According to a study produced by IAB Brazil in partnership with Kantar Ibope Media, the national market invested R$ 16.4 billion in digital advertising alone in the first six months of 2024. Within this market movement, it is possible to identify the main strategies of the sector today and predict possible trends that are expected to dominate in the second half of the year and the beginning of 2025. This is the case of contextual advertising.
According to Bruno Almeida, CEO of US Media, a leading media solutions hub in Latin America, the approach will transform the future of the segment. “With Google moving to block third-party tracking cookies on Chrome, companies need to find ways to continue offering relevant ads without access to the data collected on sites outside their domain. Contextual advertising is the main one as it opens up new formats and possibilities,” he says.
How does contextual advertising work?
Cookies are personal information collected during visits to websites and shared with other companies, enabling personalized advertising. However, in the last four years, the discussion about blocking this data has advanced due to privacy risks for users and the growing regulations around the topic, causing many companies to abandon the approach.
On the other hand, with advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), contextual advertising has been gaining increasing effectiveness. Through this technology, the solution analyzes not only the textual content of the page the user is visiting but also contextual factors, such as geographic location and weather conditions. This allows the creation of solid and anonymous profiles to be used in displaying relevant ads, as it predicts intentions and behaviors with high precision.
According to Almeida, this structure benefits all parties involved. “For advertisers, it is a way to increase click-through rates and conversions, respecting regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). On the consumer side, trust in brands that respect their privacy is strengthened, and their experience is enhanced by receiving less invasive ads that are more aligned with their interests,” he explains.
Possibilities of applications of contextual advertising in the market
Currently, many companies already show great potential for applying contextual advertising in their business strategies. The US Media CEO cites examples such as Tinder, a location-based dating platform, and Fandom, a fan community that offers articles, guides, and forums on movies, series, and games.
In the first case, the executive points out that the application could collect data on users’ profile preferences to display targeted content. “For example, if a person shows interest in outdoor activities or mentions sports in their biography, they may receive ads for sportswear, camping equipment, or fitness events,” he notes.
As for Fandom, Almeida brings as an alternative the incorporation of native ads, which seamlessly integrate with the platform’s design and content. “We are talking about sponsored articles that talk about the behind-the-scenes of a movie or exclusive interviews with actors, which at the same time promote the purchase of tickets or streaming subscriptions,” he concludes.
