As we begin the new year, Media in Canada is reaching out to media leaders to take stock of the trends that will shape the year and the opportunities that media will offer advertisers. Today, we feature PHD Canada head of digital Sean Dixon. Check out New Year Predictions from Initiative’s Helen Galanis, Publicis’ Derek Bhopalsingh, Dentsu’s Christine Saunders, and return tomorrow for more.
What do you think was the most seismic change of 2024? What is your New Year’s resolution to adapt to that change in 2025?
Artificial Intelligence has been part of conversations in the industry for a long time, but the shift in actual application and accessibility in 2024 has been substantial. Rather than it being abstract, or a topic for niche experts, platforms and our agency have developed products and solutions that put the benefits of AI within reach.
We need to explore the opportunity and potential the new technology offers, but also ensure that we are fully aware of the inputs, outputs, and limitations of these tools. The greatest work will be a result of the combination of AI and informed human direction, so being educated about these tools and the context in which they’re being applied is increasingly critical. Within our organization, we’ve seen massive acceleration in the use of AI tools, particularly ones we’ve already integrated into our processes and agency marketing technology, and that’s going to continue throughout 2025.
What’s one thing you hope the industry plans to start doing, one thing it needs to stop, and one thing you hope it changes in 2025?
Stop: Stop pretending like cookie loss isn’t still an ongoing concern. There’s a lot of conversation around cookie loss, particularly its impact on targeting and audience sizing. We are developing plans around it’s eventuality, and it’s important for all to start thinking a lot more about the mechanisms of targeting and attribution in our media plans. We need to look at some of the targeting and measurement options, especially pre-packaged ones, and really dive into how they are put together, and where the opportunities are to improve with first-party data.
Change: As an industry we need to keep moving towards better audience solutions for cross-channel reach. There’s so much great signal out there, and terrific solutions on a platform-by-platform basis. At OMG, we have started to lead the way with cross platform planning such as digital video. We are also leaning in to support advancements in linear measurement. There’s exciting work that’s already been done in this regard, but from an activation standpoint, we need to push for this across all channels – as the capabilities and audiences of platforms continue to expand.
Start: Start using a wide lens for new opportunities, and don’t forget people. There’s always a lot of new things built across the various facets of media, from tools for audience planning to advanced measurement to creative generation and more. We need to take critical analysis of each opportunity and balance the need for quick answers. Modern marketing needs are complex, and there’s a lot of pressure to deliver, but our philosophy is centred on the idea that being agile while also building a future-proof data ecosystem for our clients is the ideal route to accessing the best the industry has to offer.
As well, with all the talk about technology, it’s important to remember that human attention and recall notability go up when the way we communicate with people – and the moments we choose to reach them – are truly unique or different than what’s expected. We are incorporating this into our media models, our planning approaches, as well as in the pride and culture of our organization. Being creatively ambitious and doing things differently isn’t just for the award shows. It drives lasting, measurable value. The future belongs to those who marry human creativity with mechanical precision – it’s not a choice between art and science; it’s how we leverage both for better outcomes.
