5G is one of the most anticipated technological advances of this decade. People often talk about how it will revolutionize the digital era and the benefits it will bring to industries such as health, advertising, and entertainment. But what is it exactly? And how will it impact us?
Business Insider columnist Héctor Cueto says that 5G “is telecommunications’ jargon for fifth-generation mobile phone technology. In practical terms, it’s 4G technology’s successor.”
Created to facilitate human communication and connection to the digital world, the arrival of this emerging technology is set to change the way we interact with our surroundings and with technology. 5G aims to improve our current mobile broadband services to enable them to simultaneously support several services and connected devices. This will allow greater accessibility and connection speed and will change the behavior of several service-based industries, ranging anywhere from health and mobility to marketing and entertainment.
5G is capable of transmitting 10 gigabytes per second, which is 100 times faster than 4G. According to Digital Trends, it is so fast it can exchange information in a millisecond. Its speed will revolutionize the marketing world.
With 5G, consumers will be able to download movies, games, TV shows, and virtual reality experiences to their smartphones and other devices much faster and more easily, without needing a Wi-Fi network. Upload speed will also mean better quality communication between users, which will boost video calls, online games, and live streaming. Better upload times mean advertisements and data collection will be more effective and 5G will, therefore, significantly reduce bounce rates and increase click-through rates. All of this combined will lead to a closer connection with consumers.
Rebold, a data analysis-based marketing and communication company, believes 5G will change advertising in the following nine ways:
- Advances in data analytics: will benefit brands who perform real-time analysis of large amount of data, allowing them to optimize and adjust their marketing campaigns faster. When implementing more aggressive data-driven campaigns, they will achieve a closer connection with consumers, providing greater value while also boosting their brands.
- Hyper-localization: easier access will allow a greater number of geographic areas to be interconnected. Not only will this benefit rural areas and favor smart city development, it will also enable us to have a more precise idea of people’s location and traffic from a specific place. With this, we can create better fragmentation and better target marketing messages based on location and interactions.
- More demanding customers: the speed with which users will be able to obtain information will increase their expectations. They will increasingly prefer brands with one-click options for making purchases or requesting services. Brands should therefore invest more in customer service if they want to avoid being penalized by their consumers.
- Wireless environment: will affect purchase methods and the type of advertisements on cable TV.
- Video domination: video formats will become the most attractive content, generating 77% of internet traffic according to PuroMarketing. Live streaming will have higher definition and because its content is shared in real-time, users will feel like they are actually there. This will transform the way some events are marketed.
- Growth of eSports: online videogames will evolve significantly. Broadband will enable multiple players to connect simultaneously without affecting the game and streamed videogames will be played from any device. Brands will need to focus on generating new business opportunities with this new and evolving community.
- All surfaces will be screens: all surfaces with a wireless 5G transceiver will become an interactive marketing medium, which means any device with these characteristics could be used for marketing. Brands should aim for interactive and adaptable formats to reap greater communication success.
- Augmented reality: as the superimposition of high quality interactive and intelligent images become available in more places (store windows, mobile devices, car dashboards, etc.), the consumer relationship with products will be more real and “tangible.” For example, it will allow a person to visit an online clothing store and try on an item before making a purchasing decision, creating a much more complete and persuasive experience.
- Voice marketing: many users employ voice commands to perform basic tasks on their devices, such as making calls and doing searches, writing messages or even dictating them. This makes them more inclined to receiving marketing information in the form of voice messages.
This advance is certainly a great leap forward for technology and humanity. Are you ready for it?