More choice and growthfor 2015Media forecast

carat.ie

Advertising mArketMedia 2009 2010 2010

(Growth)2011 2011

(Growth)2012 2012

(Growth)2013 2013

(Growth)2014 2014

(Growth)2015 2015

(Growth)

€M €M €M €M €M €M €M

Television 230 234 2% 218 -7% 203 -7% 194 -4% 204 5% 216 6%

digiTal(excl. mobile)

97 108 11% 131 21% 152 16% 174 15% 197 18% 225 14%

Mobile 1.5 8 533% 13 63%

PrinT 317 269 -15% 238 -12% 199 -16% 175 -12% 164 -6% 156 -5%

radio 125 118 -6% 106 -10% 96 -9% 86 -10% 86 0% 90 4%

ooH 65 64 -2% 57 -9% 54 -7% 58 8% 62 6% 67 8%

CineMa 7 7 0% 7 0% 7 0% 7 -3% 6 -5% 6 0%

ToTal 841 800 -5% 757 -6% 711 -6% 696 -2% 727 4% 773 6%

a dynaMic Market Means there has never been greater opportunity for advertisers.carat’s 2014 forecast was entitled “return to growth” and, happily, this title proved accurate with the advertising market in 2014 growing by 4%; 1% higher than our prediction and the first time the advertising market enjoyed growth since 2007.

There are also good reasons to be optimistic about 2015 – our economy is improving, consumer confidence is growing and the irish media market is highly dynamic. taking all of these factors, we predict that the irish advertising market will grow by 6% in 2015.

a growing and dynamic irish media market means there has never been greater choice and opportunity for advertisers. 2015 sees the introduction on the new television channel utv ireland, while rtÉ and tv3 are gearing up for more competition with increased investment in programming. for radio, today fM and newstalk’s commercial and trading functions are coming together under a newly formed entity called communicorp one. utv will increasingly offer cross platform solutions across their television, radio and digital platforms.

with Jc decaux now investing in digital out of home, adding to the existing digital opportunities developed by exterion Media, we now have the basis of a digital out of home network in ireland. for digital generally, the scale of change continues to be all encompassing, offering advertisers and brands a continuous flow of innovation. Programmatic buying will continue to grow and expand into video and premium while mobile will become an increasingly important part of a brand’s media mix.

Innovation in media is vital because the role of communications is changing. For many years, the objective of communications was to build brands which are strong emotionally, but today, brands need to do more. we are moving focus from the communicating the emotional benefit of the brand to a new model of creating the right brand experience by creating occasions that people will experience.

the power of consumer conversation to build brands is increasingly powerful and the need to create great brand experiences is increasingly important. Media plays a vital role in driving brand conversation and brand experiences. and media has become far more valuable to brands and businesses because the contribution that media makes is much more visible, immediate and most importantly measurable than ever before.

The following pages outline the developments in media that we expect in 2015. I hope you find this document useful. If you wish to discuss any topics raised, please call me on 01 271 2139.

best wishes for the year ahead,

Ciaran Cunningham, chief executive, carat ireland.

Media 2009 2010 2010(Growth)

2011 2011(Growth)

2012 2012(Growth)

2013 2013(Growth)

2014 2014(Growth)

2015 2015(Growth)

€M €M €M €M €M €M €M

Television 230 234 2% 218 -7% 203 -7% 194 -4% 204 5% 216 6%

digiTal(excl. mobile)

97 108 11% 131 21% 152 16% 174 15% 197 18% 225 14%

Mobile 1.5 8 533% 13 63%

PrinT 317 269 -15% 238 -12% 199 -16% 175 -12% 164 -6% 156 -5%

radio 125 118 -6% 106 -10% 96 -9% 86 -10% 86 0% 90 4%

ooH 65 64 -2% 57 -9% 54 -7% 58 8% 62 6% 67 8%

CineMa 7 7 0% 7 0% 7 0% 7 -3% 6 -5% 6 0%

ToTal 841 800 -5% 757 -6% 711 -6% 696 -2% 727 4% 773 6%

consuMer trends

Main Shopper Gender Shift over the past 12 years, we have seen the “main shopper” profile moving from 75% female to 65% female, meaning that 35% of men are now MainLy responsible for the grocery shop. in addition to this, our pulse report and carat’s consumer connection study shows that, about 35% of shopping is done jointly. When you consider this, it means that 70% of men have influence in the grocery shop. we have also seen a shift in household decision making, with the traditional gender lines becoming less pronounced.

this will have very real impact on how brands, who would traditionally have had very clear gender skews, should talk to their consumers in 2015. These figures also have a deeper impact, with clear roles and responsibilities not being defined by gender.

from technology trends to changing business models to evolving consumer behaviours, there’s a lot for marketers to consider in understanding what’s important about where consumer trends are moving. We have identified four consumer trends that we believe will have a big impact on brands in ireland in 2015.

Men and women no longer have easy-to-understand roles in society which can leave them feeing confused and disenfranchised.

diGital WalletS and CaShleSS payMentS the vision of a consumer digital wallet has been around for a long time. over the last ten years, many companies both in ireland and abroad have thrived on claims that they had developed the ultimate, fool-proof

system, but to date it hasn’t materialised. apple is making the headlines in the digital wallet space with their apple pay product and this will gain significant traction amongst the masses once apple watch sales start to gain momentum. digital wallets will be an everyday reality soon though and cashless payments will start getting real traction on the streets in 2015.

the biggest development in this area in ireland in recent years is contactless payment. customers can pay for purchases under €15 with a simple tap of their card - no pin required. the central bank reports a massive increase in usage in 2014 and estimates that over 6 million transactions will have taken place this year, and more than 1 in 6 point-of-sale terminals are now contactless compatible. this will have a massive impact on consumer behaviour and also on how we plan communications with the gap between communications and transaction getting closer and closer.

the onLy constant is change

takinG Control after years of struggling, irish consumers are moving into a new era of empowerment. since 2008, we have largely taken our medicine, knowing that to some extent we all took part in the heady days of the celtic tiger and we paid the price accordingly. this time has passed. today, we are emerging as stronger, more experienced and more informed consumers.

there are signs of a new sense of ownership. whether this has been triggered by regaining sovereignty or just feeling empowered with the green shoots of recovery in the irish economy, this new empowered consumer needs to be taken seriously by brands in 2015. brands that give consumers control will benefit; be it through co-creation or just making sure that your consumers feel heard.

SeekinG authentiCitybe it craft beers or growing your own vegetables, consumers are looking for authentic experiences. this trend has largely shown itself in 2014 in food and drinks sectors, but authenticity is a trend that will affect every sector. as we come out the other end of the economic turmoil of the last 8 years, a lasting effect is the requirement by irish consumers to look beyond the superficial and to focus on real human experience.

this means that brands can no longer rely on telling emotionally connecting stories to our consumers, but rather they need to invite them into the brand world to experience your brand story, to be a part of it. this means that linear media channel planning is simply no longer relevant and fully integrated ecosystems including and incorporating consumers, will ensure real effectiveness.

“brands that give consumers control will benefit.”

audio visuaL

have also signed up one of ireland’s highest profile broadcasters in Pat Kenny to present a weekly talk show starting in January. competition is always a good thing and both tv3 and rtÉ are reacting to the arrival of utv ireland. tv3 have committed to 15 new shows launching in early 2015 including their new soap “red rock” and they have committed to 50% of their schedule being home produced.

rtÉ 2 launched a new station look and are re-focusing their content to win the difficult younger audience while rtÉ one will continue to focus on quality programming while looking to adrian Lynch, the new head of rtÉ one to drive fresh ideas and impetus. we expect utv ireland to take an 8% share of viewing in 2015 and this will come from tv3 whose share we estimate to reduce from 30% to 25% and rtÉ who we expect to see a 3% drop in share to 34%. 2015 will also see the first full year of

the channel 4 opt out in ireland and along with a very strong consistent offering from the sky group of channels, there is plenty of choice for advertisers to pick broadcast partners and drive value.

an end to a Soft televiSion Market MeanS for the firSt tiMe in a nuMber of yearS, CoSt inflation iS an iSSue that advertiSerS Will need to taCkleoverall, we estimate the television market will be worth €216m in 2015 which represents a 6% growth in revenue. allied to increased revenue, we do expect a decline of 3% in overall ratings available to advertisers. increased revenue and reduced ratings supply results in inflation and RTÉ have published 2015 pricing which predicts overall inflation of 7% and significantly

very exciting and dynaMic year for broadcast in 2015the arrival of utv ireland is the development that will define the broadcast market in 2015. there has never been a more exciting time for advertisers with increasing numbers of television stations available and these stations having a stronger appetite to create more innovative solutions for brands and advertisers.

utv ireland eStiMated to take 8% Share of vieWinG in 20152015 is a very exciting year in television with the launch of UTV Ireland, the first irish channel launch for nearly 10 years. a key appeal of utv ireland to viewers and advertisers alike is that highly popular shows such as coronation street and emmerdale will be available exclusively on utv ireland. other programmes from itv studios that will appear on the utv ireland schedule include i’m a celebrity get Me out of here!, saturday night takeaway and the Jonathan ross show.

in terms of home produced content, a cornerstone of utv ireland’s strategy is to build a strong news product and they have invested heavily in attracting talented and experienced people to their newsroom to make this a reality. they

higher inflation among younger audiences. advertisers have increased choice in 2015 and they will structure investment to minimise any inflationary pressures. We expect overall cost inflation for television to be 5% while younger audiences will average out at 9%.

the iMportanCe of video on deMand Will Continue to inCreaSethe online video advertising market is on a steep upward climb, both in terms of viewer impressions and investment in video ad inventory. in ireland, vod investment has grown 75% in 2014 and we expect this impressive growth to continue for a number of years.

the big game changer in 2015 will be the ability to buy video on demand programmatically becoming common place. this allows brands through

technology to buy impressions based on behaviour and follow users rather than buying video inventory on specific sites. programmatic buying has dominated digital display for a number of years and in 2015, we will start to see it dominate the video on demand market also.

brandS Will inCreaSinGly partner With broadCaSterS to Create relevant brand experienCeS for their ConSuMerSwhat brands do is increasingly much more important than what brands say. we are moving focus from communicating the emotional benefit of a brand to a new model of creating the right brand experience by creating occasions that consumers experience and enjoy. And increasingly, advertisers are looking to partner with broadcast organisations to help deliver brand experiences and occasions to consumers. advertisers are challenging broadcast organisations to be more flexible and to be open to packaging solutions for brands that will include sponsorships, branded content, product placement, access to talent, live events, digital and social channels. broadcasters need to ensure they have the right skills set in their organisation to provide and manage more complex solutions for advertisers than they needed to do in the past.

“increasingly, advertisers are looking to partner with

broadcast organisations to help deliver brand experiences and

occasions to consumers.”

radio

inCreaSed CoMpetition in 2015 iS Good neWS for advertiSerS2015 sees the launch of a new entity, communicorp one, bringing the commercial and trading functions of newstalk and today fM under one roof. today fM has been a consistent performer in terms of audience share and the addition of pat kenny has been a big audience puller for newstalk. bringing the commercial functions together makes logical sense from a communicorp point of view, and we believe a major objective of communicorp one will be to increase the

cost of advertising on newstalk. despite newstalk’s audience gains, it has been difficult for them to increase yield in tough market conditions. utv radio has been a great success story since utv combined their radio offering under one roof, and their commercial success has been driven by consistent strong audience performance by FM104 and 96FM which are leaders in the dublin and cork markets respectively. the launch of the new tv station utv ireland does allow utv to deliver cross platform solutions to include both television and radio but in practical terms, this will not always be easy to deliver.

Media central will continue to deliver a youth radio audience across its range of stations and focus on added value promotions and sponsorships across their network while 2fM has, at last, started to behave commercially and price itself attractively to advertisers. the question for 2015 is whether or not the powers that be will give 2fM the time and resources to return to relevance and commercial viability. with so much consolidation in the radio market, 2015 will be a very dynamic trading environment with the big radio groups increasingly looking at innovative ways to attract a greater share of radio spend.

a coordinated effort froM the whoLe radio industry is needed for reaL Longer terM growthradio is a special medium in ireland. We listen to more radio than anyone else in europe, particularly compared to our nearest neighbours in the uk.

83% of irish adults listened to radio in the last week compared to 72% of uk adults and we also listen to it for longer per day. Since 2010 spends and share have fallen from €118m (15%) to €83m (11%) – this equates to a 23% fall in share and a 30% fall in spends.

driving this decline is both the overall decrease in advertising spend in the market, but also a shift by advertisers and agencies alike towards the more accountable and measurable world of online advertising.

The longer term fix, to claw back share and relevance requires two things – firstly an industry wide collaborative initiative to promote the medium and secondly a coordinated approach to monetising online listening, in all its many forms.

but because the proliferation of platforms and technology presents a massive challenge for brands in terms of commercial opportunities, radio stations can increasingly leverage their relationship with their younger listeners for commercial gain. a good example of this is the 2015 launch of the radio player app in ireland. rather than having a smartphone full of apps for many different stations, listeners will download this one, single, free app and can access all irish stations through it. it is this and other initiatives that the radio industry will need to do to commercially leverage the relationship they have with their listeners.

beyond the Spot - leveraGinG the poWerful eMotional ConneCtion betWeen StationS and their liStenerS.radio is the original social medium; presenters and shows have an immediate and powerful bond with their audiences and this is fundamentally why advertisers use the medium. for all the power of spot advertising however, it’s limited and limiting. building on the technological advances mentioned above, brands and agencies are doing more and more in the promotional space to access these engaged audiences.

radio stations have huge digital followings amongst their listeners and for brands looking for engagement – particularly digital engagement – radio is the ideal medium. utv radio solutions and Media central between them have massive digital and social reach and if they can successfully coordinate and deliver promotional campaigns across the breadth of these stations (and that’s a big challenge), they can grow revenue beyond spot.

Can the Way radio liSteninG iS MeaSured keep up With teChnoloGy?it seems that there is no likelihood of a radical overhaul of the way radio listening is measured - in ireland we continue to operate a next day recall through face to face interview. the question is with the array of choice the listener now has, is this the most accurate method of capturing listening?

an ongoing debate revolves around the shift from recall-based methodologies to passive electronic systems. electronic audience measurement is currently deployed in the us and canada and in the european markets of norway, denmark, switzerland, belgium, and most recently in sweden and the netherlands. comparisons of diary and electronic audience measurement in markets where it has been deployed shows in general an increase in reach and a decline in listening time under the new system.

in ireland, it seems electronic measurement faces a number of barriers to adoption including cost and lack of consensus among radio stations. the cost will certainly be a barrier for the smaller local stations but since the industry is now dominated by 3 very large organisations (communicorp, rtÉ and utv), we believe there should be real intent to trial an electronic system which can provide advertisers continuous and more granular minute by minute data on actual listening by platform.

not juSt radio, but audio - underStandinG the ranGe of audio people ConSuMepeople listen to audio in many different forms - live radio, owned music, streamed music, online music (clips etc) and catch-up radio / podcasts. Live radio is in marginal decline, owned music is in rapid decline while streaming and catch up services are experiencing massive growth. and for irish music radio stations, there is the realisation that younger audiences are increasingly listening to music on new platforms.

in dublin, 15-24s listened yesterday has dropped from 88% in Quarter 1 in 2011 to 72% in Quarter 3 in 2014, a drop of 18% in less than 4 years.

this is a trend that will not be reversed and radio stations will have to increasingly understand that young people will have a repertoire of music platforms, of which live radio will only be one.

young people will continue to access radio to listen to their favourite presenters or get inspiration for new music but the time they spend with their radio station will continue to decrease because other options are available.

that the user experience is vastly different by device; what works on a printed page won’t work on screen. rich video content needs to be layered into the digital experience and new platforms must be built with the user in mind. in many cases a user on digital platforms will be a new audience opportunity for media owners; they are potentially non-print readers. the reason why theJournal.ie is so successful is that they know how users want to consume news on a mobile device. the irish sun’s mobile app has some great bespoke sport content, all created specifically for the mobile user with goal alerts, bespoke highlights short form packages and, most importantly, specifically written analysis and content from journalists surrounding each match that is purpose-built, not just taken from the printed edition. and although it has been said many times, it has to be said again the newspaper groups need to be much better at selling solutions to advertisers that are genuinely cross

a tWo Speed print MarketOn the face of it the latest public NNI figures at the time of going to print (Jan – June 2014) look positive; print has returned to moderate growth at +0.6%. but it may be a false economy in reality as if we remove direct business, we see a continued trend of agency spend declines (-8%). a buoyant property market coupled with recruitment and motoring resurgences has helped the print sector but stimulating agency advertising spends beyond the core stalwarts of finance and retail remains the key big challenge for irish print media owners.

Genuine CroSS platforM, not MatChinG luGGaGeit’s nothing new to say cross platform, but cross platform to date has simply been a repurposing of printed content on digital screens be those desktop, tablet or mobile responsive. Media brands need to understand

platform and understand how the printed product can link in with the digital product and vice versa to the benefit of brands and advertisers.

a neW nni on the horizon2015 will see the much needed nni re-launch with dara McMahon at the helm. this is undoubtedly a positive step for the industry, but the nni has to do more than simply re-launch and rebrand. in its previous guise, the nni has arguably been too internally focused within their own industry. a new nni has to be externally focused on priorities to stimulate the print sector, in a similar vein as newsworks uk was repurposed three years ago from what was the nMa (newspaper Marketing agency). The print industry needs to fight its corner and make a case for itself, to give advertisers a compelling reason why print is still a viable investment for increasingly scrutinised media budgets.

press

2015 needs investMent and agency engageMent froM the print industrya strong Q4 in 2014 for print media owners has provided some respite from recent years’ revenue declines but what will 2015 hold in store for the print industry? for most media, 2015 will see revenue growth and while a return to growth may be beyond the reach for most print media owners, 2015 should be considerably less taxing with moderate

revenue declines in the print sector. 2014 was about cost restructuring; a lot of the cost base has already been taken out of print titles so 2015 has to be the year for industry investment, for the print sector to take a macro approach and promote the medium as a whole to the advertising industry.

a repurposed nni will hopefully have the financial resource to invest in case studies proving why press works for advertisers.

riCher and deeper audienCe profilinGthe key to any successful business is in understanding exactly who your most valuable customer is. so what can news brands do? the answer is to understand their audience through data capture. the easiest data capture is to ensure site tracking analytics. Media brands should know exactly what page people visit, for how long, the reader on-site journey, where readers came from, where they go after and what level of engagement the reader had (shared, liked, linked or re-tweeted). secondly, the introduction of pay walls may seem too risky unless the trade off on revenue losses from reduced impacts is offset by subscriptions. but a pay wall does not necessarily have to

mean financial charge; a less risky option is to introduce an information pay wall, a value exchange. ask for information on users in return for content (or offer some additional incentive).

this will allow media brands to sell highly targeted, premium audiences at a premium rate to advertisers, be that the sunday business post or the sunday world. Who wouldn’t want to buy a very specific audience of, say, Males 30-45 earning €100,000+ who travel 10 times a year are the key decision makers in their business, or 35 year old mum living in greater dublin area with kids under 5 years of age who spend €200+ weekly on groceries?that’s how granular media brands can get in selling audiences if they capture and understand audience data. that level of granularity on audience is extremely valuable data that can be sold at a premium rate.

“a repurposed and rebranded nni in 2015 is positive news for the print industry as long as it is externally focused and

adequately financed to promote the use of print through research

and case studies.”

out of hoMe

constantLy evoLving MediuM spanning the worLds of traditionaL and Modern coMMunications

neW tranSport forMatS CoMinG to fruitionit was late 2013 when exterion Media was awarded the biggest contract in out of home advertising. work has taken place throughout 2014 and new formats are coming on stream and will be available into 2015. old and poor quality 48 sheets in train stations have been replaced by the new commuter square format. rail digital dpods have been introduced in key commuter hubs also, replacing some 6 sheets.

the new formats will bring a new aspect and fresh impetus to the transport side of the business. with exterion also responsible for dpods in shopping malls, it means advertisers have the opportunity to avail

of a network of quality digital ooh formats across both retail and transport centres. new Luas formats are also coming on stream, allowing clients to be more flexible with how they can brand the trams and the stations they serve.

diGital beCoMinG the norM2015 is the year that ireland will have a relatively robust digital out of home network, as digital opportunities have emerged in shopping centres, train stations and various retail and leisure outlets. in addition to new digital ooh networks springing up in cinemas and pharmacies, existing networks in outlets such as shopping centres and train

stations are starting to expand and grow in importance. where historically digital ooh might have been seen as a luxury, it now forms a key component of ooh plans. digital ooh provides advertisers with obvious benefits such as movement, flexibility and interaction. In further developments in this area, Jcdecaux are set to launch new retail digital units while larger digital units are planned for launch by exterion in late 2015.

a direCt reSponSe MediuMMany of the digital ooh sites are touch screen enabled. this allows the public to physically interact with the advertising. the explosion of smartphones also

the out of home sector has changed markedly in recent years. the quality of the traditional billboard has improved and remains the flagship for the medium. however, digital technology and developments in telecommunications have altered the dynamics of the medium in how the audience can interact with it. investment in new formats will mean new and exciting choices for advertisers in 2015.

empowers the public to interact with ooh sites. clear channel ireland now has 2,000 bus shelters equipped with nfc tags and Qr codes within the republic of ireland. various social media offerings such as facebook and twitter allow the public to interact with the both traditional and digital ooh signs with ease. ooh and digital ooh can now be seen as a direct response medium. the public can be encouraged to engage with the advertising in various ways. new developments such as gender recognition software also allow the advertisers to tailor their message to the person actually looking at the advertisement. it is likely that we will see a lot of examples of digital ooh connecting and engaging with the audience in interesting and ever evolving ways.

inCreaSed innovation

2014 has seen many memorable examples of innovative and eye-catching specials, which, research from pML group indicates, adds enormously to positive perceptions of the brand being advertised among those who see them. advances in lighting and materials mean ideas such as the Meteor ‘rocket ship’ adshel and carlsberg’s ‘changing room’ 48 sheet are as strong in delivery as they are in the essence of the idea. experiential type pieces such as 7UP Balloon Street serve many purposes including entertaining those that witness it first hand and also generating additional pr and earned media for the brand. 2015 will see a continuation of this trend so keep your eyes peeled for the latest iterations of the original advertising medium.

“digital ooh offers brands an opportunity to engage with their

target audiences in new and exciting ways…the explosion of smartphones also empowers the public to interact with ooh sites.”

sociaL

increasingly aware that their richly detailed personal data is a highly valuable asset to brands.

SoCial influenCerS drivinG SoCial CoMMerCeto harness the power of social means unlocking the potential of reviews, comments and experiences from other consumers in social spaces as this has a massive influence on purchase decisions. on the back of this, the power of the social influencer will grow. Firstly, brands will develop new strategies rewarding those high influence social connectors and secondly, we will see the introduction of customer to customer advocacy programmes to increase sales.

in 2014 twitter tested a “buy now” button for a small number of us customers. this service will be rolled out across all markets in 2015, marking a significant change for

the year of perSonaliSationthe depth of data brands have available about their customers is startling, but what is even more startling is how little the majority of brands have used it to their advantage to date. brands who want to succeed socially in 2015 simply cannot afford to ignore this valuable information any longer as customers will come to expect more personalised niche messaging from brands they love rather than a one-message-fits-all mass broadcast. facebook are well positioned as they already have a large number of tools designed to help brands segment consumer data however the other social platforms will have some ground to make up.

brands who are data light on their social platforms may need to incentivise customers to hand over their data so they have the capabilities to deliver a truly personalised experience as customers are becoming

the platform and for social media in general as it is the first step in truly marrying social media and commerce. this is only the tip of the iceberg and while twitter may be the only platform to offer social commerce in 2015 at scale, we can be sure that other platforms will follow suit.

More WayS to reaCh your audienCeup until now, when brands talked about engaging in social media they were essentially limited to facebook and twitter as these were the only scalable advertising platforms. we are slowly seeing other platforms opening up advertising opportunities and promoted products, all of which should be available in ireland during 2015.

Instagram will be first as their advertising platform will be powered by shared facebook user data. in 2014 pinterest

data and content wiLL power the changing face of sociaL Mediathe social media landscape has seen the most significant changes within the digital spectrum in recent years and 2015 will see even more change. brands have a world of opportunity at their fingertips as new and exciting ways to engage customers become available.

invited those brands who had already established a strong organic presence on their platform to trial their promoted pin format. 2015 should see their claim of “artful advertising people actually love” rolled out to irish advertisers. snapchat will adopt a different advertising model in a bid to ensure they don’t disturb their existing, ad-free, user base. advertising will be placed within a separate section and while the user base is a highly valuable younger audience, the challenge for brands will be finding creative ways to commercially engage these users.

as users have an increasing number of social profiles on new platforms we may see a dip in time spent with the more established networks such as facebook but 2015 will see the net amount of time on social networks increase. social media metrics will finally move beyond the click into time and engagement. as people have less time to spend on each network they will naturally gravitate towards image and video based content which can be quickly and easily absorbed by the users.

“as the amount of investment going into creating compelling content continues to increase, brands will no longer look to

deliver it to the widest possible audience but just the most

relevant.”

exploSion of Wearable teChnoloGy 2015 will be the year wearable technology moves from being expensive tech prototypes, something consumers only read about, to mass market adoption. the game changer will not be a reduced cost google glass 2.0, but the smart watch. as has been the case with previous “new” consumer technology innovations, apple will change the game. smart watches are already in the market, as were personal Mp3 players before the ipod, but when the apple watch hits irish shelves in early 2015 we will see a tipping point.

at present all of the social networks we currently use are designed with either desktop or mobile in mind. The majority of wearable technologies today only offer very limited social capabilities such as notifications when users have a new update. 2015 will see the emergence of new social platforms, and the adaptation of existing ones, specifically designed and reengineered to harness the capabilities of wearable technology. we will also see changing behaviours around social media interaction with a shift towards micro interactions such as Likes, favourites and hearts.

digitaLperforMance

advertisers struggle to maintain share of voice and customer loyalty in 2015, advertisers will need to adopt strategies like this that are cleverly personalised and build brand affinity.

better traCkinG and reportinG Will aid autoMation in paid SearCh paid search remains the keystone digital channel with its ability to yield immediate, measurable results. recent trends centre on efficiency through retargeting or going beyond the click with cro, addressing efficiency of the purchase funnel while acknowledging the maturity of paid search and with the added benefit of improving the performance of all channels together.

tracking and reporting is more important than ever with the need to justify increasing digital marketing budgets. google is

a Greater foCuS on the perSonaliSation of diGital diSplay advertiSinG 2014’s digital display ad technology answered the need to purchase smarter media for audiences. in 2015, this need has grown into personalisation that informs, entices and retains new customers through the use of data analysis.

the art of personalisation requires accurate data collection through the application of robust tracking on the advertiser’s site. beyond basic analytics, this process requires data analysis, segmentation and the development of creative specifically tailored to the tastes of those segments.

in 2015, we will see brands increasingly looking at the purchasing funnel as a dynamic environment that allows for testing, adaptation and optimisation. as competition increases in the digital landscape and

upgrading the online adwords interface with reporting features that will give significantly more flexibility and control over how accounts are measured, allowing for deeper analysis. The second major shift in search marketing may arguably be seen as a divergence in schools of thinking, namely the use of scripts and rules to automate not just ad messages but also the management of all elements of the account such as keyword selection, bids, match types, daily budgets and more. as the layers of detail increase for large accounts, it makes sense to automate portions of the account through what is essentially a custom algorithm. in the coming months we will see more options and abilities become available to search marketing professionals who can set the parameters for the science part of the ppc equation and focus more on the art.

the newest frontier for search marketing is voice search. due to google glass and those who use voice search - mostly teens

an ever More bListering rate of change for perforMance digitaLnew technologies, methodologies and evolving modes of thinking will continue to drive performance digital’s rapid development in 2015. Set against a multi-platform, multi-device backdrop, we will see continued growth in display advertising, paid search or paid social and programmatic techniques driven by user demand. Meanwhile, the buzz phrase ‘content marketing’ will be a growing focus for all brands.

who need homework help and adults seeking directions, new and exciting challenges lay ahead.

traCkinG and MappinG the uSer’S Multi-platforM journey the use of multiple devices and platforms by users has caused those in the digital industry to re-evaluate how attribution is tracked across mobile and desktop devices. while mobile devices are primarily used for reactive research on products users see in ads or in the real world, the purchase itself is often made much later on a desktop or laptop, or it could be made offline. This makes attribution difficult to track.

there will be more focus in 2015 on tracking multi-device behaviours. techniques such as social Media id matching used in conjunction with traditional cookie tracking and better data visualisation are bringing us closer to unpicking the complete path to purchase, helping us to better understand the role and influence of both on and offline media in the ultimate conversion.

a Shift of foCuS to the funnel as the online battle for clicks and conversions becomes ever-more fierce, 2015’s focus will adjust to include more attention to the art of conversion rate optimisation.

the ad spend required to improve sales funnel performance by tens of percentage points is a fraction of the cost of attempting to drive the equivalent in increased traffic. On an economic basis alone, paying attention to cro makes enormous sense. whether the goal is an onsite purchase, a brochure download or an email sign-up, achieving

significant uplift without relying on an uptick in traffic volumes is often a revelation.

the availability of new dedicated tools that test multiple versions of landing pages (a/b testing) and site layout (multi variant testing) to determine which drives more conversions have revolutionised the art of cro. in 2015, expect to see a shift from conversion optimisation to experience optimisation with the availability of analytical tools across different channels, opposed to focusing on single pages on site.

Content iS kinG even More So than ever beforegoogle and the other search engines have been driving the message that quality content will be rewarded for some time, ensuring that customers get relevant, high quality results when they search.

in turn, users expect and demand higher quality content from brands, cutting out the temptation for “search hacks” or shortcuts. brands and digital marketers in seo have developed inherent expertise to produce high-quality, authentic, valuable content for their customers and prospective customers.

in 2015 the emphasis will develop into content strategy rather than on content generation. this means brands, using data insight and creativity, will need to be smarter about who their users are, what content they want and need, and be able to deliver it in a clear and clever way.

each element of content that a brand creates can be analysed and its value and usage understood to a greater degree. 2015 will therefore see more sophisticated content strategies powered by data-driven insights.

“there will be more focus in 2015 on tracking multi-device

behaviours. tools that unpick the complete path to purchase are becoming more sophisticated, helping us to better understand

the role and influence of both on and offline media in the ultimate

conversion.“

MobiLe

a wealth of opportunities are on the rise for advertisers as a clearer picture emerges of the way consumers use mobile devices, allowing for a more granular view of the data available to gain real insights into the relative performance of all marketing elements.

Mobile and htMl5: a WinninG CoMbination responsiveness is a key demand for 2015, and mobile is no exception. htML5 makes this a quick fix for advertisers from a creative point of view. ‘build once, run anywhere’ is the htML5 party line which in essence means that the design code is compatible cross- platform. it automatically renders to suit the device on which it is displayed and it doesn’t rely on additional software like browser plugins to run, making it more efficient for developers and traffickers alike. furthermore, htML5 typically has lower ad times, which will help tackle on-going viewability issues.

CroSS-deviCe traCkinG: unloCkinG the poWer of Mobile in this multi-platform, multi-device world, tracking user behaviour and the actions they take as a result of exposure can be an almost impossible challenge. as a result, mobile to date has been underleveraged by the majority of advertisers.

it’s clear that’s beginning to change, and in 2015 new technologies and techniques will help us see a more holistic picture beyond what appears on users’ mobile screens. innovations in cross-device tracking, better analytics and the more forensic analysis of data will all help in this, as will the introduction of new in-app and on site formats, for example iab Mobile slider, Full Page flex interstitials, Filmstrips and adhesion banners.

We all know the potential of mobile, but most users are still reluctant to use mobile devices to make a purchase, leading to challenges in tracking, attribution and advertiser confidence. Mobile tends to provide the ‘assist’ for the sale. 2015 promises to give us more granular insight into that ‘assist’ and also promises more direct purchase from mobile.

increased compatibility, functionality and flexibility inevitably make HTML5 an attractive fit for any advertiser, but as yet the marketplace has been slow to adopt. however, 2015 should witness a change in this respect as more large sites like spotify switch their players to htML5, in turn increasing the demand for this enhanced design type and the required skillset needed to reproduce it.

Mobile SearCh: evolvinG froM SearCh to purChaSeusers continue to shun their laptops in favour of their mobile devices. now, with the increasing processing power of these devices paired with better connection speeds, website owners have fewer excuses to neglect their mobile site or their mobile strategy as a whole. those who don’t advance miss the opportunity to be included in users’ developing mobile browsing habits.

MobiLe becoMes More trackabLe and More MeasurabLe at Last

Paid mobile search traffic is now consistently topping 30% of overall traffic. while mobile conversion rates are lower than their desktop equivalent, they make up a growing portion of total sales and cannot be ignored. apart from having a mobile-optimised website, marketers will also need to consider how their marketing campaign’s performance can be improved or distinguished on mobile, whether through the use of shorter, snappier ad copy, mobile ad extensions, click-to-call, etc.

in 2015, expect to see an increase in mobile conversion rates, as well as more sophisticated ad planning and development on the part of online advertisers.

the in-app environMent: leveraGinG a riCher uSer experienCe

in 2015, as devices become ever-more memory rich and immersive, the focus on e-commerce apps with rich user experiences and the growth of in-app advertising and in-app purchase opportunities will continue.

techniques such as deep-linking, or the linking of pages deep within an app to an ad, will become more prevalent. for example, a user can click on an ad they see for trainers in a basketball game or content app and

be sent straight through to a page that sells them in an ecommerce app.

This extreme customer journey shortening is proving highly effective where it is employed.

the only downside is that this may, through conditioning, facilitate more impatience and shorter attention spans in users!

we’ll also see the continued application of web conversion optimisation techniques to in-app conversions - a/b testing of calls-to-action and landing pages and customer journey mapping as well as the careful tracking and analysis of in-app conversion funnels.

an exploSion in Mobile video uSaGethere has been huge increase in the consumption of video via mobile devices in the past two years. according to the ooyala global video index report there was a staggering 532% growth in mobile and tablet viewing of video between 2012 and 2014. stats from facebook show that the aLs ice bucket challenge contributed significantly to this during summer 2014.

with more than 2.4 million videos uploaded, the phenomenon created a dramatic change in the way people use video in social media with video view volumes further boosted by facebook’s introduction of auto-play to video content in July 2014. the indications are that this change in video consumption behaviour is permanent.

with mobile video viewing continuing to grow exponentially and with both twitter and Facebook significantly improving their video advertising offerings in terms of format, targeting and tracking, mobile video as an advertising medium is certainly going to be one to watch in 2015.

“as users form their habits for mobile browsing, they’ll

gravitate towards those sites that provide the best experience and away from those that have not

been carefully planned.”

for More inforMationGet in touCh

ciaran cunningham, ceociaran.cunningham@carat.com

+353 1 271213916a the crescent, Monkstown, co. dublin.