2020 news shifting ad focus 883x432 1

Shifting ad focus

3 June 2020

The article at a glance

Advertising will shift to new ‘subtler forms’ as ad-free subscription platforms grow, Dr Allègre Hadida of Cambridge Judge says in new publication. …

Advertising will shift to new ‘subtler forms’ as ad-free subscription platforms grow, Dr Allègre Hadida of Cambridge Judge says in new publication.

Smiling man using tablet for work. In front of him on a table cup of coffee, in a cafe setting.

Advertising will increasingly take “subtler forms, such as product placement or sponsorship” in a world that may become even more dominated by ad-free subscription platforms, Dr Allègre Hadida of Cambridge Judge Business School says in a new publication, Advertising in 2030: Expert predictions on the future of advertising, by ad agency Essence, part of GroupM.

Dr Allègre Hadida.
Dr Allègre Hadida

Even though consumers may develop new ways to avoid ads, marketers will reach them through new techniques, says the publication, for which Allègre, University Senior Lecturer in Strategy at Cambridge Judge, was one of the expert panelists. Her research frequently looks at strategy issues relating to film, music and other creative industries.

The expert panel also included Jochen Runde, Professor of Economics and Organisation at Cambridge Judge.

The publication said it will be interesting to see whether these new commercial opportunities end up belonging to content producers or platforms. “Advertising will continue to evolve as the means of content transmission and production continue to democratise,” the publication says. “We have already seen the mire created by influencers in social media and on video platforms whose contents often promote products and are not always labelled clearly as advertising.”

The Essence report is also based on a survey of nearly 50 advertising and marketing experts representing brands, academia, publishing and trade groups, which looked at various scenarios on how the year 2030 may look related to matters such as privacy, AI, virtual reality, and micropayments.