A difficult 2023 for many but let’s look forward to 2024 – a Happy New Year to all our readers

Adland might be said to have come through 2023 in reasonable shape (well it’s still here) but, post pandemic, there are a new set of problems: high inflation, low growth and a media ecosystem (online) that everybody knows is woefully inefficient, even fraudulent sometimes, but too many people are making money from it for it to change.

Geopolitical problems – war in Ukraine and Gaza and the possibility of conflict over Taiwan – are beyond anybody in adland’s capacity to change but they affect the industry nevertheless, particularly in terms of energy-fuelled inflation.

But there have been some shafts of light this year; some new and old-established creative agencies have made an impact, there are some signs that advertisers have not forgotten entirely about the benefits of branding.

What remains a worry is the impact of AI: some believe it can turn marketing and advertising into a precise science, others think that’s akin to five chimps writing the works of Shakespeare if they had long enough. AI would probably be quicker.

Let’s hope 2024 still leaves room for humans.

A Happy New Year to all our readers, wherever they are in the world (and you’re everywhere, or so Google Analytics tells us.) Especially our Partner Content partners and the many people and companies who have generously donated (top right hand corner home page, if you’ve forgotten.)

Have a great holiday and many thanks.

MAA team.