into their ad strategy is essential.
Whilst many of your clients might be pureplay online, those that have brick-and-mortar locations will be looking for new ways to engage with their users and drive offline sales now they are open up again. Digital has a role to play here too with the offline and online worlds set to merge more than ever before.
As an agency it’s crucial to enable your clients to blend both online and offline in their digital advertising strategy. Geofencing for example creates the opportunity to engage with your client’s users on their mobile devices when they are in-store to enhance your in-store experience. This engagement will also continue for a defined period of time once they leave, providing them with tailored and personalised ads across their devices. It could do wonders for their onsite customer experience and sales.
Data and agility are vital for success in 2021. With market conditions and consumer behaviour difficult to predict, it’s crucial to give your clients as much data as possible regarding their campaigns, but also to better understand their customers.
It’s therefore essential to work with an ad-tech partner that provides detailed reporting and insights that help you to better activate digital display campaigns on behalf of your clients. That’s the performance element amidst the uncertainty covered.
If you can then also use these metrics to offer actionable insights to your clients about the needs of their customers, you’ll begin to provide additional value outside the activation of their campaigns. That’s how you make an impact across their entire business.
If you’re looking to boost your digital capabilities in 2021 and provide your clients with the answers to their digital advertising problems, contact Fluid Ads today to find out more.