AdNews asked industry figures for their assessment of 2022 and outlook for next year
John Gutteridge, national CEO, Enigma
2022 was a year of major talent drought and subsequent salary inflation as agencies scrambled to retain or lure talent. Also a year of ups and downs depending on which sector you’re in. Pleasing to see Travel and Tourism coming back from the depths of pandemic despair, conversely commercial property struggled with the challenges of mother nature and supply of raw materials, or lack thereof.
Outdoor was the success story for 2022 and it’s likely to remain strong into next year (SMI data reveals outdoor ad spend was up 24% YTD Sep and in Q3 it was up 44%). A big summer is predicted with outdoor bookings gaining momentum, part of this growth is due to the continual digitalisation of panels and the rise of programmatic outdoor, combining the benefits of a quality broadcast channel but with smarter targeting options.
Overall, advertising spend for 2022 is up around 8%, however, in the second half of the year growth dropped in line with consumer confidence (The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment for Australia hit its lowest level since April 2020).
As we head into 2023 and face an inevitable global recession, I foresee some sectors and businesses prospering and others taking cover and riding things out.
As economic conditions worsen, we can predict several trends emerging –more cooking at home, people scouting for better deals, buying in bulk, using more coupons and so on, presenting real opportunities for the retail sector and brands in particular.
I also foresee the rise of home entertainment and gaming continuing, closely linked to greater momentum gathering around the Metaverse and NFT’s. In turn this will increase interest in marketing and media opportunities as they follow the investment of funding.
The good news is we will likely see a much-needed correction in talent cost and availability. I believe we’ll also see businesses more readily explore the financial benefits of off-shoring if there’s an increase in demand to WFH 5 days a week.
Businesses will otherwise adapt better to hybrid working, with greater structure and strategies around building and maintaining cultures, whilst providing the flexibility that staff have come to love and expect.
At Enigma, we expect a busy year for our data and tech team as data privacy and security receives a full shake down off the back of the Optus and Medibank breaches. We’ll also see a demand in analytics and measurement with the introduction of Google’s new analytics platform, GA4 and clients continuing to scramble to prepare for life without cookies.
So my predictions are we are in for a roller coaster ride, it’ll be far from plain sailing. But as always I believe from every crisis comes opportunities, and the first movers will gain an advantage if they act quickly and decisively.
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