Around this time last year, many were hoping for the light at the end of the pandemic tinged tunnel. After 2020 shuttered office doors, in-store shopping and in-person events, 2021 promised vaccinations that could end the pandemic and return things to normal.
However, no one could have predicted the realities that 2021 brought with it, including everything from Apple and Google’s privacy crackdown to the surging preference for shopping online over in-store.
As another year of the pandemic sunsets, Digiday takes a look at the predictions versus realities of 2021:
More in Marketing
Connect, don’t absorb: Dept’s AI bet on orchestration over operating systems
Dept’s AI assistant already touches a fifth of its revenue. It wants 80% by next year.
WTF is containerization?
Containerization is suddenly everywhere in ad tech conversations.
The AI search boom is fueling content budgets before media buys
As brands chase visibility in AI search, many are reallocating SEO, content and creator budgets before investing in AI search advertising.