AWNewYork 2024 Report: A Journey to Manhattan’s Heart

• Posted October 22, 2024 by Jasper Poon

From October 7th to 10th, 2024, I had the chance to attend ‘AWNewYork 2024’ (Advertising Week), hosted in Manhattan, the beating heart of New York City. 

Even after an 18-hour flight from Tokyo, my excitement for this vibrant city never wavered. New York’s fast-paced energy greets you the moment you step off the plane.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of Advertising Week in New York, where experts from MarTech, advertising, creative production, and digital marketing converged. As one of the largest global advertising conferences, the four-day event was packed with seminars, networking opportunities, and cutting-edge tech experiences.

AWNewYork 2024 was held at Manhattan Hall in the Penn District, just 500 metres from the iconic Empire State Building and only a 15-minute walk from Times Square.

Seminar: 7 Key Stages Defining Advertising

• Tech Stage – Focused on the latest developments in MarTech, AdTech, data, and AI.
• Media Stage – Delved into evolving media strategies and the future of media development.
• Innovation Stage – Similar to the Tech Stage, but driven by the rise of GenAI, with an emphasis on how MarTech and AI intersect with creative innovation.
• Creativity Stage – Highlighted success stories and explored creative mindsets in advertising production.
• Great Mind Stage – The largest stage, with over 200 attendees, featuring advertising strategies presented by major tech and advertising giants.
• Marketplace Stage – Focused on eCommerce and retail innovation, especially the changing landscape of consumer behaviour.
• Insight Stage – Provided expert commentary and trends on the state of the advertising industry.

Each seminar lasted 30 minutes, and I made it a point to attend over 30 sessions across all seven stages, covering a wide range of topics including influencer marketing, eCommerce operations, media, politics, and pop culture. With my background in data and privacy, I was drawn to the MarTech sessions. Rather than summarising each one, I’ll dive into three key themes in data and advertising that stood out and are shaping the industry’s future.

Targeted Advertising – “Advertising is about reaching the right audience, with the right message, at the right time.”

In today’s world of big data, this principle has become more relevant than ever, as data-driven strategies form the foundation of modern decision-making. To build an effective audience database, advertisers primarily rely on two types of data:

First-party data

Collected directly from users, first-party data combines behavioural information with contextual and sign-in signals, offering high accuracy and personalisation potential.

Third-party data

In the North America markets, numerous providers offer access to third-party behavioural data, which advertisers can use for performance measurement and campaign optimisation.

With a large database, you can segment your audience and deliver personalised content. The secret to resonating with your audience is understanding them.

“Give your audience what they need, and take away what they do not need.”
— David Meltzer on the session of “Shakespeare’s Secret to Marketing”

Once your campaign is live, it’s important to analyse performance and focus on the audience with the highest engagement. At AWNewYork 2024, experts highlighted that more engagement leads to higher conversions. If your content fits into the audience’s world, engagement will naturally grow.

Without a deep understanding of your audience, your ads will likely just annoy them.

Connected TV (CTV) – A New Trend in Targeted Advertising

In the US, more than 80% of households own at least one internet-connected TV device. Unlike traditional TV channels, OTT (Over-the-Top) platforms, such as Netflix and Disney+, offer on-demand content available 24/7. This shift is transforming how people consume entertainment.

I attended a breakfast conference hosted by VIZIO Ads, an OTT platform, where they explained how these platforms increase audience engagement by using data-driven recommendations. VIZIO offers advertisers mass reach, precise targeting, and measurable results through their platform.

VIZIO’s Perspective on OTT Platform’s Strategy:

• Collect more data on user preferences to understand what content they enjoy.
• Use machine learning to analyse user behaviour and predict what they might watch next.
• Recommend personalised content to improve user experience (UX) and engagement.
• Ensure users feel resonated with the content and platform, which encourages ongoing subscriptions.

At the conference, I also learned that major platforms like Disney+, Netflix, and HBO Max are using data to predict audience preferences. With the vast amount of user data available, targeted advertising is becoming the next big trend in CTV. 

For example, Netflix’s recent introduction of an ad-supported plan signals how OTT platforms are not just embracing advertising but are actively evolving their business models to integrate highly targeted, data-driven ads.

Privacy-centric Advertising – “We don’t need to know who the audience is, but we want to understand what they’re looking for.”

During a discussion on the future of privacy in advertising, Katie Ingram (Left), Director of Advertising Week, and Lisa Martinez Gilpin (Right), Director of Global Go-to-Market Privacy Sandbox at Google, highlighted the challenges and opportunities for advertisers in the evolving regulatory landscape.

As privacy regulations like GDPR and ITP grow stronger, the advertising industry faces significant challenges. 

With signal loss expected to impact up to 70% of audience data, advertisers are grappling with a future where traditional tracking methods may no longer work. Signal loss refers to the decreasing availability of third-party data, which has historically allowed advertisers to track and target users across platforms.

Google, as the largest advertising platform, is leading the charge toward privacy-centric solutions. The company has conducted thousands of tests to develop new methods that balance personalisation with privacy. 

First-party data and technologies like Data Clean Room are becoming essential tools for advertisers aiming to maintain effectiveness in this changing environment. 

Partnering with SaaS providers can also help businesses navigate these transitions.

In the end, advertising isn’t about identifying who your audience is, but understanding what they want and targeting similar interest groups. This approach keeps ads effective while respecting privacy.

Tech Experience Booths

AWNewYork 2024 wasn’t just about seminars; digital giants like Meta, TikTok, Netflix, and other tech providers used their booths to showcase cutting-edge products that reflect the rapidly evolving advertising landscape.

Among all the booths I visited, I’d like to highlight the Meta booth.

Among the many booths I visited, Meta’s stood out with two groundbreaking products: Meta AI and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, both of which are currently unavailable in Japan and other parts of Asia. The booth also featured case studies on how Meta supports businesses with promotion, highlighting the significant impact Instagram Reels has had on the platform.

Meta AI goes beyond traditional AI assistants like GPT. Not only can it answer questions, but it also allows users to upload portraits, which Meta AI can transform using its AI-powered features, adding a layer of creativity to the user experience.

The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses combine a voice assistant, camera, and headphones into stylish Ray-Ban frames. These glasses could redefine how users interact with their surroundings while staying connected, pushing the boundaries of immersive technology.

While these innovations are not yet available in Asia, experiencing them first-hand at AWNewYork 2024 underscores how the US remains at the forefront of tech advancements. Events like this offer invaluable insights, allowing us in Asia to anticipate and prepare for the future of digital innovation.

Networking Parties

The 4-day event was filled with exciting tech showcases and several invite-only networking parties, and I was lucky to attend a few. One standout was the party hosted by Google Privacy Sandbox, where media and tech leaders gathered. They discussed how Privacy Sandbox tackles the challenge of balancing targeted advertising with privacy protection.

“Keep quality content on the internet and let advertisers pay for it.” – This statement from the party perfectly captured the spirit of both the event and the party.

Eladio Carrión, American rapper of Latin trap and reggaeton

On the final day of AWNewYork 2024, American rapper Eladio Carrión and Grammy-winning group Latin Mafia performed for all participants.  Their performance provided a perfect finale to wrap up the 4-day conference in the vibrant heart of Manhattan.

Conclusion

This was my first time attending such a large conference outside of Asia. Unlike the typical PowerPoint presentations and detailed case studies used to inspire industry audiences, most seminars here felt more like talk shows. Similar to late-night shows in the US, but with the focus shifting from comedy to technology discussions.

I was truly amazed by the passion of the tech experts, who were eager to share their ideas. In this age of online learning and GenAI, there’s little we can’t learn remotely. However, attending a major conference like this gave me a deeper understanding of trends in the US, which are bound to influence Asia sooner or later.

Compared to its early years, this year’s Advertising Week placed a much stronger emphasis on GenAI, data-driven strategies, and MarTech. These are undeniably the future of advertising.

Right now, everyone is talking about AI and machine learning, but without solid, reliable data as a foundation, how can these higher-level architectures be built without collapsing? Data collection is like the foundation of a construction site. Only with a quality base can we build towering structures like the Empire State Building or One WTC. In this analogy, data is like the foundation of a construction site, and the visible masterpieces we construct are AI, machine learning, and targeted advertising.

As I learned at AWNewYork 2024, “Advertising is about reaching the right audience with the right content at the right time.” – This simple yet powerful insight perfectly summarises the vision of the advertising industry today.