In recent years, a drastic transformation of the marketplace has been triggered by the large scale global boom of technology. Despite a substantial proportion of business prevailing in the form of material barters, digital markets have steadily emerged as an increasing number of consumers rely heavily on online shopping for almost every possible requirement. Especially with the outbreak of the global pandemic, the world was forced to recalibrate its mode of doing business to remote and virtual platforms.

This trend has been further strengthened by the advent of numerous user-friendly electronic wallets, which facilitates a complete transaction available on the click of a mouse. With the rising shift of the customers to the online space, the need to digitize marketing and advertising strategies have also arisen in contemporary times.

Online advertising has evolved into the most dynamic form of marketing, with almost every industry adopting digital marketing strategies to gain traction among consumers. Video advertising has become one of the most essential online marketing tools for any organization. Invideo helps startups to create your brand image through an ad in a short interval of time. Information technology has permeated every facet of our lives, and the commercial sector is no different. Therefore, the only way to be on top of the competition would be to innovate traditional marketing practices with digital inputs. 

Why do we need ad tech?

With the changing behavioral patterns of the consumers, there has been a tectonic shift in the industrial landscape, primarily spearheaded by technological advancements. Today, for every small activity, the consumer involves the internet. Be it deciding where to go out for business lunch or what to wear on a date night, the internet has become an indispensable partner to almost every consumer in their daily decision-making process.

As consumers keep feeding in more data about their tastes and preferences, the internet curates the consumers' specific needs to the appropriate vendors in its enormous database. This creates an all-encompassing nexus between the buyers and sellers without the need for physical contact. Therefore, the trick of acing digital marketing would be to ensure that your product does not escape the browser's attention and, by extension, the customer's attention. In technical terms, this practice is called search engine optimization (SEO).

One of the most vital tactics deployed by companies to enhance their SEO performance is by flooding the online spaces with adverts in abundance. Innovative use of technology is the only way to make your advertisement count and consequently outperform the competition.

The year 2020 boosted improvements in digital marketing strategies with the increased use of artificial intelligence, data-driven inputs, and big data. This, in turn, has accorded business ventures with the most profitable platform for generating greater revenues per click. Enriching advertising with technology is the ideal way to optimize internet traffic.

Skillful use of ad tech entails services like website development, SEO, SEM, Social Media, Email Marketing, Analytics, Content Development, Chatbots to develop advertisements that will be an integral part of the consumer's consideration. This can essentially be accomplished by first generating traffic, engaging the visitors in the desired behaviors, and finally converting them into customers by generating revenues. You can check this guide out to see how startups can leverage the use of social media to generate more traffic and improve engagement.

For instance, for a website like OLX, the search engine will initially optimize the consumer's consideration set by matching the product's attributes with the generic keywords; the engagement process would then entail selling or purchasing a listed product; and finally, using persistent digital inputs to compel the consumers to create an account, which in turn will become a successful customer retention module.

What does the future hold for ad tech?

CMO by Adobe predicts exponential growth in the ad tech industry by 2023, relying heavily on the plethora of e-commerce platforms and increased consumer dependencies on these in accord with the ongoing lockdowns. With digital marketing coming to the forefront, several promising trends are influencing the Ad tech industry.

Restricted access to cookies on account of data privacy regulations have bolstered the use of creative ad tech campaigns to make inroads into consumer data platforms.

Additionally, ad tech firms are breaking out of mono-channel advertising strategies to unify divergent advertising channels to enhance visibility and make a lasting impression on consumers. An ideal digital marketeer maneuvers ad tech to make the most of programmatic marketing, mobile and video advertising, and personalised digital adverts - thereby expanding reach and upscaling creative inputs.

From meandering around privacy norms and increasing the ethical use of "first-party data" to creatively unifying diverse screens and platforms for advertising strategies, the ad tech industry can expect to record a significant overhaul in the coming years. To capitalize on these promising trends, there are numerous ad tech start-ups in India that provide bespoke services to ensure that your advertisement leaves a mark for its technological brilliance and unique content across every screen.

Some promising ad tech startups in India:

ADZ Junction Media: This Gurgaon based Ad tech firm since 2007 has infused fresh energy into the digital advertising space by including technologically advanced mobile marketing solutions and incorporated some unique web content strategies to onboard over 100 clients, ranging from e-commerce, gaming, and many more.

Aristoma: 'Simplicity' and 'accessibility' are the two pillars on which Aristoma's success thrives. Based in Raipur, Aristoma has expanded to India's major metropolitan cities, offering 360-degree digital marketing solutions and engaging unique ad tech techniques to make the advertisements for their clients stand apart. They have made a name for themselves in creating captivating brand ideas for the top companies in India across industries.

DigiVigya: Visualized as a one-stop solution to all marketing requirements of India's corporate world, DigiVigya facilitates the shift from traditional advertising strategies to a more digital outlook at par with global standards. They have worked closely with MNCs like Dentsu and M&C Saatchi.

Do Your Thng: Taking the emergent space of ad tech to another level, DYT has launched an online application that allows independent content creators to collaborate on and help unique ideas to germinate for homegrown and established brands. DYT also provides holistic management support to ensure maximizing your brand's potential.

Globale Media: Since 2014, this ad tech firm has leveraged customer experience by customizing the digital marketing strategies to suit the specific portfolios and have already partnered with industry giants like Flipkart, Oyo, Hungama, Myntra, and Rapido.