Written by Anne Bouleanu
The future of marketing will happen in 5G. That’s what’s been promised, but the question remains—when will the rise of 5G fully take place, and what will it look like? While tech advancements and achievements in digital marketing are indeed speeding up, a McKinsey study predicted that, considering the significant build-outs that will need to take place to foster 5G adaption, the industry shouldn’t expect 5G to gain traction on a large scale until at least the early 2020s. With just a few years to go before 5G takes the stage, now is the time to examine just how 5G will impact marketing and how advertisers can prepare for what’s to come.
THE 5G IMPACT While 5G has not yet been fully rolled out, many marketing experts expect 5G will be transformative. The latest 5G technology will be able to process significantly higher amounts of data at far greater speeds than current 4G devices. In December, AT&T announced they’ll be introducing a 5G hotspot with speeds 10 to 100 times faster than current 4G technology. As a result, more users will be able to access the internet on a greater number—and vari-
es and smart cities infrastructure.” As users can access content at a rapid-fire pace, marketers will have more opportunities to reach their target audiences. Conor Mason, principal of Punchkick, predicts the introduction of 5G will also affect user experience, consumer demands and data collection.
“marketers will have more opportunities to reach their target audiences”
ety—of devices at once. Consumers will be
“One of the biggest challenges with gather-
able to download everything from movies,
ing data from mobile users today is network
games and TV shows to virtual reality expe-
reliability—it’s tough to upload app data or
riences from their smartphones as well as
analytics data reliably when the user might
other devices, all at speeds that will greatly
be experiencing subpar network condi-
reduce loading times.
tions,” Mason said. “But 5G offers greater
Susan Borst, VP of mobile at IAB, emphasizes just how broad of a reach 5G will have, and as a result, how broadly it will impact marketing.
“As a result, more users will be able to access the internet on a greater number—” “While it’s easy to think of 5G’s impact on mobile devices,” Borst said, “What makes 5G
range, improvements to MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) for congested networks, and overall increased speeds to send more data quicker.”
INCREASING REACH While exciting, marketers are sure to face
so exciting is its on impact everything from
challenges when adjusting to 5G technolo-
mobile to so much more, including desktop,
gy, including meeting increased consumer
IoT, OOH, wearables, drone delivery, manu-
expectations and extending to one of today’s
facturing, analytics-driven retail experienc-
biggest marketing challenges—ad blockers.
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