A Glimpse into the Future of Advertising

5 exciting ad tech companies to give us a glimpse into the exciting world of future advertising

As our world is getting more digital by the minute, all aspects of our lives progress accordingly and this includes also advertising.

Thanks to the technology that makes it possible to connect demand and supply in real time, advertising in this digital era is more measurable and flexible than ever, and such a new mode of advertising is referred to as “Programmatic Advertising”.

 “Programmatic Advertising” as a term, puzzles many, especially when compounded with other technical jargons such as DSPs, SSPs and Bid Rate, for example.

But if we can see through these buzzwords and look at the bigger picture of how everyday consumers will actually see and interact with these new forms of advertising, we can then comprehend their implications and plan towards them.

The following 5 emerging advertising companies from around the world can give us a glimpse into the future of advertising, and to a point which even the very term advertising can be redefined.

WRAPIFY

Wrapify revolutionizes bus-body and tram-body advertising like Uber disrupted taxi services.

In the United States, Wrapify recruits individual drivers and their cars, to have their cars’ bodies wrapped in colourful advertising. The impact of fleets of private cars on the road, all showing the same visuals and messages, is beyond what buses and trams can achieve through their traditional means.

Better yet, each vehicle is equipped with GPS technology to detect surrounding mobile devices, so drivers can report on audience reach by the minute as they move through their assigned neighbourhoods.

To learn more, visit http://www.wrapify.com

SUPPNOR

Pitch-side advertising, due to its static nature, becomes irrelevant in livestreams and global broadcasts, to audiences from all over the world. Brands that are of relevancy to people watching from City A are different from brands that are relevant to those watching from City B.

Suppnor solves this problem by providing a virtual advertising solution that superimposes pitch-side advertising digitally, so that audiences in City A see a different set of pitch-side advertisements from those watching from City B, ensuring local relevance in a way that was never possible before.

Ensuring local relevance aside, what Supponor creates are also opportunities for more sponsors to join, and a wider range of sponsorship pricing which allows smaller companies in smaller markets with smaller budgets to participate also.

To learn more, visit https://supponor.com/

BLIS

The same Global Position System (GPS) technology that allows Uber to detect passengers’ locations and direct drivers to pick them up, now can direct advertising messages to relevant audiences seen at specified locations, such as those on sports ground to see ads from sports brands, or those people in luxury apartment buildings to see advertising from luxury brands. This describes just the practice of Blis, a location specialist from the United Kingdom.

When combined with other factors such as time of day, traffic or weather conditions at locations, advertisers can reach audiences at their points of needs. For example, food delivery service can reach office workers seen in office buildings after hours, or telecommunication companies can advertise their faster 5G service to devices sitting in traffic jams suffering from slow internet traffic.

To learn more, visit http://www.blis.com

VOLTA

The popularization of Uber and other electric vehicles push oil companies and their gas stations to rethink their business strategy from the ground up.

Innovative companies such as VOLTA from the United States, make use of this opportunity and introduce LED and internet-enabled charging stations in car parks of shopping malls and key venues, where people normally park their vehicles. This conveniently downplay the inconvenience caused by charging time, and help up-play venues with such facilities to attract electric car drivers,

Better yet, VOLTA’s LED-equipped station can be used as an interface for customers to obtain face-to-face service, and information. So that traditional moments of energy refuel are now touchpoints for customer service and beyond.

To learn more, visit https://voltacharging.com/advertisers

NOVA

For some, advertising can be intrusive and blunt, and therefore softer selling approaches riding on social media are taking strongholds. And yet, social platforms have limited reach compared to what is available through the open internet.

NOVA from Canada came up with just the solution that combines the best of both worlds, a creative format called Social Display, which looks and interacts like social posts but is placed in major websites and apps outside of the few social platforms.

To learn more, visit https://www.createwithnova.com/

In Conclusion

These 5 companies illustrate how the line between advertising and services are being blurred, while relevancy is taking the top spot in consumer communications. For forward-thinking marketers, putting aside those technical jargons and technology intricacy for a moment, and being able to see and be inspired by new possibilities is indeed the part with the most fun, for being marketing practitioners in today’s world.

Author: Jimmy Poon, Head of Sales and Business Development, HOTDESK Asia Limited

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Please address any questions or comments about this blog to 

Alvina Chan, Secretariat Office, IAB (Hong Kong) - alvina.chan@iabhongkong.com