The opt-out rate for mobile app tracking will decline from 85% in 2021 to 60% by 2023 as consumers gain experience with untargeted ads. While Apple has added new privacy features in iOS for consumers to manage how they are tracked, marketers must demonstrate the benefit to consumers in allowing mobile app tracking.
“Roughly one-quarter of consumers would allow tracking if they are familiar with the brand or publisher that’s requesting tracking, especially as part of an explicit value exchange, such as in cash rewards, coupons, discounts or loyalty points,” said Andrew Frank, vice president and distinguished analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice.
He commented that marketers and consumers are finding ways to circumvent restrictions by Apple prohibiting developers from offering people incentives for granting permission to track on iOS devices.
How to increase opt-in rate
Create and communicate benefits that provide compelling reasons for customers to trust companies with personal data. Marketers should ensure that their consented data collection provides tangible value to customers and educate them on exactly how it does so.
Make changing privacy behaviours and settings easy and seamless with self-service privacy and preference site features.
Work with publishers to optimize contextual targeting and measurement in the absence of tracking data.
Other predictions for 2022
By 2023, the volume of ad impressions TV and streaming media channels deliver during what are traditionally considered working hours will grow by 60%.
Asynchronous work is expected to be the norm for many employees well into 2022. As a result, periods that were once considered “prime time” by advertisers have flattened and video consumption, among other things, has intensified during what were once traditional working hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This is good news for marketers, especially for those who have historically been unable to make a play for prime-time space.
Scaled advocacy coming
By 2023, 90% of B2B social media marketing strategies will incorporate scaled employee advocacy programs.
B2B social marketing strategies will evolve to elevate the role of employee advocacy as a trusted, scalable channel that will enable the organization to achieve a variety of objectives.
This includes marketing objectives — such as brand building and lead generation — and objectives for other teams beyond marketing — such as sales (for prospecting and social selling) and human resources (recruiting top talent from employees’ social networks).
The benefits that employee advocacy can bring to employee recruitment will be particularly welcomed by marketing teams that see the attraction of top talent in this highly competitive environment as a critical factor to their success.
Use of AI/ML in marketing
By 2025, one in five B2B companies will use artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) to proactively slow down customers’ journeys by connecting customers with sales reps during digital commerce interactions.
Today, digital engagement primarily involves “course-smoothing” digital experiences – making it easier for customers to do what they were already planning to do, as opposed to seeking to change customers’ decisions.
However, B2B customers who prefer an exclusively digital buying experience are 23% more likely to regret their purchases than those who prefer to interact with a sales rep. The next step for B2B companies will involve deeper integration of human-led and digital customer engagement.
The tighter integration of marketing and sales technology — with more powerful AI/ML capabilities — promises a better path forward.
Rise of virtual influencers
By 2026, CMOs will dedicate 30% of their influencer and celebrity budgets to virtual influencers.
Virtual influencers have been on the rise for a few years now. Although they are currently used more prominently in Asia, brands’ use of virtual influencers is gaining traction in the U.S.
They offer brands more control in messaging and are generally less expensive than traditional influencers in the long run. With virtual influencers, brands can avoid the kinds of scandals and controversies common with traditional influencers.
By 2026, 60% of Millennial and Gen Z consumers will prefer making purchases on social platforms over traditional digital commerce platforms.
Consumers, especially younger ones, are turning toward commerce options that emphasize convenience and discovery, both hallmarks of social commerce.
The share of consumers who have made purchases through social platforms has increased, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To succeed in this environment, CMOs must grasp the importance of both simplifying and enriching the path to purchase for customers.
