Advertising Week New York kicks off next week. Last year, speakers discussed everything from Web3 to connected TV (CTV) to social media. This year, we’ll be watching for updates related to retail media, AI, and social media’s era of transformation.

1. Retail media will be top of mind

Our analysts will be covering the future of in-store retail media alongside experts from Colgate-Palmolve and Grocery TV. This isn’t a new topic for us, but with a projected 36.6% growth in US in-store retail media ad spend next year, it’s something advertisers (and retailers) need to be paying attention to.

Retail media and CTV partnerships are also worth keeping an eye on, as partnerships like the one between The Kroger Co. and The Walt Disney Co. or Walmart and Roku allow for an unlock of first-party retailer data on CTV, which will be a $29.29 billion ad channel next year, according to our forecast.

“I'm curious to see if there's any news on the retail media CTV front. Will any new partnerships be announced, or will any existing partners share compelling campaign results from their pilot studies,” said our analyst Andrew Lipsman.

2. AI hype is still alive

The hype surrounding ChatGPT and generative AI has faded some since earlier in the year, but advertisers and creators will be talking about this explosive tech.

“I'm sure AI will be top of mind,” said our analyst Paul Verna, who will be discussing how to make AI work for ads alongside eBay Ads.

“Expect a surge in discussions around how retail media networks can harness the power of AI to generate real-time ads, dynamically tailored to individual consumer behaviors and preferences,” said our analyst Jeremy Goldman.

3. Social media looks different now

During Advertising Week New York 2022, Elon Musk was about a month away from officially closing his Twitter takeover deal. Since then, Twitter became X and got a new CEO, Instagram released Threads, and Facebook has made changes related to news and ad targeting internationally.

As influencer marketing spend grows and the way users engage with social media changes, advertisers need to rethink their social media strategies. Advertising Week attendees can expect to hear about influencer marketing and authenticity on social media at the event.

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