As we approach the year’s end and reflect on 2023, our team at Slingwave is proud of the strides we’ve made in addressing complex attribution challenges alongside our clients and partners. 2023 product development efforts and themes included:

1. Online AND Offline – We witnessed an accelerated convergence of online and offline efforts, with customers grappling with and becoming even more sophisticated on the question of “traditional or digital?”  It wasn’t just the big players making waves; mid-market and smaller companies took steps toward aligning broadcast, radio, direct mail, and other channels with digital metrics in a more agile fashion, creating unified attribution models representing a new frontier of media decision making

2. Media Mix Modeling – Predictive modeling in the form of Bayesian time series Media Mix Models has risen to the forefront.  In 2023, our partners embraced an always-on, agile MMM process, transforming what was once an annual slideware presentation into a recurring bi-annual, quarterly, monthly, or more frequent exercise. In addition, the outputs of these models became more accessible and actionable by the teams making day to day buying decisions and media optimizations.

3. Advertiser Clean Rooms- Amazon Marketing Cloud and G Ads Data Hub experienced increased adoption and are poised to become even more pivotal as buying consolidates within walled gardens. These tools offer a haven for advertisers and data science teams seeking insights in a privacy first environment.

4. GA4 Transition- The arrival of GA4 brought its fair share of disruptions, sparking conversations and reevaluations across the industry.  GA4 transition has also unlocked new opportunities, particularly with the integration of BigQuery data transfer for attribution.  With more privacy and tracking changes coming in 2024, Slingwave will be leaning into GA4 in the year ahead to best leverage Google’s evolving web analytics and data capabilities.

5. TV Journey- Connected TV buys proved to be an intricate dance for advertisers, with mixed results in attribution and a nod to the importance of more advanced measurement including MMM and matched market geo experimentation. The expansion of media mix to include CTV at an increased level marked a strategic move forward, particularly for performance marketers working to move into upper funnel tactics.

6. TikTok(!)- While old news to many, surprisingly, many marketers are still exploring scaled TikTok investments for the first time.  This channel solidified its role in the mix in 2023, with brands finding pockets of success and learning to better optimize spend.  While its significance is undeniable, buying tools remain limited relative to Google, Meta, Amazon, and others.

7. Shopper Marketing- Retail media networks became front and center this past year, and with them new challenges, including new walled gardens and a pay-to-play dynamic that blurs the line between organic and paid impacts. CPG brands dove further into these networks in 2023, and the most advanced advertisers applied informed incrementality adjustments to right size their ROAS metrics.

8. Amazon- No 2023 recap would be complete without acknowledging Amazon’s pivotal role this year.  Ecommerce clients leaned heavily on Amazon, and our predictions point to an even more significant role in the year ahead. With Prime Day events becoming bigger and more ubiquitous, AMC presenting new measurement opportunities, and high quality media opportunities including Prime Video/CTV, Amazon is poised to take a greater share of investment in the year ahead.

Thank you, partners, for a successful 2023.  Congratulations on your marketing successes and growth. Looking forward to navigating 2024 together— with new opportunities in MMM, experimentation, and AI— here’s to more changes, challenges, and triumphs.

Best wishes for the year ahead.

-Team Slingwave