Contributed by Amanda Benoist, Marketing Content Strategist at Goodway Group What’s the fastest way to get the big picture of how technology is evolving? Check out the 2016 Internet Trends report from renowned industry analyst, Mary Meeker. At 213 slides, the full report still might be too much to chew. Instead, let us give you a digest of the top five trends that are shaping the future of digital advertising:
1. Don’t judge flat growth rates too harshly.
While Meeker suggests the global Internet adoption rate has plateaued, we’ll remind you that nine percent growth year over year is nearly 643 million new users, with 58 percent of the world’s population still at large. And despite many opinions that developing nations will go straight to mobile when they are ready to access the Internet, reports on Middle East/Africa smartphone growth show the cost-to-income ratio is still too high. 
2. Did video kill the radio ad?
Not quite. As traditional and non-tech behemoths push to stay relevant, they are acquiring start-up tech companies to facilitate their transition into the digital market. Yet their advertising budgets remain staked in media of the past. Despite the fact that audience attention has shifted—consumers are now spending 47 percent of their time on the Internet/mobile—the majority of advertisers continue to funnel disproportionate dollars into legacy outlets, like print and TV. Still, overall Internet ad revenue hit $60 billion in 2015, with nearly two-thirds of revenue coming from desktop ads. That’s not to say mobile isn’t exploding too—mobile ad revenue grew by more than 66 percent in 2015. For those early adopters ready to take advantage of the untapped $21 billion mobile market, hyper-targeted ads and cross device targeting will ensure their spend hits the right consumers, at the right time, with the right message. 
3. Welcome to the visual era.
At 27 percent, Millennials are now the largest segment of the population. Combine that with their propensity to “earn to spend,” and their consumer relevance will grow dramatically as they reach full adulthood. While newcomers, like Snapchat and Instagram, fulfill the Millennial visual penchant, Facebook still overwhelmingly holds their attention best. Advertisers will need to know how to build visual experiences within these platforms if they want to capitalize on Millennial (and soon to come Generation Z) buying power. 
4. Your voice is more powerful than ever.
The average person types only 40 words per minute but speaks at a rate of 150 words per minute, so it comes as no surprise that voice will be the next major user interface. Today, one in five searches on Android devices are voice-activated, largely due to its hands-free and vision-free complement to our on-the-go lifestyles. As voice assistants (think Siri and Amazon Echo) continue to improve in accuracy and latency, Meeker suggests at least 50 percent of all searches will be image- or speech-based within five years. 
5. Are we fighting or fueling cybercrime?
Privacy remains a global concern for both consumers and businesses alike, but exploding data usage and “always-listening” voice-command devices are blurring the line between fighting and fueling cybercrimes. What does your business need to know about protecting your brand and your ad tech budget? Register for our upcoming webinar on Fighting Fraud to get the inside scoop—more details to come soon! 
A seasoned marketing pro with years of experience on both agency and client teams, Amanda brings valuable insight and solutions to today’s challenges in strategic communications, digital branding, and social media management. As marketing content strategist for Goodway Group, Amanda transforms complex digital media topics into easy-to-understand resources to keep all advertisers and marketers at the forefront of understanding the evolving programmatic landscape. Her favorite part of the job? She gets to share our compelling story with new audiences each and every day.