Welcome to the future of advertising - where Creative Technologies are revolutionizing how we connect with audiences. Creative advertising is being transformed by innovative platforms that offer seamless omnichannel integration, ensure consistent brand messaging and deepen customer understanding.
In this article, we’re exploring Forrester’s ‘Creative Advertising Technologies Landscape’ report overviewing 29 different creative advertising technology vendors, and finding out how Creative Technologies are reshaping advertising.
Bannerflow is recognized by Forrester among notable vendors in this space.
Download the full ‘The Creative Advertising Technologies Landscape, Q2 2024’ report by Forrester.
Enhancing Advertising with Creative Technologies
Nowadays, creative marketing communications go beyond traditional advertising - they encompass a wide range of activities, from obscure social media campaigns to personalized email marketing.
The rise of social media advertising on platforms like TikTok and Meta has pushed marketers to revolutionize the way they approach creative content. TikTok ad creative, for example, is all about short, engaging videos that capture the audience's attention quickly, while Meta ads may encompass anything from long-form videos to short-form content pieces.
Utilizing creative advertising technologies, brands can produce and test various ad formats to find the most effective ones for all of their various channels. For instance, Bannerflow’s platform allows for the streamlined production and deployment of multiple ad variants, facilitating A/B testing to determine which creatives resonate best with different segments of the audience. This process not only enhances efficiency but also ensures that the most impactful ads are utilized across all platforms.
This is what creative advertising technology is about - it involves crafting compelling ad creative that resonates with audiences across various platforms, and understanding current market dynamics is crucial for creating effective advertising. The integration of creative and media disciplines is pivotal within this landscape - it involves creative ideas being informed by media insights, and vice versa. For example, insights gathered from media performance can help refine creative elements to better capture audience attention and drive engagement.
Market dynamics
The landscape of the creative automation industry is booming, driven by the pressing need for more personalized, efficient, and effective advertising. Gone are the days when creative and media teams worked in silos - today, these once-competing specialities are converging into a streamlined cycle that combines big ideas with creative intelligence.
According to Forrester’s 2023 data, 35% of B2C marketing and advertising decision-makers plan to integrate creative and media assignments when selecting marketing partners in the next 12 months.
This convergence is key to the industry's growth - it fosters a collaborative environment where “tomorrow’s performance marketers will be creative scientists, while designers must become media experts” (The Creative Advertising Technologies Landscape, Q2 2024, Forrester).
The integration of these two practices allows for a more holistic approach to campaign development and execution. By using platforms and technologies that combine media expertise with creative prowess, advertisers can create more compelling and relevant ads that resonate with their target audience.
Additionally, Forrester has identified the main trend, primary challenge, and top disruptor within the current market landscape that advertisers should keep top of mind when making decisions regarding Creative Technologies:
Main trend: media and creative convergence
The convergence of media and creative functions creates a synergistic environment where creative concepts are developed with media insights, leading to more effective advertising strategies. Forrester’s report highlights that creative advertising technologies facilitate this integration, providing tools for seamless collaboration.
Primary challenge: creative process complexity
Despite significant technological advancements, the creative process remains complex. Rapid production, rigorous testing, and continuous optimization can lead to disorganized assets and off-brand templates. Creative advertising technologies can help address these issues by automating creative production and offering robust asset management.
Top disruptor: generative AI
Generative AI is a clear market disruptor, bringing speed and insight to the creative process. It allows brands to generate numerous ad variations quickly and personalize content at scale - but also poses risks, such as the spread of misinformation. Ensuring content integrity and brand consistency is key when leveraging AI in content production processes.
Core and extended use cases for creative advertising technologies
"You can use creative advertising technologies to streamline workflows, deepen customer understanding, and deliver relevance. But to realize these benefits, you’ll first have to select from a diverse set of vendors that vary by size, type of offering, geography, and use case differentiation," states the Forrester report.
When comparing creative advertising technology vendors, aligning your business
needs with various market offerings is key to finding the right solution.
Core use cases
Forrester identifies four core use cases that buyers in the creative ad tech market are most often looking to address when shopping for a solution:
● Creative production: the ability to produce high-quality, engaging creatives at scale.
● Creative testing: tools to test different creative variations to determine the most effective ones.
● Reporting and insights: advanced analytics to measure the performance of creative campaigns.
● Creative optimization: continuous improvement of creatives based on performance data.
We believe Bannerflow excels in each of these areas, offering a robust platform that enables users to manage the entire lifecycle of their campaigns. From creating visually stunning ads to testing and optimizing them, Bannerflow provides the tools needed to deliver impactful advertising. To understand how we achieved this, you can explore our article on why building a creative management platform matters.
Extended use cases
Outside of those core functionalities, Forrester has identified several extended use cases for creative advertising technology where some buyers may also be on the lookout for the following qualities:
● Asset management: efficient organization and retrieval of creative assets.
● Predictive analytics: using data to forecast future campaign performance.
● Ad serving: delivering ads to the right audience at the right time.
● Cross-channel sequencing: coordinating ad delivery across multiple channels to create a cohesive customer journey.
● Identity resolution: integrating and reconciling customer identities across various data sources.
Among these, Bannerflow self-reported asset management, ad serving, and cross-channel sequencing as the top three use cases for which clients select them. These capabilities are critical for brands looking to deliver cohesive and effective advertising across multiple touchpoints. For instance, understanding the intricacies of creating effective mobile ads is crucial, as detailed in Bannerflow's ultimate guide to mobile banner ads.
Functionality by use case
“The ability for vendors to satisfy advertisers’ omnichannel needs without losing energy for the channels on which they began differentiates lasting platforms from solutions chasing problems”, writes Forrester.
What sets Bannerflow’s solution apart in terms of functionality is its wide coverage of the majority of channels across different use cases.
Key functionalities across use cases of the Bannerflow platform include (among many others):
● Desktop and mobile: create and deploy ads optimized for both desktop and mobile environments.
● Paid social: seamlessly integrate and manage ads across social media platforms.
● Native advertising: design ads that blend naturally with the content on publisher sites.
Of the extended use cases Forrester has identified, asset management, ad serving, and cross-channel sequencing are pivotal use cases in modern campaign management.
These functionalities collectively ensure that campaigns are not only efficient but that they’re also effective in reaching and resonating with the target audience.
While many vendors offer solutions that address parts of this process, we feel Bannerflow stands out by integrating all three of these particular extended use cases into a single, cohesive platform. This integration ensures that advertisers can manage their campaigns more holistically, leading to better performance and higher ROI.
Download the full Forrester Insights report.
Future of the creative automation industry
Looking ahead, Forrester describes how the future of Creative Technologies in advertising is bright. Creative automation technology vendors within the industry must continue to balance workflow efficiencies with analytical capabilities, driven by AI and data insights. On the other side, advertisers will need to leverage full-funnel capabilities, from initial creative development to campaign execution, to stay competitive.
AI will, of course, play a crucial role in future advertising technologies, enabling more personalized and effective campaigns. By harnessing solutions that make use of AI, marketers can achieve better outcomes and ensure seamless integration between media and creative teams, leading to innovative and impactful creative content.
We feel it’s clear from Forrester’s report that Creative Technologies are not just a trend; they are the future of advertising. In our opinion, Bannerflow stands out as a leader in this industry, providing a platform that empowers brands to create, manage, and optimize their campaigns like never before. In 2024 and beyond, these technologies will continue to shape the advertising landscape, making it a more dynamic, efficient, and creatively fulfilling space.
Want to learn more? Access the full Forrester Insights Report to gain comprehensive insights into the evolution of Creative Technologies.
