So, that’s 2022 almost done. It’s been a challenging year in many ways, but for the digital marketing industry at least, these challenges have also been balanced by opportunities to innovate and grow. Looking back on the past 12 months, we’ve identified four key themes that we think will continue to influence the market in the years ahead.
1. Innovation is continuing at a pace
Marketing has long been characterised by innovation. It was one of the first business functions to digitalise and embrace the sort of personalised customer experiences that are fast becoming table stakes for most enterprises.
Today, the industry is coming to terms with a new change driver: the withdrawal of third-party tracking cookies. 2022 has seen the adtech and marketing industries focus on what comes next.
One key trend has been the growing recognition that the future lies in privacy-centric first-party data. Both publishers and brands can use consented first-party data to build rich profiles of customers for use in hyper-relevant engagements and experiences.
Jonathan Hulford-Funnel, CEO of Novatiq, comments: “Using consented first-party data is Novatiq’s preferred approach to solving the loss of third-party cookies, and one that has seen significant traction over the year. We’re particularly proud of our work in Japan with KDDI and Supership. Using our patented Fusion platform and leveraging our transient Hyper ID, Supership has created a next-generation digital ad distribution platform using verified first-party telco data from our local telco partner KDDI. This is the first privacy-safe, end-to-end solution in the Asian advertising market and a significant achievement for Novatiq.”
2. The growing role of partnerships in the digital advertising ecosystem
As adtech companies have set about building a new foundation for digital marketing, the role of partnerships has fallen under the spotlight like never before. Google is a case in point. As well as being active in finding a replacement to third-party cookies through its Privacy Sandbox, the company is also partnering with companies like Novatiq to refine programmatic advertising infrastructure.
Mark Stewart, CTO at Novatiq, explains further: “This year, we have been working with Google on areas including encryption and have also become a member of its Google for Startups programme, which provides a space for companies to connect and collaborate. Such collaborations will, we believe, form the foundation for the next generation of digital marketing technologies.”
3. The digital transformation of business and the rise of the cloud
Ask senior executives in pretty much any industry what their top strategic concerns are, and it won’t be long before discussions around digital transformation and cloud computing come up. According to Gartner, 91% of businesses are engaged in some form of digital initiative, and 87% of executives say that it’s a business priority. The reasons are clear: digital transformation and the use of cloud ensures greater agility, reduced time to market, and a greater ability to meet customer expectations.
“2022 has been a landmark year in terms of Novatiq’s own digital transformation initiatives,” adds Stewart. “Thanks to the hard work of our fast-growing team of engineers, the Novatiq Fusion platform is now available as a single platform that can be deployed via Kubernetes. This cloud-based approach makes it easier for us to deploy the platform across customers and partners, and support telco-grade deployments. This fully automated, scalable, and standardised technology platform has taken our solution to a whole new level and customers will benefit accordingly.”
4. Cost reduction as an innovation driver
One final industry-wide trend worth noting is the impact of macroeconomics on innovation. This year has been all about cost reduction as companies have had to come to terms with spiralling inflation and, in many places, impending recession.
Tanya Field, Chief Product Office at Novatiq, comments: “The need to do more with less has become a driver for innovation within many companies, and Novatiq is no different. A significant part of what we have achieved as a company through our digital transformation is about reducing cost across the deployment and operation of our platform, while at the same time improving performance. Focusing on cost reduction is helping us deliver a better product for our customers.”
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For Novatiq, 2022 has been a year of building new partnerships, furthering the digital transformation of our business and the capabilities of our platform, and responding to customer needs during unfavorable economic conditions. By responding to industry trends in this way, we’ve put ourselves in the best possible position to help customers in the year ahead as the digital marketing industry continues its current evolutionary path. We can’t wait to see what 2023 brings.