Five tips for better and safer advertising in 2023

1. Get ready for more European legislation

GDPR got off to a slow start when the legislation came into force in 2018. Data protection authorities in the respective countries were responsible for enforcement for a long time, which often led to slow decision-making processes. Over the past year, we have seen significantly more international enforcement of the legislation. This will affect Norwegian advertisers who have been used to special Norwegian legislation for, for example, obtaining consent. Consent legislation is now being coordinated across Europe, and the Norwegian Electronic Communications Act follows suit. European data protection authorities will likely do more automated checks of consent boxes in the future and fine quicker and more often.

Do you want a full overview of the changes in the rules for consent?

See the recording of Erik Bugge's talk at ANFO and Kobler's breakfast seminar this autumn with the theme: Privacy - what responsibility do you have as an advertiser? (In Norwegian)

2. Think long-term

This year, Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, reported falling revenue for the first time. The owner of Google, Alphabet, also experienced sharp decline in the stock market after reporting the Q3 figures. The weak results are partly caused by stricter legislation that gives companies less access to data, which weakens their business model.

This shows that short-term solutions can become expensive for even large, powerful companies like Meta and Google. Fighting to preserve an advertising model with the use of personal data to overcome constantly stricter privacy regulations is not sustainable. It's a race advertisers can't win.

As an advertiser, you should question how solutions you are presented with work long-term and whether first-party data is a sustainable solution in the future given increasingly strict legislation. By respecting customers' right to privacy, advertisers also facilitate for a healthy competitive environment, which all advertisers benefit from.

Will 2023 be the year your company gets organised for everyday life without cookies?

3. Emphasize quality when measuring effect

A recent study from the University of Southeast Norway (in Norwegian) shows that brands run a risk when chasing reach and impressions with traditional advertising solutions. Consumers often get annoyed and suspicious when they experience being tracked and monitored by social media platforms and brands advertising on them. This creates a negative attitude towards the brand.

2022 has taught us that even when it comes to effect, it is wise to have a long-term perspective. Instead of choosing advertising solutions based only on which generate the most impressions and clicks per money spent, you should consider what actually comes out of your advertising efforts. Contextual advertising solutions give you full control over the content and context in which the message is presented. Relevant content enhances the brand's message. The message hits the target audience while they are already concentrated and interested in the topic.

Kobler's contextual advertising platform gives advertisers full transparency. You can follow the campaign in real time and know for sure that your brand has not and will not appear in a context that can cause harmful associations. This is quality advertising that builds good, lasting relationships with customers.

4. Take your corporate social responsibility seriously

In a world that many people feel has become more unpredictable and uncertain over the past year, it is important that we as advertisers think about how we can contribute to more stability. Companies have an ethical responsibility to ensure that their operations and actions do not harm others. One example is the use of location data, which we have seen misused during the past year in the war in Ukraine. Be certain that the advertising services you use do not exploit location data from mobiles. We believe traditional advertising models contribute to the challenges we see today where advertising helps fund misinformation on social media.

Consumers get annoyed when companies try to use their personal data, monitor or bombard them with advertising. The design of most consent boxes today is a good example. Companies that want healthy sustainable growth and be profitable in the long-term must show that they care about both their customers and society.

5. Enjoy new opportunities in the coming year!

As stricter regulations drive new technology and new advertising solutions, the future offers opportunities to communicate better and more effectively. This is good for advertisers, consumers, and for society.

In Kobler too, we welcome progress. In 2022, Kobler was the only contextual player to gain access behind the paywalls of all publishers in Norway and Sweden. This allows our customers to advertise in content across media. Our service has also been directly integrated by most publishers. This gives us even better control of the inventory, for the benefit of the advertiser. Next year, we're making improvements to the platform that make its targeting even more accurate, provide an even better user experience, and make it easier to optimize campaigns to reach the advertiser's goals.

Kobler is also growing rapidly. This year we established an operation in the Netherlands. Next year we look forward to entering three to four new markets beginning with Denmark. This will help us give our customers a seamless advertising experience in multiple countries.

We hope you will join us on the journey!

Do you want to know more about contextual marketing?
Contact us, and we'll help you get started!