As 2014 began, advertising was shifting in many ways. Consumers were already seeing ads across a growing number of touch points, and too many of those ads had little relevance to them. I believed 2014 would be the year marketers learned how to activate data they had struggled to use in 2013. Consumer behavior and location data promised more timely ways to connect with customers.

While 2013 had been about harnessing data, I expected advertisers in 2014 to focus on making that data actionable and personal. I was watching for two major trends that would: a) help marketers reach who they want, when they need and on the touch point that will deliver the best results; and b) give total control to the brand in every stage of an advertising campaign. The shifts in the use of data as well as planning and buying mechanisms will alter the overall advertising process in favor of the brand and the consumer.

Marketers Will Glean Information From…Well, Everything

The “Internet of Things,” once discussed mainly as an idea about interconnected gadgets, appliances, and sensors, appeared to be arriving faster than many expected in early 2014. Whether its wearable technology like a fitness band that tracks quantified self data, a refrigerator that can make grocery lists or in-car navigation systems with roadway sensors, there’s a limitless range of technologies under the Internet of Things umbrella that are offering brand advertisers access to richer consumer data and new channels that can be used to power future campaigns.

I saw two possible advertising benefits. Advertisers could deliver more personalized messages to consumers already looking for a product or service, while connected technologies could give marketers a more immediate view of relevant behavior.

I also expected consumers to benefit if the advertising became genuinely more relevant. For example, a consumer will receive an ad for running shoes, as they are running on a treadmill, or an advertisement for light bulbs will appear on a home automation device after a light bulb burns out. Consumers will continue to see ads, however the ads they see will be personalized to them and delivered in the right moments, eliminating ad waste and cutting out pointless noise.

Delivering to a Customer Anywhere

I expected new data opportunities to keep arriving during 2014. Mobile campaigns were beginning to use broader analytics to reach existing customers in real time and find new customers on the devices they trusted most.

I predicted that brands would make greater use of location data from retail or restaurant check-ins and social logins on mobile devices. I believed location data could take personalization to a new level. Combined with online behavior, it could let brands reach a consumer approaching a store they had already shown interest in. Consumers were increasingly turning to mobile devices as a primary screen, creating more data marketers hoped to use.

I believed data from connected technologies, combined with the ability to deliver content based on proximity, could become valuable to marketers in the years ahead. However, with all these additional avenues coming online, the complexity of ad buying can seem muddled if marketers are not using the ideal tools.

Platforms Thrive. Networks Die.

As marketers expanded their digital footprint in 2014, I expected them to seek more cost-effective buying solutions with greater transparency, control, performance, and insight. I also expected generic ad networks to lose ground as consumers shifted attention toward mobile screens. More touch points meant more planning, and ad-buying platforms appeared positioned to reduce some of that complexity.

I expected social networks and companies with proprietary data to lead the move toward platforms. By early 2014, Facebook had overhauled its ad-buying platform in an effort to simplify the process and give brand marketers more control. I saw platforms as a way to put more power in the hands of brands and reduce arbitrage and heavy fees associated with the agency model.

Connected devices, appliances, homes, and vehicles were beginning to create new behavioral data. Marketers were also experimenting with location signals that could reach customers in real time. My prediction was that brands would use ad-buying platforms to gain more control and reduce unnecessary spending associated with network intermediaries.

Advertisements were not going away in 2014. The real opportunity was to make them less wasteful and more relevant. That was the bet behind this forecast: smarter personalization could improve the experience for consumers while giving brands more control.