Determining the optimal ways to allocate ad dollars for each brand they serve is a challenge for agencies each year. Much depends on variables, including each client’s industry, target audience and available budget. And in a digital marketplace, ever-evolving technologies and changes in consumers’ online habits make the puzzle that much more difficult to solve.

To ensure ad dollars are well-spent in 2023, it’s essential for agencies and brands to keep an eye on the latest trends in both digital and traditional marketing. Below, 14 members of Forbes Agency Council discuss where they believe ad dollars will be best spent in the coming year and how agencies can get ahead of these predictions.

1. Micro-Influencer And Affiliate Communities
More dollars will be shifted toward growing micro-influencer and affiliate communities. Not only are such communities cost-effective and measurable, but companies desperately need the user-generated social content they create, which can be repurposed as rich, engaging social ads. - Brooke Weller, REQ

2. Paid Social Media
The best way to reach the largest percentage of your audience is via paid social media, period. Paid social helps you reach a larger audience, and organic social helps you build relationships with your audience. Get ahead of this now by increasing your top-of-funnel ad budget so that when it’s time to drive mid-to-bottom funnel activity, you’ve got a strong list for retargeting.

3. Channels With Shorter Commitment Lead Times And Quicker Payback
In 2023, brands will likely gravitate toward channels with shorter commitment lead times and a quicker payback on cash. That means favoring digital over traditional channels such as direct mail and linear TV; however, the strong performance of traditional channels will force brands to choose. Agencies should be evaluating strategies and terms to provide the flexibility brands will be looking for. - Erik Koenig, SeQuel Response

 
4. Brand-Owned Channels
In the coming year, there will be more ad dollars put into brand-owned channels, primarily because it’s more cost-effective and provides brands with more direct communication with their customers. Moreover, the primary focus among owned channels will be a brand’s own mobile app, because it is the only channel that can provide one-to-one behavior personalization at scale. - Roger Hurni, Off Madison Ave

5. A Mix Of Online And Offline Formats
It depends on the target audience. It is important to understand the audience’s needs, habits and ways of getting information. A mix of online and offline formats works best. In terms of online, we are moving toward a no-cookie world and an increase in social commerce. Investments in influencer marketing will give the best ROI since this promotion channel meets modern consumer requirements. - Michael Kuzminov, HypeFactory

6. B2B Influencer Marketing Via Social Media
From what we’ve seen in 2022, paid advertising is losing traction. Fewer and fewer companies are seeing ROI from this channel. Pay-per-click is getting more competitive and more expensive and netting fewer positive results. Conversely, B2B influencer marketing is becoming a real deal, so I’d recommend looking into social media, as it feels more promising for businesses in 2023. - Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS

7. FAST Platforms
Smart advertisers are going to put more money behind free ad-supported streaming TV, or FAST, platforms in 2023. Consumers are moving more toward these platforms as they look for ways to trim their TV budgets. Agencies should include OTT streaming from free outlets such as Pluto and new ad offerings from Netflix and other platforms as elements of their awareness campaigns. - Mary Ann O’Brien, OBI Creative

8. A Mix Of Social Media Micro-Influencers And A/B-Tested Creatives
Utilize the power of micro-influencers on social media—primarily on TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels—to lower overall creative content costs and to allow larger, additional ad-spend dollars to be allocated toward the highest-converting A/B-tested creatives. Agencies should start reaching out to these creators now to lock in lower rates, as they are continuously and rapidly growing their audiences and rates. - Mark Cunha, My People Know

9. Connected TV
Connected TV is the biggest opportunity (and uncertainty) in the coming year. Connected TV finally makes the big-budget broadcast world accessible to smaller brands and companies. You can now buy a TV spot as a local business and target it to just your relevant audience. The question is how much the ad-supported version of our streaming channels will take off in the new year. - Mark Skroch, BCV Social

10. Digital, Social And Guerilla
A blend of digital, social and guerilla is the name of the game. Traditional media is no longer a must-have—it’s just a nice-to-have. But social, digital and guerilla are where creativity and smart marketing have to be crafted and combined to be both unique and shareable. Brands that go viral move the needle faster. Brands that go for reach or impression may survive, but they won’t thrive. - Monica Alvarez-Mitchell, Pulse Creative, LLC

11. Loyalty-Based Advertising And ‘Same-Store’ Marketing
We strongly believe that with a possible recession on the way, loyalty-based advertising and “same-store” marketing will top the list. Marketing to current customers will be more cost-effective, improve lifetime value and keep revenues coming in even after the recession has passed. Agencies should focus on omnichannel strategies to help drive repeat purchasing, upselling and cross-selling. - Bernard May, National Positions

12. Online Authority Boosting
My prediction is that ad dollars will be mostly spent on brand building and boosting online authority. This will be mainly done by guest appearances on podcasts and TV shows, featured articles in magazines and collaborations with big influencers. - Rudy Mawer, Mawer Capital LLC

13. Paid Social Plus A Diversified E-Commerce Strategy
Paid social ads are the way to go! But, you should always leave room in the budget for slight diversification. Spending some money on PR articles, some on SEO and the remainder on PPC is where we see ad dollars going. Paying for ads on Instagram, Google and TikTok is the best use for ad dollars, as we’re still seeing unreal results from an ROI perspective in the e-commerce space. - Drew Urquhart, Banch Marketing

14. Streaming Audio And Video
The programmatic space is where I see the most interesting opportunities, particularly streaming audio and video. No one needs to be told by now about the popularity of podcasts or the cord-cutting trend, but even some once ad-free services such as Netflix are now offering ad-powered subscriptions at lower prices to entice viewers. It’s a huge opportunity for highly targeted creative advertising. - Tellef Lundevall, Accelerated Digital Media