The IAS Industry Pulse Report, published today by Integral Ad Science, a pioneer in the quality of digital media, revealed that media professionals cited dwindling consumer trust as their top issue with regard to advertising on social media platforms. Despite this warning, the overwhelming majority of media experts still intend to advertise on those same platforms in 2019. This is due to social media’s compelling reach and engagement. According to IAS study, 77% of media professionals concur that consumers’ decreasing trust in major social media platforms may have a detrimental influence on their media spending, according to Khurrum Malik, IAS’s Chief Marketing Officer. However, marketers are powerless to resist the attraction of reach and interaction that social media may provide. The need for more openness is highlighted by this love-hate relationship.

Challenges for social media platforms

• Despite the fact that more than nine out of ten respondents (91%) want to use social media for advertising in 2023, the survey reveals a decline in monetization intent across all platforms, with the exception of WhatsApp, which saw a small uptick (2% year-over-year).
• The majority—two-thirds—agree that their media spending would be negatively impacted by a lack of openness.

Video games advertising to keep impacting the digital media landscape

• The majority of media professionals (70%) concur that audio listeners will continue to transition to digital forms as one of the top goals for 2023.
• Media quality problems are predicted by industry professionals; the majority of respondents (66%) are worried about ad fraud and brand risk in digital audio (55%).
• More than one-third (34%) of publishers believe there will be changes in video game advertising in the upcoming year, demonstrating their optimism in this area. One-fifth (19%) of media professionals anticipate giving priority to video game settings for advertising the next year.

Miscellaneous takeaways

• The growing interest in CTV: According to almost half (44%) of media professionals, CTV and digital video have the greatest promise for innovation in the upcoming year.
• Contextual targeting as a remedy for privacy issues: Nearly six out of ten respondents (58%) will give contextual targeting priority in order to address consumer privacy concerns and cookie deprecation while still reaching targeted audiences at scale.
• With consumers continuing to spend more than 4.5 hours each day on their mobile devices, it seems sensible that mobile continues to be prioritised by almost half of media professionals (47%).