A view on 2022 and what’s in store next?

As the industry winds down from a busy and often challenging year we invited ADMA’s board to give us their view on 2022, and assess what is coming over the horizon in 2023.

Mark Coad, CEO, IPG Mediabrands

How would you sum up 2022?

It was the first uninterrupted year for some time with a restoration of normality. We’ve also learnt some valuable lessons and carried forward a few of the better habits we got used to during COVID. Certainly, in our ways of working, the way we set up the office, the way we communicate with each other – all of that has changed. The notion of commuting to the office five days a week in heavy traffic feels ridiculous now, doesn't it?

How has that affected you as a marketeer?

From a media point of view, we've seen the media landscape return to some kind of normal without the interference of abnormal viewing or segments within like cinema closed down. However, the structural shift from traditional into emerging channels has remained and underlies all of that.

Economically, it's been really hard to reconcile because within a very short period, we've gone from having nothing to spend our money on and pretty much full employment to many households being on the edge after a handful of interest rate rises. The answer obviously lies in the cost of fuel, food, and power bills – whilst inflation in these areas persists the economic uncertainty we’re going to head into next year with remains.

So what can we expect in 2023?

It’s important to consider the number of households coming off fixed interest rates early next year which I believe will have a significant impact towards Q2/23. In our industry, one of the largest indicators we have is the way advertisers are approaching budgeting – and we have that vantage point across many, many industries.

With that said, a lot of current commentary would have us believe that marketers are bunkering down, tightening their belts and significantly reducing budgets into next year. But holistically, they’re not. Most clients are continuing to invest millions of dollars in advertising to ensure their growth and longevity remains.

Many companies are actually seeing our financial climate as an opportunity to expand on their markets at a good rate and I predict that we’ll continue to see that more of that in 2023, thinking “this is an opportunity where my share of voice is at its cheapest”.

What does that mean for marketers?

Ultimately, it changes by category, and we see these variances depending on industry circumstance.

If you're in airlines or international tourism, you’re probably seeing dramatic growth as your markets and categories re-emerge. Conversely, if you're in automotive and your supply chain is still facing interruption, you don't need to spend money.

We never used to view things that way (pre Covid) but its impacts have now shown categories behaving quite differently, simply because they have to.

We are forecasting low single digit growth next year in the media market as a result of this.

Traditional media is likely to see some headwinds next year with digital environments and a few others, like cinema set up to grow significantly.

And what about Mediabrands in 2023?

A big focus for us will be our continued drive towards being responsible citizens, particularly in the area of carbon neutral and net zero. We are now assessing all media partners on the areas of social responsibility, diversity, non-violence, non-hate speech, sustainability, and we want to get to a point where we can factor that into our media planning.

For most advertisers, media is the single biggest invoice they write every month, and they can exercise good corporate citizenship by making sure those millions are diverted into the channels that are supporting the issues they value and stand by.

There's a lot of media agency groups talking about this, and advertisers will put more pressure on the media partners they advertise with to align to their own values.