From the latest CTR report, we can see the four major trends of advertisers' internal drive evolution

This article mainly introduces the "2024 China Advertiser Marketing Trend Survey Report" released by CTR, and discusses the four major trends faced by advertisers in the macroeconomic environment: diversified thinking driven by product innovation and technology, growth opportunities brought by user expansion and market expansion, brand mind building driven by real experience and emotional interaction, and confidence boosted by official endorsement and industry communication.

With the innovation of multiple technologies and the change of consumer awareness, the market economy continues to fluctuate, and these factors often affect advertisers' decisions.

Now, as the hard-won 2024 is about to pass halfway, both advertisers themselves and the industry at large can't help but have a few questions about the current situation: How is the development of the advertising market? What are the new changes in advertisers' decision-making ideas? What are the new trends in the industry?

Recently, CCTV Market Research (CTR), the School of Advertising of Communication University of China and the National Advertising Research Institute jointly released the "2024 China Advertiser Marketing Trends Survey Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"), which gave detailed answers to the above questions.

The report points out that the advertising market has shown a strong adaptability and resilience based on changes in the macro environment; although advertisers tend to be conservative and cautious in their marketing investment, they are also showing a trend of accelerating "self-driven evolution". The report summarizes this evolution into four major directions: force innovation, resilience growth, mental accumulation and confidence transmission.

How do advertisers standing at the crossroads of the times face the ups and downs? Please follow TOP to see the four major trends in marketing for advertisers.

01

Trend 1: Product innovation, technological innovation, and diversified ideas bring new vitality.

Schumpeter, the originator of "Innovation Theory", believed that innovation refers to "the new combination of production factors made by entrepreneurs", including five situations: producing a new product, adopting a new production method, opening up a new market, obtaining a new source of supply of raw materials or semi-finished products, and implementing a new form of corporate organization.

Among them, product innovation is an important support for brand development, and technology is what can provide the brand with new production ideas. The "Yuanli Innovation" mentioned in the report summarizes these two points.

In 2024, advertisers will pay more attention to the innovative development of products. They choose to make high demands on new products in order to achieve market leadership and sustainable development of their own companies.

The report points out that brands' demand for new product development and marketing has increased. More than 90% of advertisers have new product development needs, and the marketing expenses for new product promotion are expected to account for 34% in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 3%.

In terms of specific ideas for product innovation, the brand is segmented at four levels: region, channel, user, and personality: the research and development of new products based on different regions adds new vitality to the market; the segmentation of channels can provide different sales support for enterprises; and the in-depth segmentation of user internal needs and personalized needs provides the brand with more innovative ideas and makes the products more growth-oriented.

In terms of technological innovation, AIGC technology has sparked widespread discussion in the industry since its birth. It has now been put into use on a large scale, and enterprises' application of technology has become more mature.

The report shows that 78.9% of advertisers expect to use AIGC, an increase of 9 percentage points compared to last year. Among them, advertisers use AIGC mainly in creative content generation, and basic functions such as text, pictures, and videos provide convenience for marketing. In addition, innovative marketing methods and data collection, analysis, and market insights are also the main areas where advertisers use AIGC.

In terms of attitudes towards new technologies, advertisers have become more mature and rational in their understanding of AIGC. 73% of advertisers believe that "AIGC cannot replace people in making important decisions", and the application of this technology is mainly focused on basic work and functions.

02

Trend 2: Expanding users and broadening fields, finding growth points according to local conditions.

Technological innovation and product innovation are two major strategies that advertisers adopt to maintain sustainable development of their enterprises. However, as time enters 2024, the Internet era is developing rapidly. With the explosion of information, users' attention is constantly being divided, and brands also need to find an outlet in the existing market. Advertisers also have a common question, that is, how to find new growth points in development.

In terms of advertiser growth, the report divides it into three aspects: user expansion, market extension and scenario optimization.

In terms of user expansion, an advertiser in the home appliance field said, "The cost of attracting a new user is four times that of reaching an old user." Consumers' ability to process external information has been greatly enhanced, and their perception of marketing methods such as "soft marketing" has increased the difficulty of brand marketing. "2024 China Consumer Trend Insights" shows that consumers are currently re-examining the meaning of consumption and are more cautious and savvy in their consumption decisions. Changes in consumers' internal needs are also one of the reasons why advertisers are currently having difficulty attracting new users.

In 2024, among the user operation methods that advertisers will rely on, reliance on cross-circle/field/category accounts for 35.6%, and improving user reputation and communication accounts for 32.7%. Advertisers rely on complementary advantages to improve brand reputation, enhance users' sense of belonging and identity, and thus accumulate brand "new retention".

In terms of market extension, "going to lower-tier cities" and "going overseas" have become "multiple-choice questions" for brands at different stages of growth. Large enterprises with abundant resources pay particular attention to the international market. In the past two years, the successful overseas expansion of brands such as Haidilao, Mixue Ice City and Miniso has set an example for other brands. This year, brands such as Bawang Chaji and Chabaidao have also followed suit. Going overseas has become one of the ways for brands to revitalize. QuestMobile data shows that the scale of lower-tier users is on the rise, currently reaching 647 million, and the lower-tier markets are also highly valued by small and medium-sized enterprises rooted in the region.

In terms of scene optimization, the report shows that the common multiple APPs have opened up channels for advertisers to reach consumers, and the different styles of each APP have also formed different degrees of brand exposure, seeding and conversion advantages. In this case, advertisers no longer adopt a "flooding" marketing layout, but "adapt to local conditions" and deeply adapt to marketing platforms with different value positioning to achieve efficient growth.

03

Trend three: Real experience, emotional interaction, and mental accumulation to achieve brand and effect integration.

The report shows that 84% of advertisers agree that "content marketing is the best way to achieve brand differentiation and deepen consumer relationships." From "volume traffic" to "volume content," advertisers have gradually realized that penetrating the user's mind based on content marketing is an important way to create brand differentiation.

"Emotional value" became the annual Internet buzzword in 2023, and is also one of the bases for brands to leverage consumers' minds in 2024. As for how to achieve mental resonance, the report points out that real experience conveys functional value and emotional interaction touches emotional value, which have become the two major paths for advertisers.

In 2024, advertisers will focus on paid digital media, brand social account matrix, etc., while consumers will focus more on practicality and interactivity. In this case, KOCs and amateurs have become the choice for brands to communicate directly with consumers. Most advertisers choose to place Internet ads on grass-planting KOLs and product-selling KOLs, so as to reach consumers' minds with real experiences.

In terms of mind conversion, 90% of advertisers agree that "the brand's mind share is the core competitiveness, focusing on results is temporary, and focusing on the brand is long-term." This is one of the reasons why brands now focus more on "brand and effect synergy."

04

Trend 4: Official endorsement, industry dissemination, and media placement to boost confidence.

Looking at the entire industry horizontally, advertisers, consumers, and related parties are all maintaining a relatively cautious attitude, but advertisers are also taking the initiative to boost the confidence of related parties in the industry chain. The report shows that in 2024, the proportion of advertisers expected to increase investment in media public relations and intermediaries/agents will increase. Advertisers attach importance to boosting the confidence of stakeholders, actively build a good market operating environment, and drive the overall market confidence.

In terms of media placement, advertisers' placement trends can be divided into three types: highly influential television media, highly credible new media, and highly localized media.

Based on CCTV's high television media ratings and high influence on the B-end population, many advertisers choose to place ads on CCTV media. In 2024, CCTV's share of television media marketing and promotion expenses is expected to exceed 40%, and the proportion has also shown an upward trend in recent years.

The high credibility and official endorsement of radio and television media carry the agenda-setting capabilities of mainstream media and have become an important media form for advertisers to extend their influence. In 2024, it is expected that 26% of advertisers will increase their investment in radio and television new media, an increase of 7 percentage points compared to 2023.

The report shows that in 2024, more than 50% of advertisers are expected to place outdoor advertising on buildings. The placement of highly localized media will have a strong influence on consumers and bring confidence to dealers. Similarly, marketing channels such as WeChat Moments and video accounts can also strengthen the maintenance of relationship circles and enhance communication and exchanges within the industry.

Conclusion

Today, the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of external factors are becoming more and more serious. The marketing environment of advertisers has undergone profound changes, and their original marketing paths and cognitive model adaptability are facing many challenges. The "2024 China Advertiser Marketing Trend Survey Report" focuses on the reasons behind advertiser strategies and makes a phased summary for current advertisers.

In a complex situation, advertisers must not only achieve short-term revenue goals, but also focus on the sustainable development of the company. "Self-driven evolution" is the introspection and response plan of many brands, and it is also a pragmatic, efficient and rational choice at the moment.