5 Trends for Creative Advertising Success

Greetings from Growth Summit 2024!

Smartly brought together more than 100 customers to our Helsinki headquarters to kick off our Growth Summit event today. The unexpected snowy weather didn’t stop our community from showing up for networking, knowledge sharing, and the ultimate showcase for creative best practices.

“Audiences are becoming increasingly diverse, and they expect content that reflects the world around them,” noted Smartly’s Head of Creative, Sarah Hiraki, citing a recent Deloitte study.

Advertisers are challenged to navigate the nuances of delivering amazing ad experiences (think visuals, talent, geos, languages, cultures, formats and more).

“The less time our audiences spend watching content, the more performance marketers are tasked to create,” Hiraki said. “And the more important it is for that content to resonate. “It’s proven that more assets - cross funnel - lead to better performance.”

Here are 5 key creative trends to support your brand’s customer engagement and creative performance success:

Trend #1
Advertisers will need more assets, and they’ll be turning to Gen AI ‍

Audiences are increasingly savvy to AI generated assets, and democratization of these tools will make creation and expression easier than ever. From participating in memes, to recutting video, to transcreation, expect to see AI tools continue to dominate in 2024.

Trend #2
Modular design will take center stage in digital channels

Brands who haven’t done so yet will need to rethink their approach to design and build in order to feed the beast. It’s more than just templates; it’s a deeply considered design system. 

Trend #3
Increased competition means a drive toward personalization

A majority (85%) of Gen Z agree that content that’s personally relevant to them is more important than viral content, according to YouTube’s Cultural Trends Report. Categories like gender and age have a role to play, but behavioral identities are especially potent in this space.

Trend #4
‍Keep it moving! Brands will push the boundaries of motion 

As spend continues to rise in video and entertainment channels, motion becomes critical to grabbing attention. No video or 3D? No problem.

We’ll also see plenty of stop motion and image collages be given life with motion design.

Trend #5
An entertainment focused landscape welcomes quiet disruption

Think meditation breaks, making room for absurdity, and the return of the Buzzfeed-style quiz content. Brands who channel this will be aiming for engagement, and should seek to gently inform or encourage browsing. 

Intelligent creative allows partners to reach every touchpoint, every channel, seamlessly, swiftly and effectively. It’s how we build, problem solve, innovate and future-proof our collective efforts.

Stay tuned for more highlights from Smartly’s 2024 Growth Summit!

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