Why TV will undergo a year of rapid marketing evolution
From changes in consumers' use of technology to data advancements and corporate consolidation, 2018 brought a pace of change that was both unprecedented and unforgiving.
I often describe the marketing business as existing in alternative realities. While rapid change and innovation continues, some parts of the industry remain largely unchanged—alternative realities locked in a bit of a time vortex. The linear TV business continues to operate in the upfront and scatter models, locked into age/sex demographic currencies and largely measured the same way it has for decades. This will not be the case much longer.
Addressable TV is finally starting to get traction. Over-the-top (OTT) and connected TVs are scaling faster than predicted. Mobile is the predominant platform for certain consumers. Google and Facebook continue to dominate the digital landscape. And, for $12 a month, consumers can binge on nearly endless (ad-free) premium content on any device they choose.
Despite some challenging headwinds, we should remain bullish on the business in 2019. But first, let's summarize the biggest stories of 2018.
Consolidation is in the air
Frenemies are joining forces—from Discovery buying Scripps to Comcast acquiring Sky, Disney grabbing 21st Century Fox and the Time Warner/AT&T/Appnexus marriage (which already produced bouncing baby Xandr). These trends are unsurprising given the need for efficient production and distribution scale. We're seeing the tip of the iceberg here—there will doubtless be more rapid consolidation in the content, data, tech and distribution ecosystems.