The digital era brought with it a revolution in the way brands communicate with their audience. Data from a recent Warc survey highlights that social media is currently the largest advertising channel, expected to surpass $247.3 billion globally in 2024. This represents a 14.3% growth compared to last year.
Furthermore, another study, this time by GWI, indicated that time spent on social networks increased by 50% in the last ten years. The average daily consumption would have jumped from 95 minutes in 2014 to 152 minutes in 2024. This means that the platform connecting Generation Y (the Millennials) with generations Z and Alpha is no longer television, but the online experience of social media.
Furthermore, just a few days after the first round of municipal elections across the country, there was an evident social, political and customary transformation resulting from the role of “influencers” and the power of social networks in forming and consolidating opinions among all audiences and ages, each with their own network of 'personal preferences'.
According to Merrill Lynch data, the largest transfer of wealth in history is underway, led by Generation Z and their successors, who will inherit more than $84 trillion in assets.And what do all these data mean? To be direct: money has changed hands, society has changed the way it communicates, so either you understand these changes and the desires of the new generations who have increasing purchasing power, or you are doomed to failure in the medium term.
For several years now (especially after the pandemic), building a strong brand presence is no longer a matter of "talking to the young audience" or "offering Customer Service 3.0," but a fundamental practice for the company's survival. To make this need and change even clearer, you know the television, the one that, if you are over 30 years old, was the family's great companion? Well, she has already begun her migration to social media—and I don't mean that she will have a Facebook profile, but that television will undergo its greatest change in history with TV 3.0, which is scheduled to start in Brazil next year.
With TV 3.0, broadcasters will be able to offer different programs simultaneously for specific audiences, based on the viewer's profile, which will be monitored in real time through algorithms. This suggests that TV 3.0 will have a level of personalization that conventional TV does not have. So, turning on the TV will be like watching thefeedof social networks.
In Brazil, keeping an eye on these trends and on TV 3.0, Rede Globo is also innovating in the field of advertising. The company launched GloboAds, a platform that offers a variety of advertising solutions for brands. Additionally, it also featured Binge Ads, new attractions in the multiplatform programming, and new FAST channels.
Alongside this change is the phenomenon of artificial intelligence, fueled by Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Meta, for example, has been investing heavily – and often in a less obvious way to the general public – in AI. Recently, the company announced the international expansion of Meta AI, an AI assistant that allows users to access real-time information through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Additionally, Meta launched the AI Sandbox, a "test area" for advertisers to experiment with new AI tools.And it also gained popularity in specialized circles in recent days with its new augmented reality and AI-enabled glasses made with Ray-Ban, which— it was discovered—forcefully capture everything we see in our homes and lives to train its own AI with data, if we want to use the functionalities offered by this technological innovation.
Meta is one of the iconic examples of a 21st century company that has embraced and rapidly led these social and market transformations, as are, to a greater or lesser extent, all of the “Magnificent 7” on the American NASDAq and their Chinese peers/competitors.
These AI initiatives are transforming the way brands interact with their consumers. Now, brands can create personalized content, respond to customer questions, and even predict market trends in real time. In this way, they are able to understand the needs and desires of their audience in ways previously impossible, and all of this directly in thefeedsocial networks, a place where consumers interact using a multitude of personalities, which merge into the “I” of our physical-digital personas.
My final message is quite simple: it is no longer possible to separate real life from digital, as they are in increasingly full symbiosis and integration. With artificial intelligence no longer confined to science fiction movies and becoming a daily tool, adapt quickly or prepare for irrelevance among your clients. Welcome to the world of Revolution 4.0.
