As 2023 draws to a close, our Director Sean reviews the year in the world of media, and looks at what 2024 could bring…

Every year brings change, but MOSTLY it stays the same in an advertising sense.  In 2023, we as a Media Agency, have had to deal with a cost-of-living crisis, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, which has seen pressures on marketing budgets across the board.  Advertising confidence and spend fell in the first half of 2023 and we are gradually seeing slight recoveries in Q4.  We await to see if the shoots of recovery will continue into Spring 2024.

Some things that happened in 2023:

• AI has become real with Chat GPT becoming part of the online vocabulary with 30% of consumers outside China now having interacted with it.  (source: GWI: Connecting the Dots 2024).

• Older consumers are using a wider range of social media apps and e-commerce sites.  Facebook still leads the way, however, Instagram and TikTok are catching up on use.  Brands will need to consider this as they try and build more awareness of their products.  Andy Childs, Meta’s Head of Strategy, states that time on Social Media has increased by 68% on older consumers in the ten years since 2013.

• X (the artist formerly known as Twitter) has had a bit of a kicking lately due to owner actions, with likes on contentious tweets and a foul mouthed rant on what advertisers can do with themselves, with major advertisers now pulling advertising spends.  Meta entered the X sphere with Threads and we watch with interest to see what becomes of both.

2024 Forecasts:

H1 2024:

• Euro24: Scotland are in the Euros, along with England and possibly Wales, with Scotland opening the finals versus the host nation Germany.  This should give all brands a good opportunity, as for the first time in 3 years we will have a football tournament in the summer across TV.  It is being shared with BBC and ITV and with England in with a good chance of success, should deliver huge audiences for brands on a national and regional basis.  Will this be the year that Scotland finally make it out of the Group Stages.  I’m saying nothing.

• UK Ad Spend is forecast to grow by 3.6% in 2024 (source: Mintel)

• Shortform video streams across Meta, TikTok and YouTube will become extremely important as part of the marketing plan across all demographics.

H2 2024:

• Elections: Later in the year will bring the US Election and possibly a General Election in the UK.  This can have an economic impact but we hope that stability reigns and consumer confidence is not overly affected.

• Will there be a one stop shop for buying advertising on SVOD in the UK.  We think it is a good idea.

If you’d like to chat about any of the above, just get in touch team@mostlymedia.co.uk.

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