If there is one thing we learned from the digital marketplace in 2016, it’s that consumers want a better digital experience with less intrusive advertising. This year media brands and marketers need to actively reconnect with the consumer. With this in mind, Kantar Millward Brown analyzed current marketplace trends to provide six media and digital recommendations for 2017:

1. Build a strong relationship with Generation Z, now approximately 2 billion or 27% of the global population.
   • Focus on co-creation, authenticity and transparency to connect with Gen Z.
2. Deliver a consistent brand voice and experience across all touchpoints.
   • Creates multi-platform touchpoints for a consistent brand experience. Offer different purchasing options for different buying habits (both offline and online).
   • Ensure that digital strategies have a large emphasis on mobile, once again, with consistent branding. Kantar reports that close to nine in ten internet users own a smartphone.
3. Drive innovation and experimentation in both content and formats.
   • Try and test new technologies like 360 video, augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence for new models of creativity.
4. Build emotional advertising campaigns and targets, stop creepy and intrusive advertising.
   • Create emotionally-driven campaigns to strengthen the bond between the brand and the customer.
   • Incorporate brand affinity data into media buying plans.
5. Develop a better ad experience for consumers.

• Ensure a three-prong approach: Advertisers need to create relevant and compelling ad content, publishers need to provide a less clutter environment with a positive user experience and agencies need to improve targeting and tagging implementation.

6. Assure the message fits the medium and reduce ad duplication across platforms.

• Understand the function each media plays within the context of how they work together.

Media brands and marketers need to interact with consumers in a more holistic manner utilizing both context and content. Identifying and understanding consumer motivation and engagement in the digital landscape will offer insight into building a strong brand relationships.