"Change or Die!"

It was already clear in the welcoming speech by host Stefan Wagner, Managing Director of Goldbach Audience, and co-host Alexander Horrolt, Managing Director Goldbach Digital Services: The twelfth Online Advertising Day is all about augmented reality, automation and data-driven marketing.Afterwards, industry experts Jens Pöppelmann, Martin Hubert, Matthias Sala and Uli Weissbrod presented the latest achievements and trends in online business.

Jens Pöppelmann, Director Media Operations IP Germany/Media Group RTL, started off by clarifying various questions about the transparency of the systems. For example, whether this transparency can be guaranteed in the face of increasing automation, or which key performance indicators still play a role in media planning.

Martin Hubert, Managing Director Nugg.ad and VP Advertising Zalando Media Solutions, provided insights into data-driven marketing with facts and the presentation of smart technologies.

Reality and virtuality mix

After a short break, things got playful and serious: Matthias Sala, CEO and founder of Gbanga, explained that mixed reality games are strongly on the rise and can be perfectly used for advertising. As an example, he showed a video of the Mercedes chase in Zurich, where a Mercedes recently chased the players. Using smartphones, they learned their next destination or a so-called safehouse - this time a department store - where they were invulnerable to the chasing Mercedes. Those who were not chased and eliminated in the game app advanced - one of the players even to the point of winning the Mercedes. "This is an example of how advertising can be today to reach the target audience," said mixed reality professional Matthias Sala.

The customer is addressed much more personally

In today's mixed reality apps, the real environment and virtual reality are mixed in such a way that the player experiences an immersion. "With immersion, you're so immersed in the game that it's almost reality for you - you feel like you're really in a flower meadow, for example, but you're only wearing data glasses. Simply put, mixed reality connects transitions - you feel part of the whole and, when it comes to advertising, you are addressed much more personally than before. The buying decision is made more often that way." Speaking to Advertising Week, the Gbanga CEO told us that his company is in a position to choose the attractive projects: "With Mixed Reality, we offer something new that motivates us a lot. Every game has our heart and soul in it. You can feel that, just like when I read a novel, I can feel if the author is just reeling off another story, or if it's written with passion."

Gloomy forecast with great truth content

Uli Weissbrod, a journalist and developer of media projects, presented a rather gloomy but all the more realistic forecast for the future of print media. He started right away with a kick in the stomach pit: "Change or Die is the motto - there is no alternative!" he proclaimed. Those who don't understand, or even want to understand, the fundamental transformation of media society are disappearing. "On the ranking list of leisure activities, TV, radio, mobile telephony, Internet and landline telephony are at the top, while "time with the partner" ranks second to last, ahead of sleeping," said Uli Weissbrod.

"Content needs to be shared and opened"

Traditional craft and industry would continuously disappear, investments partly made "for the wastepaper basket" - such as the launch of People magazine: "Nobody was waiting for another People magazine, the project was doomed to fail from the start."

The only remedy is new strategies: "Content must be shared and opened up. The days of gatekeepers saying stop are over. The sharing culture is becoming stronger and stronger." The winners would be media that specialize in niches and cater strongly to their readers: "General interest is over, special interest is in demand. Relevance beats reach - the traditional media houses are losing circulation, while websites such as "Correctiv" stand for independent, investigative journalism and are successful with it."

His tip: Publishers should stop whining, leave their ivory towers and finally - if not already too late - face the current challenges. Uli Weissbrod: "At the beginning of the 1990s, publishers should have asked themselves what the future would bring. Instead, many just smiled about the online development. They didn't have a plan B - and when the development became more and more rapid, they went under - while the 'threat' had been there for a long time, visible and noticeable - but almost no one cared." Conclusion: Those who want to survive, and advantageously survive successfully, must adapt to the changing needs, if they have not already done so for a long time. (mgl)

Header image: Alexander Horrolt, Martin Hubert, Uli Weissbrod, Jens Pöppelmann, Matthias Sala and Stefan Wagner (from left).