Ben Plomion
CMO at Dibbs
Website Address: https://dibbs.io/
Each week on “Media Champions,” our host talks to media experts across the country. This week, our host speaks with Ben Plomion from Dibbs.
To learn more, check out https://dibbs.io/.
What is the biggest change in marketing that you see coming in the next 2 years?
Brands are increasingly realizing that online advertising isn’t that effective, and yet aren’t pushing hard enough for a better type of advertising. Here are some alarming facts:
Ad blockers have gained in popularity. On average, about 40% of US internet users utilize an ad blocker on any device, according to Business Intelligence March 2021 survey.
Banner blindness is rampant, especially in a programmatic driven world. When was the last time you remembered seeing a 300 x 250 banner on a site.
Fraud is everywhere in display and also video formats. According to MarTech, 24% of web traffic is bots being used for fraud and theft.
Yet, brands continue to invest in an unproven ad medium. Even Netflix, a creative powerhouse that is known to challenge the status quo is rumored to inject pre-roll ad formats into its shows, as it concedes defeat to large brands that are accustomed to intrusive ad experience from broadcast TV.
Brands ought to do better.
To exacerbate the issue at hand, consumers are now demanding that brands eliminate unsolicited data collection for targeting purposes. Yes, user privacy is now a big deal from NY to London or Tokyo.
The future isn’t dull for advertising though. Progressive brands are trying new ways to target users without collecting user data. Contextual advertising is one of them.
New ad formats on CTV as well as ads in gaming environments promise a more exciting experience for the users. Smart advertisers will continue to embrace these platforms and gamify their advertising experiences, in an effort to connect with users and get them excited.
At Dibbs, we believe that the Metaverse will fundamentally change how brands (including us) are buying media. I subscribe to the idea that the Metaverse is the next generation of the Internet – invented by game developers. I also believe that brands ought to gamify their ad experience and that will be the future of advertising.
How does a media buyer stay on top of trends with media placement?
Being a media buyer (especially at an agency) can be tough. A media buyer needs to juggle client priorities and constant changes from brands as they navigate an uncertain economic environment. That said, I would encourage media buyers to make time to read business and technology news, so that they can develop a broader sense of the marketing ecosystem. The digiday and mediapost of the worlds are great and can to be complemented with other publications such as VentureBeat or Tim O’Reilly blog just to name a few. A media buyer should be comfortable talking about the latest trends in gaming for example- where we know about half the US population is spending time each day.
