With more brands and businesses entering the digital marketing arena, standing out has become more challenging than ever. Advertising is now a crucial strategy for businesses willing to invest to broadcast their products louder and wider than the competition. 

Meanwhile, social media platforms and major websites are enhancing their advertising options to attract more businesses. Experts predict that 2024 will see the highest ad spending in three years as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, what new advertising trends can marketers leverage for optimal results from 2024 to 2026? Let’s explore together.

10 Advertising Trends for 2024-2026

1. Shorter Video Ads

Short video ads have become essential with TikTok striving to become the most popular social media platform, potentially overtaking giants like Facebook and Twitter. 

As people grow accustomed to consuming content in under a minute, attention spans are shortening (videos longer than 90 seconds now retain only 50% of viewers). This makes it more challenging for marketers to create concise, engaging, and effective content.

Social media platforms recognize this shift in audience behavior and are introducing tools to help marketers succeed with short video ads. For instance, YouTube offers bumper ads that are unskippable and in-stream ads that can be skipped after a few seconds. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok allow advertisers to bid their budgets to maximize ‘Thruplays’—when audiences watch videos for more than 15 seconds.

Short video ads are now used in various digital marketing strategies to boost brand or product awareness, increase brand affinity, or drive conversions. 

A great example is the visually appealing short-form video from Caudalie, a top-notch skincare brand based in France, which introduces its rebranded product line in just 15 seconds.

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2. Sound-On and Sound-Off Video Ads

75% of people watch mobile videos on mute; what does this mean for advertisers?

In our hyper-connected world, where everything happens on a small device called a mobile phone, distractions are rampant. Whether it’s notifications from clients during lunch or fleeting thoughts prompting users to switch apps, these factors lead many to mute their videos or watch them without sound. This helps them process multiple things simultaneously.

Many advertisers are still unsure if their videos can be effective without sound. The key lies in understanding different ad objectives.

According to Chatterblast, videos with sound perform best when leading audiences to a website or encouraging them to watch the entire video. In contrast, sound-off videos excel in driving desired actions, such as conversions. There’s a strong possibility that sound-off videos will dominate all objectives in the near future.

A great example is Burger King’s rebranding video from three years ago. The video remained engaging even without sound, demonstrating the potential of sound-off content.

3. Shoppable Video

As we highlighted earlier, video ads have significant power in driving conversions. Now, shoppable video is emerging as a third trend in the advertising scene that’s worth exploring.

Shoppable video ads are a subset of social commerce, where brands create engaging video content that also provides a direct path to purchase. 

Recently, we’ve seen shoppable ads take the form of full-screen experiences, instant experiences on Facebook, or simple video ads with CTA buttons or product tags that lead to e-commerce sites. Platforms like TikTok Shop and Instagram Shop are also making it easy to transition from video ads to digital storefronts. 

The success of shoppable videos has already been proven by many big and small brands. Kodak, a Korean photo printer manufacturer, launched Video Shopping Ads in the United States, achieving up to 6x ROAS — is another example.

By 2025, it’s forecasted that ‘social commerce’ will accumulate up to  $1.2 trillion — where people are transforming from their conventional shopping at brick-and-mortar to shopping online for their ease of transaction and transportation. 

And when the popularity of video content to build audiences’ awareness and interests combines with the ease of online shopping, shoppable video content is now deemed as the powerful ad format among all businesses. 

You might also be interested in:

• Instagram Social Commerce: Strategies for Business Success

• Facebook Social Commerce: Boost Your Meta Business Success

• Mastering TikTok Social Commerce: Success Strategies

• Important Social Commerce Statistics 2024 for Marketers [Updated]

4. Advertising Powered By AI

While debates continue about whether AI is a benefit or a threat to humanity, it’s undeniable that AI has become a fundamental element in modern advertising.

Many businesses consciously adopt AI features offered by social media platforms, while others may not realize that algorithms already incorporate AI into their advertising strategies.

To help you leverage AI effectively, here are some recent 2 categories of AI tools that offer features that can enhance your advertising strategy:

• In-platform AI-based Advertising Tools: An example here is Meta’s Ads Manager which now utilizes AI to generate text variations, create dynamic product categories based on individual shopping preferences, and much more. These updates make AI more accessible and useful for advertisers.

• Social Listening Tools: AI-powered social listening tools use machine learning to analyze consumer behavior, allowing businesses to develop data-driven strategies. This innovation helps marketers work more efficiently and stay ahead in the competitive market.

These two recommended categories can be incorporated and selected based on each advertiser’s goals, budget, and the execution they plan to use. By integrating these AI-driven tools, you can significantly enhance your advertising strategy and stay ahead of the curve.

5. Authenticity in Social Media Ads

Did you know? 88% of customers consider ‘authenticity’ when choosing the brands to support. 

Consumers today are savvy; they can spot inauthenticity from a mile away. In this age of advertising overload, people demand brands to be genuine and transparent in their communication before deciding to purchase. This presents a significant challenge for marketers and advertisers: creating engaging content that attracts while maintaining honesty.

You might wonder: what does ‘authenticity’ in advertising mean?

In this case, authenticity isn’t just about one-off social awareness campaigns or isolated content addressing global issues. It’s about consistently building trust and staying true to your brand’s voice and values in all communications. It also means being humble and transparent when mistakes are made, demonstrating a commitment to honesty.

Dove, a prominent personal care brand under Unilever, excels at amplifying its commitment to ‘inclusivity,’ challenging the crowded beauty standards prevalent among its competitors. 

For instance, Dove’s recent ‘Self-Esteem Project’ campaign is particularly relevant given the prediction that by 2025, the world will be inundated with AI-generated content. Currently, 1 in 3 women feel pressured to alter their appearance due to online images, even when they know the images are fake or AI-generated. 

The campaign aims to help the next generation of women realize their full potential and appreciate real beauty, free from societal standards.

6. More of User-Generated Content

With 84% of buyers trusting recommendations from their peers over any form of advertising, user-generated content (UGC) is rapidly becoming a go-to strategy for modern advertisers to boost the authenticity of their brand’s online presence. Simply put, UGC is content created by real users based on their genuine product experiences. This kind of content brings together people with similar interests, creating communities that love to share and help each other.

Brands are now keenly balancing branded content with UGC. This isn’t just about encouraging customers to post reviews; it’s about integrating UGC into various advertising placements. You’ll see UGC on official websites, in product visuals in an online catalog, and even in shoppable campaigns.

Take Glossier, for example. As the queen of UGC in the beauty industry, Glossier leverages real customers to spread the word, like friends, by sharing beauty tips and favorite products. By turning their customers into brand advocates, they create a word-of-mouth effect that feels personal and trustworthy. Until today, this approach has successfully cultivated an authentic and interactive online community for Glossier that continues to flourish.

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7. Influencer Marketers Favor Micro-Influencers

Amidst the rise of influencer marketing, consumers have become increasingly aware of how heavily brands use key opinion leader (KOL) endorsements. When established KOLs with millions of followers post content, it’s often perceived as paid promotion. Consequently, consumers are starting to place more trust in products recommended by smaller-tier KOLs.

Micro-influencers stand out in the digital ecosystem and typically have between 10,000 and 50,000 followers. While they may not reach as many people as macro-influencers, their engagement rates are significantly higher—around 7%, compared to the 2% average for macro-influencers. For micro-influencers, these high engagement rates reflect valuable, genuine connections with their audience.

Micro-influencers also excel in creating user-generated content (UGC) with honest reviews and genuine communication. This fosters authenticity not only for the brand but also for themselves, reinforcing the trustworthiness that consumers crave today.

By leveraging micro-influencers, brands can tap into these high engagement rates and authentic connections, creating a more relatable and trustworthy presence in the crowded digital marketplace.

8. More Meaningful Personalization

Personalization remains a major trend in 2024, with consumers demanding it more while also becoming more concerned about their privacy.

As concerns about data leaks and internet fraud grow, internet service providers and website operators are phasing out third-party tracking cookies. This makes it increasingly challenging for advertisers to gather customer data and craft effective advertising strategies.

Google announced that it will begin phasing out third-party cookies on January 4, 2024, by blocking cookies for 1% of Google Chrome users—approximately 30 million people—before expanding to a more comprehensive phase-out in the third quarter of 2024.

As a result, advertisers are shifting from relying on third-party cookies to using first-party data—information that customers willingly provide to receive relevant product or service updates. Brands are moving from surface-level personalization to what we’re calling meaningful personalization. 

New behavior-tracking technologies are better for user privacy while still allowing marketers to collect data, target ads, and measure effectiveness. This approach balances user privacy and satisfaction, offering personalized ads while maintaining transparency and enhancing user trust.

9. Targeting Generational Audiences

Typically, online advertising platforms allow advertisers to meticulously target audiences. Most businesses that prioritize targeting strategies segment their audience based on interests and behaviors. However, with increasing awareness of the differences between generations and their distinct preferences, spending power, and buying behaviors, businesses are adjusting their broader strategies. Many believe that targeting generational audiences is beneficial for building long-term loyalty.

A prime example is Walmart’s 2023 Black Friday campaign, which leveraged ‘Nostalgia Marketing.’ Walmart tapped into nostalgia with a series of ads centered around the classic Millennial film “Mean Girls.” Nostalgia Marketing is particularly effective with Millennials, Walmart’s main target demographic.

Walmart’s ads evoke positive emotions by recalling “simpler times” before the digital age took over. The film “Mean Girls,” released towards the end of this era, is an ideal tool for stirring nostalgia. As a result, Walmart garnered over 46,000 engagements on the 3,600 articles written about the campaign since November 1st, easily surpassing Amazon in second place.

10. Ad-supported in Streaming Platforms

Streaming platforms are officially becoming major players in the advertising space. With 99% of U.S. subscribers using these services, they present a lucrative opportunity for marketers to reach broad and diverse audiences beyond existing placements like social media and websites.

Interestingly, this approach favors businesses as many subscription users prefer free access in exchange for enduring some advertising interruptions. This model is already familiar on platforms like YouTube, where unpaid users encounter unskippable in-stream ads. These ads are highly effective since they capture 100% of the user’s attention before they can continue using the service.

Moreover, streaming platforms possess extensive user data based on viewing behaviors, allowing for precise audience targeting comparable to that of major digital platforms. As technology advances, this targeting capability will only improve, making streaming platforms an increasingly attractive option for advertisers.

Future-Proof Your Advertising Strategy

The 10 advertising trends of 2024 presented here represent a blend of newly adopted strategies and shifts in existing trends. Advertisers across industries can select from these trends to enhance their business goals and objectives. To stay ahead of the curve, consider leveraging tools like Mandal Cosmos. They offer valuable industry insights and data analysis to drive continuous marketing growth.