What To Expect From Digital Paid Media In 2019

From Amazon Go stores to Google Express, learn more about our 2019 predictions for Digital Paid Media.

Now that 2018 is closed off and we’re making our way into 2019, our Digital Paid Media team thought they’d share some predictions they have for the industry this year.

WhatsApp Ads to Launch

One of the most popular predictions amongst the team. The launch of WhatsApp Ads is something that caused a stir when the Founder Brian Acton left the company in September 2017, after plans to show targeted ads in WhatsApp’s “Status” feature were revealed by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

A spokesperson for WhatsApp says the ads are due to be rolled out this year, but the messages “will remain end-to-end encrypted”.

Will users switch to other messaging apps, or is this the start of a new “superapp” like WeChat in China which offers everything from messaging, social media to ecommerce payments?

Facebook’s Attribution Platform changing how we measure paid social success

Facebook’s attribution solution was in beta testing from March 2017 until October 2018, when it was rolled out to all advertisers as a “data-driven attribution model”.

Powered by Facebook Pixel, the tool has capabilities to report on campaigns across Facebook, Instagram and other channels to tap into the impact Facebook ads are having on the customer journey.

Marketers can now access granular reports on which channels are driving the most conversions and traffic. Let’s see how 2019 performs.

Track Physical Store Visits in Facebook

Store visits as an ad format have been around for a while on Facebook. But advertisers haven’t been able to track actual store visits which is a limitation.

Rumour has it there are plans to allow marketers to track physical store visits through these campaigns in 2019. This is definitely something to watch out for…

RIP Shopping Feed?

Will we see the demise of Google’s Shopping Feed this year?

Will Google allow advertisers to create their shopping campaigns by means of automated product page crawls? This could be a positive for SMBs if it goes ahead.

Bricks and Mortar Making a Comeback

What could this mean for eCommerce businesses?

High street stores in China are re-designing themselves to mirror theme parks, in an effort to attract new customers. There could also be an increase in un-manned stores that enable customers to try products before they commit to purchasing online.

Google Express UK Launch

Since launching in the US over five years ago, Google Express has become an evolved delivery service enabling US customers to shop from stores such as Target, Costco, Walmart and Walgreens. All the customer needs to do is use the Google Express app to choose their products, pay for them and then wait for them to arrive.

This service enables users to make their purchases in the app from absolutely anywhere; in traffic, on hold with customer service, or even during office breaks.

But will we see Google Express hit the UK? If so, it will be interesting to see how this impacts PPC.

Google Home Hub Impacting Voice Search

Voice search is something we’ve been talking about for the past couple of years, and now there’s an opportunity for it to skyrocket with Google’s Home Hub.

The Hub, which became official around September 2018, is a smart display that features Google’s voice assistant and everyday functions, such as entertainment, shopping lists, commands and audio calling capabilities.

Could we see voice search generating personalised ads through the Home Hub this year? Whether consumers actually purchases through this medium is the big question though. One to keep an eye on when reviewing campaign data.

Target YouTube Users on TV

There’s now the option for marketers to target TVs with YouTube campaigns. While video content consumption is always growing, it seems TV sets are still the winner in terms of watching device for users. Netflix even reported that 70% of its viewing happens on TVs.

YouTube can now target users who watch videos on the platform through their TV set, with personalised ads tailored to their watch history and other data.

This enables marketers to ramp up their campaign optimisation even further…

Spend Increases Through Waze Ads

It seems Waze is driving results across the digital space. A Search Engine Land case study reports that Waze Local ads helped a local auto dealer achieve a 57% increase in leads.

Back in 2018, we onboarded our first Waze client. The client is the world’s largest food retail chain, and we’ve been seeing some strong results off the back of this. Let’s keep it going in 2019.

Amazon Marketing Services Growth Continues

In 2018 we saw some fantastic results with Amazon Advertising. We took on the management of Amazon Ad campaigns for one of our clients, which drove a significant increase in sales.

We  saw Amazon really pushing impression share on Google Ads at key periods like Black Friday in 2018.  By doing so, is this another reason why retailers need to jump on the Amazon bandwagon and start reselling through this platform?

Amazon Go UK Launch

After launching five stores in the US, will we see Amazon Go hit the UK?

The stores are without both cashiers and queues, allowing customers to pick up products and walk out with them. The customer’s Amazon account is then charged for the purchase, but they must have the Amazon Go app to use the stores.

Let’s hope Amazon Go launches here this year. If it does, it could transform the way we attribute online to offline sales.

Rise of Progressive Web Apps

 We hope to see lots more buzz around Progressive Web Apps this year.

Fashion retailer Debenhams have seen results Debenhams has seen a strong impact on mobile conversion rates by launching their PWA last year.

We decided to launch a PWA because it’s driven by customer experience, it’s credible technology, it offers an app-like experience on the web and it offers the best performance

- Jim Hingston, Head of Digital Product, Debenhams

So there you have it – some of our top predictions for the world of paid media this year. Are you currently focussing on any of these within your business? Or do you need advice on how to go about doing so? Get in touch with our Digital Paid Media experts today.