Fortunately 2023 has been far from all doom and gloom… We’ve seen brands truly come into their own – prioritizing efficiency and investing in new channels. It’s been a busy 6 months to say the least, and with H1 behind us, we’re reflecting upon our initial predictions for the year, and forecasting what’s to come in H2. 

So what exactly have we seen in 2023 so far?

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The Recession

We remain very much in the midst of challenging financial circumstances, and while there are pockets of respite across different regions, interest rates and the general cost of living is still having a significant impact on consumer spending.

• In the UK, inflation and interest rates continue to increase which only exacerbates negative consumer confidence and disposable income. 
• In the US, the cost of living increase has been heightened by issues surrounding the housing market. PPP load fraud, increased interest and eviction freezes has caused pressure on rent and an increase in homelessness. 
• In the EU (granted this spans a lot of regions), we’ve seen a minor plateau in the cost of living, with prices coming down and employment stability increasing. 
• In ZA, we’ve seen a significant hike in interest rates and across consumer products (groceries, electricity etc.) placing brands and consumers under increased pressure.
• In MENA, inflation is still impacting consumer behavior and purchasing power.
• In SEA, inflation has increased for the first time in years with a 20-30% increase across products and services and wage stagnation. 

Privacy & First-Party Data

Consumers are becoming increasingly more conscious about their personal information and how it is being used by businesses – and this has only been exacerbated in H1 with the sunsetting of Universal Analytics.

While privacy is going to play a key role in all areas of marketing for the remainder of 2023, some believe that the priority of privacy has been overtaken by that of AI and automation. Privacy is still a key focus for brands, but AI is ‘omnipresent’ and has taken the lead in press, trends and multichannel discussions.

Omnichannel Marketing

Few can deny that prioritizing omnichannel practices, understanding the complete customer journey, and adopting hybrid models, can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of campaigns. However, it’s not without its complications:

• Lack of clarity
• Lack of budget
• Issues with internal structure
• Lack of simplicity 

That being said, the emphasis placed on omnichannel practices is still growing. This has only been increased by the shift to first-party data, and the accessibility of AI tools.

What’s to come in Q3 and Q4?

What our experts think…

“There are distractions all around us, both inside and outside of the business – and mitigating these distractions all comes down to strategy – identifying what you need, and how to get it…” – Damien Bennett, Group, Global Director

“Data and AI are bigger than our world at the moment – if there’s anything we’ve learnt from 2023 so far is that we will fall short if we don’t expand outside of the media bubble” – Jessica Jacobs, Group, Chief Customer & Partnerships Officer 

Let’s break it down into three key themes we can expect to see: 

Budget Optimization

As purse strings worldwide continue to tighten, budget optimization and efficiency will be key trends for the remainder of the year, and well into 2024. We don’t expect budgets to increase any time soon, with slight if not stagnant growth in 2024. Meaning, advertisers are going to have to work with what they currently have. 

While broader financial circumstances may have or still do prevent some from investing in their marketing, the next six months will see an increase in the industry realizing that, by neglecting marketing, brands will be ill-positioned to capitalize on the subsequent return to normalcy – and will start next year on the back foot.

Artificial Intelligence

With content on  intelligent marketing solutions dominating mainstream media in the last 6 months, there’s no doubt that we’ll continue to see consumers and businesses alike investing in AI and incorporating intelligent solutions into their day to day. Efficiency is the number one priority during market volatility, and the squeeze on budgets, cost of living crisis and rise in privacy centricity will only see intelligent solutions and AI cross-channel orchestration come into its own in the remainder of 2023. 

Investing in First-Party Data

With Universal Analytics sunsetting in July, we’re seeing an increased emphasis being placed on first-party data strategies, and this will likely continue for the remainder of 2023, and well into 2024. For brands that have already invested in their first-party data, we can expect to see an increase in data enrichment. Implementing new and consistent value propositions that are compelling enough to convince their consumers to continually hand over their data.

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Buckle up we’re in for another tumultuous couple of months – especially in the lead up to Christmas.

To access the full report (completely free, no email address required), click here: Half Year Report: 2023 in Review.