Looking across the industry, there are a lot of trends that have the potential to shape 2023 in different ways. But Stephen Kiely, CEO of Dentsu Canada, believes a big one will be a battle between the tech giants’ walled garden ecosystems and the forces of interoperability, with marketers wanting to make platforms as accessible as possible through technologies like programmatic ad placement.

“The need for cost saving and efficiency is also a driver of change, including the rise of ad-funded streaming, commerce sites looking to monetize further through ad sales, and a greater need to measure the attention consumers pay to advertising,” he says. “Everywhere we look we see both diversification and convergence – content platforms adding commerce, and commerce platforms adding ads and content – all trying to find new ways to engage and monetize their users.”

Dentsu released its annual trend report this week. One thing that tied its predictions together was that the new year will bring changes in the content people consume, the ways they consume it and how brands can increase the attention their own content attracts.

Gaming has become increasingly mainstream, and Kiely says it really is the space to watch.

“Some of the signals we’re seeing are around the convergence of sports and now esports. It’s ripe for disruption and for different brands to take advantage of it. More and more, there’s interest of clients in the gaming space.” He points to companies like BMO, which have run live streams that double as a financial advice session.

Gaming in Canada is going strong with 90% of Canadian males aged 13 to 30 identifying as gamers, and 64% of the Canadian population game on a frequent basis. The total number of gamers is expected to amount to 14.3 million by 2027.

When it comes to social media, recommended content is on the rise. Dentsu expects that 40% of the content in Facebook feeds will come from AI recommended posts, a trend that has helped propel usage of TikTok. The social platform’s recommendation algorithm focuses on showing users the best content from across the platform based on their in-app habits, rather than just the people and pages they follow.

For brands, this means content will need to be developed with this in mind, bringing new eyes and more users who are interested in the content. It also means that Canadians will be expecting ads to be more tailored to their interests, as hyper-personalization is taken to the next level – in fact, Dentsu says 72% of consumers only engage with marketing messages that are customized to their specific interests.

Digital commerce is evolving, including the growing importance of commerce sites in the advertising ecosystem, and the ways brands can minimize the disruption caused by the deprecation of third-party cookies.

Throughout the pandemic, there was a proliferation of ecommerce and now, Kiely says, every consumer segment is influenced significantly by ecommerce, making it important for brands to design experiences online for shopping to be hyper-seamless.

“It’s a hybrid world we live in and increasingly, consumers are hybrid shoppers. They’re online buying, maybe going to store to pick it up, and then also browsing physical retail. So, ecommerce is such a mission critical ingredient in any brand’s plans.”

Dentsu’s community trend is all about company responsibility, sustainability and DEI. There’s an expectation from consumers that brands are champions for good, Kiely says.

“It’s important to understand what your sustainable agenda is – and it’s important to Canadians too. When you get all the things right, you are able to build a community, a fan base that’s anchored around one common purpose.”