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12.21.21 | read time: 5.5 min

The 2022 Media Landscape: Our Predictions

116 & West

We aren’t armed with a crystal ball or a set of Tarot cards. What we do have, however, are the skills, knowledge, experience, and expertise that empower, nay, require us to make predictions about the media landscape of 2022.

Luckily for everyone, we use our powers for good. Take this blog as an example. Here’s what we think (and know) will happen in the media world in 2022.

PS: Don’t come for us if something doesn’t come to fruition. This is free.

Meta Adjusts Facebook’s Targeting Capabilities

In 2022, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, will change their targeting guidelines. The New York Post (NYP) reported that Facebook will no longer let advertisers use targeting that is based on categories like health, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and political affiliation.

The same NYP article states this change comes after civil rights experts, policy makers, and stakeholders said that people in underrepresented groups have negative experiences because of this type of targeting. They say it can enable discrimination, abuse, and division, because it can limit opportunity for some audiences to participate in the market.

For example, according to the NYP article, Facebook was sued in 2019 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development because landlords and home-sellers “could restrict who could see ads for properties on the basis of race, religion, and national origin.”

While these targeting restrictions are probably better for humanity, they could change how companies run their marketing. Many companies target certain demographics based on the messaging, product, service, goal, etc. Not being able to target these groups takes away the ability to narrow in on a target audience. This will force marketers to be more creative and identify other traits that their target audience has in common.

Fewer Chips, Smaller Ad Spends

The global chip shortage has impacted media more than we thought—and we’re not talking about Lay’s or Ruffles. The global chip shortage refers to integrated chips, or semiconductor chips, and is another result of the worldwide supply chain issue. According to a Yahoo Finance report, 169 industries have been affected by the chip shortage.

One such example is the automotive industry. Historically, auto has been a reliable industry where you could expect an excess amount of supply (vehicles), which means dealerships consistently push sales and spend money on media. For the last year or so, that just hasn’t been the case.

Due to the global chip shortage, cars are unable to be completed by manufacturers. This lack of supply leads to fewer cars being available to dealers, which then trickles down to dealers not having inventory,  which means fewer sales, and therefore less money to spend on media. (Also, there’s no reason to advertise vehicles that aren’t actually available–truth in advertising, people!)

CNBC reports that “The global chip shortage is set to drag on till 2022,” which is a bummer. “Things could improve in the second half of the year as more supplies come online, but the first six months could still see pockets of shortage across the industry.”

Delivery Issues to Lessen in… 2023

The supply chain issue doesn’t end with chips. A CNBC report states that “Backlogs and elevated shipping costs are likely to persist at least through the middle of next year because no immediate solution for the underlying supply-demand imbalance at US ports is available.”

As of now, it is predicted that we’ll return to a more normal production and delivery schedule in 2023, which gives dealers and advertisers something to look forward to. However, this light at the end at the tunnel doesn’t help recover from the two years of discrepancies.

Online Media Spend Will Continue to Rise

Online media spend rose in 2021 and we predict that trend will continue in 2022. Aligning with our spending prophecy is Kantar Media,  predicting the online spend is expected to increase in 2022 in every category, including online video advertising, social media stories, influencer content, social media newsfeeds, display, TV streaming, podcasts, terrestrial TV, digital out-of-home, and TV product placement.

With the increase in spend we can also expect an increase in clients’ expectation of ROI. To increase efficiency in campaigns in 2022, we will see more in-flight optimizations to enhance performance. Kantar states that “almost two-thirds (66%) of global marketers believe optimizing the media mix is the best way to maximize absolute ROI.”

The Cookie Issue & CTV

As we’ve pointed out previously, the death of the cookie will take place in 2022. Since cookies will soon cease to exist, what does that mean for advertisers? Kantar media trends and predictions report states that “No one solution will replace cookies.” We all knew that though, right?

Advertisers will need to start taking a “portfolio approach,” meaning that they will use multiple methods to get their data. First-party data (customer information collected directly by companies) will be the strategy initially, but third-party data (customer information collected not directly by a company, but by a third party, such as credit card companies) will still be relevant if it follows the new privacy compliance regulations.

According to Ad Age, upfront ad spend on Connected TV (CTV) doubled from 2019 to 2020, and in 2022 it’s expected to reach $6 billion upfront, with a total of $19.1 billion for the year. The reason for the increase in the ad spend in the CTV space is partly due to all the issues with third-party cookies. (The issues being that cookies are being phased out, or utilized in a different way that’s currently up in the air.)

The same Ad Age reports states that “84% of buyers upping CTV spending state that consumer privacy issues contributed to their increase,” citing The IAB 2022 Brand Disruption Report. The concern with relying on CTV as an ad medium is that people can get tired of paying for individual subscriptions, so the audience may shrink.

OOH Could Be Big

With people binging shows and skipping commercials, advertisers are looking for new forms of video to capture consumers. Digital out-of-home (DOOH) is a full-motion, some even HD, billboard usually featuring short-form videos. DOOH is one of the more promising avenues advertisers are exploring.

Ad Age expressed that full motion digital billboards are the next iteration of out-of-home. The article states, “according to a study by Ocean and Neuro-Insight in the U.K. research revealed that full motion DOOH advertising is 2.5 times more impactful than equivalent static executions.” We can’t wait to see how digital out-of-home will continue to grow in 2022!

2022 Is Sure to Be Exciting

Between new limitations on Facebook targeting, the chip shortage, increases in online media spend and CTV, the loss of cookies, and the newly emerging DOOH, we are so excited to keep up with the ever-changing media landscape. Keep an eye on our channels to stay up-to-date on all things media, and cheers to a happy new year.

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12.8.21 | read time: 5 min

Alright, Alright, Alright: Elevating Audio

Jodi Sali

I recently listened to the audiobook version of Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. When he spoke, I could hear his smile. I knew there was a backstory hidden in the nuances of his delivery. I could feel the gravity of a memory in the way he led me through the journey.

The way he would break away in voice accents and draw out certain parts of words was akin to an artist adding color, depth, and detail to a scene. All of the context was masterfully tucked into the tonality and cadence of his storytelling.

Listening to him was like listening to a symphony-trained musician perform a piece of sheet music. The difference was that this sonata was not just any piece of music. It was his symphony, his story, and I was in. Green light.

Do yourself a favor, listen to the audio book rather than reading it. Your perspective will be rearranged. You will gain insights into the wiring and operating system of one complex guy as he weaves his story together. It’s a masterful performance of the book as could only be done by the person who lived the pages.

McConaughey’s reading of his memoir reminded me of the steps we–advertisers, storytellers, creators–can take to transform a one-dimensional script into a multifaceted performance. How we can take it from 2D to 3D.

Transforming Voice Acting Through Delivery

What stands out to me the most is the idea of delivery. Just as a musician can take a simple sheet of music and turn it into an emotive journey that resonates with the audience, we have the power to do far more than simply read words. We have the power to tell the story.

Have you ever looked at a piece of music written for a symphony? It’s not the same as listening to that piece of music performed by experts. We don’t consume music by looking at a piece of paper. The best experience is to hear it not just played, but performed—and the delivery matters.

As a writer and producer of audio and video content, I am constantly asking myself, “what makes better content?” I also wonder what I can do to ensure I’m reaching my audience in a meaningful way, and how I can add more dimension to the final product.

Take a tangible example: a piece of paper. Start drawing something, anything. How can you add to a 2D piece of work and make it more interesting? Perspective and shading will give it more depth. But, you also have to understand how your drawing exists in the real world. Where is the light source? Does anything overlap with other elements in the drawing that would catch the light or create a shadow? Understanding the construct and context of our 3D world and transferring that information onto a 2D representation is what really transforms the content we create.

Creating an audio piece should be comparable. Ask yourself similar questions: What’s the story? Why does it matter? What is the context for the statement? What is the emotion behind the line the voice actor is delivering? How can we use that emotion to best engage the audience?

When I write a sentence that is rhythmic and lyrical, it’s on purpose. When I write, I hear the words. I think beyond the words on the page and focus on the delivery.

 Concrete Tips for Directing VO Actors

As a director, I’m never going to be content with a voiceover (VO) actor simply reading a script. My job is to guide them to the character to help them tell The Story. Because there absolutely is a difference between reading and telling. There are times when the difference is subtle, and there are other times when the difference feels like a 2×4 to the side of the head.

As I direct a VO actor reading a script, I say things like, “smile when you say that line.” Why? Because you can hear the smile. There are subtle weight shifts and facial expressions that matter. They impact the delivery and can be heard in the tone of voice. These shifts are equivalent to taking that 2D script and giving it more dimension of interest. I direct things like hand movements and posture. (There’s a direct correlation between what your hands are doing and what is reflected in your tone.)

When you read a story, your hands might hold the paper. When you tell a story, your hands become part of the instrument of communication. As creators, we have the ability to make content that can communicate more–more story, more emotion, and more connection.

The audiobook version of Greenlights achieves everything I strive for when making content: it communicates a richer story without relying on additional words because it’s all in the delivery. Read it and you won’t get as much information as hearing McConaughey perform it.

Trust the Process, Then Go

For my process of recording voiceover, I start by thinking about how the character must connect to the audience. What is the context and perspective of the target audience? What will they respond to?

Tone and cadence enable us to add a dimension of connectivity to our message. What lies hidden between the lines of the script that informs the way a line is delivered? Emotion.

When raw emotion forces the vocal cords to constrict and the speaker struggles to finish the line, we as listeners are unable to ignore it. You can read the line on a piece of paper and totally miss the mountain of emotion hiding behind the words. Speaking those words unveils that emotion.

For those of us who create content, there is always an underlying desire to make it better. We are artists. Communicating is art. Design is art. Music is art. Writing is art. Voiceover is art. It’s all connected.

Matthew McConaughey knows his art. He knew his story, and he played a character that did more than simply read. He performed a symphonic version of his memoir with passion, intentionality, and brilliance. As he would say, “green light.”