Top Five Predictions for 2014 in Advertising

In 2014, we'll see brands and agencies harness digital advertising in a way that integrates seamlessly with people's busy lives, whether through location retargeting on their mobile devices, predictive analytics or the intelligent automation of the ad buying process. Consumers send buying signals every day to advertisers and the brands that figure out how to use technology to listen more closely and send their messages in an organic and authentic way will succeed.

At RadiumOne we predict the following industry shifts:

1. Programmatic will Get Smarter -- skyrocketing to 60% of all digital ad spend.

We predict that by the end of 2014, almost two-thirds of the digital advertising market will be automated but the key to growth will hinge on the model's ability to rely less on third-party data and more on first-party data insights. Ad tech companies must take a page from the Facebook and Twitter playbook to incorporate some form of proprietary data into their technology. This coming year will focus on the refinement of advertising automation as technologies that rely solely on third-party data will become table stakes, fueled by the industry need to innovate cookie-less forms of targeting. This added layer of ad intelligence will give brands a leg up on the competition.

2. Platforms Thrive. Networks Die.

As marketers expand their digital footprint this year they will seek more cost-effective media buying solutions that offer them the transparency, control, performance and insights they truly need and generic ad networks will become a thing of the past. Advertising platforms will rise to the forefront as a crucial solution removing the complexity of media buying. Unlike networks, platforms are designed to put the power back in the hands of brands and eliminate arbitrage and heavy fee loads associated with the agency model.

3. Artificial Intelligence is a black box. Automated Intelligence will live on.

Many vendors currently fail to demonstrate how their artificial intelligence based on common third-party data brings any value to marketers. In 2014, marketers will seek those vendors using intelligent software that automates media to produce new insights that no one else has gleaned by combining their brands first party customer data and linking it with location-based and proprietary data. Brands will crack the code of big data by using these findings to drive data-informed decisions on the right course of action to take, at the right time with the right message over the right channel.

4. Mobile will exceed analyst estimates to represent 30% of all digital spend.

Spending an average of two hours and 21 minutes a day on their devices, consumers are replacing computers and TVs with smartphones and tablets to surf the Web and watch videos. The rise of new anonymous cookie-less methods of capturing user insights on mobile will help advertisers overcome one of the biggest obstacles for marketers -- mapping user behavior between mobile and desktop. Although current analyst estimates expects mobile ad spend to increase by 19%, we predict mobile will emerge to account for 30% of all digital spend in 2014.

5. Location becomes the new retargeting signal for mobile.

Elaborating on the personalization theme, next year brands will begin utilizing location-based data to more effectively reach consumers and successfully convert customers across the web and mobile. Mobile ad campaigns will start to leverage comprehensive analytics to hyper-target existing customers in real-time and identify avenues to connect them with their next customers on their most trusted device. Wearables and other innovative technologies analyzing consumers' movements are a sign of what's to come.