As we venture into 2024, the open web stands on the brink of transformative shifts. In this prediction, we delve into the significant changes anticipated for the year ahead, shaping the future of digital landscapes.

Understanding the trajectory of the open web – an ecosystem characterised by its accessibility, interoperability, and user-centric approach – becomes critical for ad tech companies seeking to stay ahead in a highly competitive market.

2024 will bring with it a heightened focus on transparency - largely driven by evolving international privacy laws, open web developments will not only mandate more transparent practices in digital advertising but will also build stronger trust with users. We may also see an increase in the use of decentralised technologies, like blockchain, to enhance security and user control over personal data.

Leading figures from across the industry share their predictions with ExchangeWire on what they expect to happen for the open web in 2024.

Curation and innovation will be the key to navigating the evolving landscape of the open web

New platforms and formats are consistently emerging across the open web, meaning advertisers have their work cut out to ensure they stand out - and this is before trying to optimise for great performance. Add to this the increasing focus on creating sustainable advertising and privacy, including the deprecation of cookies, and the open web will find itself under increasing financial pressure in 2024.

Fortunately, with new technologies such as curation reaching maturity, there are great opportunities for all players across the supply side to deliver increased value and enhanced experiences. However, buyers will need to adapt their action strategies to the new world of supply-side targeting and data usage in a cookieless world.

Active curation will do much of the heavy lifting so that even while 2023’s economic challenges may continue into 2024, the open web has the opportunity to thrive; delivering real value across the ecosystem.

Fern Potter, VP product & strategy, Multilocal

Ad waste will be prevented by a renewed focus on engaging and creative ad formats on the web

As we head into 2024, I predict a new, strengthened focus on quality and creativity. Whilst digital media continues to explode, we’re facing a real challenge - the attention deficit. Poor user experience is leading to colossal volumes of ad waste, with a report by CreativeX forecasting that the industry [will have] squandered $73 billion on suboptimal ads in Q4 2023.

To drive better performance for brands, while reducing ad waste (both emissions and ad campaign budget), the focus has to be firmly on intuitively engaging, creative ad formats, as well as optimising towards quality user experiences to make each impression count.

Under the umbrella of quality, marketers will need to focus on going beyond premium 'inventory' and monitoring factors such as meaningful attention, reducing ad density, and optimising a page's CWV (Core Web Vitals) scores, for factors such as page load speed.

Matthew Goldhill, founder & CEO, Picnic

Also published in: Exchangewire