Australia’s media consumption and behaviours will be more complex and difficult to decipher next year, according to Kantar’s Media Trends and Predictions 2021.
The report reveals what will impact media and communications strategies as the economy navigates out of the pandemic.
Mark Henning, Kantar Australia’s executive director, says the Australian media landscape has started to rebound with several media agency groups now predicting high single digit growth or better for the Australian media industry in 2021.
“In Australia, online video will likely be the single biggest winner," he says.
"It is imperative for marketers to understand the changing video consumption environment brought about by the growth of streaming video.
"This growth is a trend accelerated by the pandemic with both subscription video and broadcast video on-demand services attracting higher audiences.
“Marketers and media owners need to understand the impact of the ‘boomerang subscriber’ as consumers start to see video-on-demand subscriptions as interchangeable, pushing the streaming wars to a new level and continuing to put pressure on traditional broadcast TV audiences.
"Content aggregators will take centre stage to unlock new customer acquisition strategies and collaboration is essential for long-term success.”
He says advertisers and agencies will accelerate adoption of the latest media channels and formats.
To get the best out of these platforms it is critical that content creators tailor content to the platform, both format and personality to ensure they get the best value from their investments.
Offscreen, the world of data and analytics has never been more critical, says Henning.
“Infusing analytics will fuel more optimal investment and deliver a balanced strategy between the short and long term," he says.
"Measurement that certifies and optimises creative content quality before airing will grow in importance, and more advanced analytics tools will help determine strategic investment decisions.
"And as digital ad spend becomes more dominant as the demise of the third-party cookies looms, advertisers will move towards hybrid ad effectiveness measurement, combining privacy-compliant direct integration, and probabilistic and analytics-based modelling to achieve a holistic view of campaigns.”
2021 will also see brands escalate how their purpose and beliefs play to brand strengths and this will be illustrated in their specific media choices as well creative strategies with a clear focus on the context of where ads appear and how they are optimised for those environments.
“2021 will likely see brands expecting more of their media partners to ensure total alignment of brand purpose throughout all aspects of the brand and ensuring your brand remains relevant while generating demand will necessitate a new level of data-driven marketing,” says Henning.
The 10 Kantar media predictions and trends for 2021:
- AUDIENCE BEHAVIOURS, INDUSTRY DYNAMICS – STICK OR TWIST? – Navigating the new normal. Kantar: "Changes in media consumption during lockdown were inevitable: being asked to stay at home had a major impact on the type of media we could access and the amount of time we had to do so."
- THE BOOMERANG SUBSCRIBER – Is the SVOD business model sustainable? "Consumers increasingly see SVOD platforms as interchangeable. The ‘boomerang consumer’ has emerged, and securing long-term loyalty will need to be a priority if the subscription business model is to be sustainable."
- ECOMMERCE & MEDIA: FRIENDS OR FRENEMIES? – Keeping up with consumers. "Some 50% of consumers are less inclined to shop in person this holiday season, for example, but 40% are more willing to shop online. These shifts require brands to alter their strategies."
- THE AUDIENCE IN THE STREAM – And the importance of being together. "Media companies need to reach, engage and keep their audiences in a fast-changing market as the gaps in understanding the total audience continue to grow.
Investment in how people are consuming content is no longer enough; it’s crucial to understand the audience behind the screen too. How can you effectively target your audience and yield full returns on your investments if you don’t know who it is you’re reaching?" - FROM ACTIVISM TO ACTION – Brand purpose moves up a gear. "The political-media agenda is driving media action. Wishing to differentiate themselves in a saturated media environment, brands increasingly share their opinions and engage in the public policy arena. The opportunities to succeed or fail are real, and while passion for a cause may be strong, if brands are all talk and no action, their credibility will be in question. Actions speak louder than words."
- THE SOCIAL MEDIA DILEMMA – Building audience relationships in a digital first world. "The industry is focused on offerings revolving around social media and building relationships with a wider set of influencers. While only 2% of our UK PR and communications clients feel they engage with a fully diverse set of influencers, they expect this to increase
eight-fold in 20211. But with a clear trust gap among consumers, trusting the news and information they see in print (+25%) far more than that on social media (-16%), is this the right approach?"
- CREATIVE CONTEXT TAKES CENTRE STAGE – Differentiation in your media mix. "With media consumption habits shifting dramatically and many media budgets shrinking due to COVID-19, where should advertisers place their ads to maximise effectiveness? Realising anew that where their ad appears is just as important as what it says, advertisers and
agencies are swamped with choice and conflicting and contradictory evidence about which placements work best. How can marketers design the right media mix and optimise content across those contexts?" - INFUSED ANALYTICS – Super-charging your media insights. "2021 will be a year of recovery in so many ways – shrinking economic conditions, shifting buying behaviours and consumer needs and, most importantly, a radically new
consumer mindset towards evaluating brands. Marketers have the challenging task of positioning their brands to appeal to new and constantly changing consumer needs and values, while managing smaller marketing budgets and new media usage habits." - TOUGH COOKIES – The realities of a cookieless world. "It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the impending
inability to track and target digital media via third-party cookies – which currently perform vital roles for advertisers
and digital media owners – will disrupt the industry. As the demise of third-party cookies looms, due primarily
to privacy and regulatory concerns, it’s clear that the impact on measuring ad effectiveness, and a reduction in
granular targeting, is not yet fully understood. And there’s no simple alternative – a tough cookie, if you like." - DEMOCRATISING DATA – Getting your data strategy into shape. "Media professionals need access to data that’s customised to the necessary functionality for decision making – and products need to respond to that need. It’s part of a wider drive to improve data access and analytics as providers look to invest in new approaches, such as custom surveys enhanced with behavioural data in an agile and automated way."
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