Top Digital Advertising Trends For 2019

This year will see exponential growth in advertising revenues from augmented reality apps as immersive computing continues to transform online campaigns. Other big developments in mobile advertising are on the horizon. Alex Khan writes on the six new trends we will see this year.

- Alex Khan

AUGMENTED reality (AR) is just one of several important trends that will come to the fore in 2019 as improving technology continues to provide creative marketing strategies. Here’s a look at the biggest trends to look for this year.

1. AR on the rise

It’s projected that half the world’s population will install some form of AR within five years, according to Digi-Capital, a Silicon Valley AR analyst. The returns will be in the billions, which is significant considering global augmented reality ad revenues registered just $166.7 million in 2017. By 2022 revenues from AR will reach $2.6 billion, with roughly a third of those revenues coming from virtual search.

Also in the sphere of augmented reality, games should make a strong comeback in 2019. After the wild success of Pokémon GO, which in 2016 became the fastest game to reach $1 billion in consumer spend, the AR games segment will be jumpstarted with the much-anticipated Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. When this free-to-play, location-based AR game launches this year, revenues could exceed $100 million in just 30 days, according to industry standard analytics source App Annie.

2. Mobile is King