Key Takeaways
- The next two years may bring the most significant changes in direct response marketing since the rise of the Internet. Companies that prepare today will gain a meaningful competitive advantage tomorrow.
- Connected TV (CTV) is rapidly evolving into one of the most profitable customer acquisition channels, combining television’s emotional impact with digital targeting, attribution, and measurable response.
- First-party customer data is becoming one of the most valuable assets a company owns. Businesses that build, segment, and intelligently leverage their databases will be positioned to outperform competitors.
- Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is becoming just as important as SEO. As consumers increasingly rely on AI assistants like Grok (xAI), ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot for answers, companies must optimize to become the answer—not simply another search result.
- AI advertising is beginning to emerge as an entirely new advertising channel. Early adopters who understand how to advertise effectively—and avoid common mistakes—will gain a significant advantage.
- Multichannel marketing is becoming even more powerful. Integrating CTV, AI, AEO, direct mail, email, search, social media, video, and first-party data into one coordinated strategy will dramatically improve customer acquisition and ROI.
- The companies that succeed won’t be those chasing every new trend. They’ll be the marketers who test carefully, measure relentlessly, protect their marketing budgets, and scale only what works.
For more than four decades, I’ve had the privilege of being at the forefront of nearly every major marketing revolution.
I’ve seen massive shifts come and go.
I’ve seen massive new trends fade away… and others explode.
I helped companies successfully navigate the birth of Internet marketing, search marketing, email marketing, and digital advertising.
Years ago, we recognized something many marketers overlooked.
Individual marketing channels work well.
But when multiple channels are strategically integrated into one coordinated campaign and linked to the same data, response increases dramatically.
In many campaigns, we measured response improvements exceeding 80% through multichannel marketing.
In fact, we were among the first agencies to champion multichannel marketing as a disciplined direct response strategy.
Today, I believe we’re entering another transformational period.
This one is even more exciting.
Not because of a single technology.
But because several powerful technologies are converging at exactly the same time:
- Connected TV
- Artificial Intelligence
- Answer Engine Optimization
- First-party customer data
- Advanced multichannel marketing
Together, they have the potential to reshape customer acquisition and profits over the next several years.
But here’s an important lesson I’ve learned.
Every marketing revolution creates two groups of companies.
The first group rushes into every new technology.
Too often, they waste valuable time.
They waste valuable marketing dollars.
And they become disappointed.
The second group takes a different approach.
They test carefully.
They measure relentlessly.
They protect their budgets.
They scale only what proves profitable.
Those companies become the long-term winners.
Technology alone has never created profits.
Proper direct response strategy, disciplined testing, careful audience targeting and intelligent execution create profits.
That’s why today’s opportunities are so exciting.
Not because they’re new.
But because marketers who understand them early—and implement them wisely—will gain an important competitive advantage while competitors are still trying to understand what changed.
At my ad agency CDMG, we’ve always believed in testing before recommending.
Today we’re helping marketers test Connected TV, implement Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), prepare for AI advertising, strengthen first-party databases, and build more effective and advanced multichannel customer acquisition campaigns.
Along the way, we’re learning what generates the most response and profits.
Just as importantly, we’re learning what doesn’t.
Here are six predictions I believe every president, CEO, and marketing director should begin preparing for today.
Prediction #1: Connected TV (CTV) Is Becoming the Most Profitable Customer Acquisition Channels
For decades, television was primarily viewed as a branding medium.
Large advertisers invested millions hoping consumers would remember their message.
Direct response marketers viewed television differently.
We wanted measurable response.
We wanted accountability.
We wanted to know exactly what worked.
Connected TV is rapidly changing those expectations by making it so easy, accountable and responsive.
Today’s CTV platforms combine many of the strengths of traditional television with capabilities that direct marketers have wanted for years.
Imagine being able to:
- Deliver emotionally compelling television-quality creative.
- Target specific audience segments with increasing precision.
- Reach households that closely resemble your best customers.
- Use your own database and target just it.`
- Encourage immediate response through QR codes and mobile devices.
- Measure results with far greater accuracy than traditional television allowed.
That’s why I believe Connected TV is becoming one of the most exciting customer acquisition or lead generation opportunities available today.
This isn’t simply television delivered differently.
It’s a new direct response medium.
Even more exciting, Connected TV doesn’t replace your existing marketing.
It strengthens it.
A prospect may first discover your company through a CTV campaign.
Later they receive an email.
They visit your website.
They see a retargeting ad.
They receive direct mail.
Each touchpoint reinforces the others.
That’s exactly how modern customer acquisition should work.
Why This Matters
Many marketers are still waiting.
They’re unsure whether Connected TV is “ready.”
I believe the better question is this:
Will your competitors learn how to use it before you do?
The results so far if done right are better than social media, digital ads, pre-rolls. ROAS are usually better than other media.
The companies that begin disciplined testing today will enjoy a significant learning advantage while others remain on the sidelines.
Prediction #2: First-Party Customer Data Will Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage
For years marketers invested enormous resources in building websites.
Improving SEO.
Growing social media audiences.
Buying advertising.
Those investments remain important.
But I believe something else is becoming even more valuable.
Your customer database.
Your buyers.
Your prospects.
Your former customers.
In the coming years, companies that aggressively build, segment, enrich, and intelligently use first-party customer data will possess one of the strongest competitive advantages in marketing.
Why?
Because privacy regulations continue to evolve.
Third-party tracking continues to become more limited.
Consumers increasingly expect personalized experiences.
Companies that own their customer relationships—not simply rent audiences from advertising platforms—will be positioned to outperform competitors.
Your database is no longer just a list.
It’s a strategic business asset.
One that can power:
- Better targeting.
- Better personalization.
- Better use of multiple platforms
- Better AI recommendations.
- Better Connected TV campaigns.
- Better customer retention.
- Better lifetime value.
Why This Matters
Every day that passes without intentionally building your first-party database is a missed opportunity.
The companies that begin investing in this asset today will benefit from it for years to come.
Prediction #3: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) Will Become Just as Important as SEO
For more than twenty years, marketers focused on one important question:
“How do I rank higher on Google?”
That’s still important.
But consumer behavior is changing rapidly.
Today, millions of consumers are asking XAI (Grok), ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Perplexity, and other AI assistants for direct answers instead of performing traditional searches.
Instead of scrolling through page after page of search results, they’re asking questions.
And expecting immediate answers and recommendations.
That changes the rules of online marketing.
Tomorrow’s winners won’t simply be companies with the highest search rankings.
They’ll be the companies AI platforms consistently identify as the most trusted, authoritative answers.
That’s where Answer Engine Optimization comes in.
Without it, you’re invisible.
AEO builds upon many of the principles of SEO.
But it goes much further.
It helps position your company so AI platforms understand your expertise, your authority, and your content well enough to recommend your business when consumers or businesses ask questions.
That’s why we’ve already begun helping marketers move beyond traditional SEO and use Answer Engine Optimization.
I believe AEO will become one of the most important competitive advantages of the next several years.
Why This Matters
The companies that become the answer inside AI-powered search experiences will gain a tremendous competitive advantage over companies that remain focused only on yesterday’s search strategies.
The future won’t simply belong to companies that rank well.
It will belong to companies that become the trusted answer for AI searches.
Without AEO you are invisible.
Prediction #4: AI Advertising Is Becoming the Next Major Advertising Platform
Artificial intelligence is already changing how consumers search for information.
It’s also fundamentally changing how companies advertise.
Most marketers still think of AI as a tool for research or generating images.
But its platform potential is incredible.
I believe AI will soon become an entirely new advertising channel.
Today, advertising opportunities are beginning to emerge within AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT.
Soon, I expect similar advertising opportunities to expand across other AI platforms.
That will create an entirely new way for companies to reach prospects—at the exact moment they’re asking questions, researching products, and looking for solutions.
Think about how different that is from traditional advertising.
Instead of interrupting someone while they’re watching a television show or scrolling social media…
Your message could appear while someone is actively seeking information.
That’s an extraordinary opportunity.
But it also creates new challenges.
AI conversations are different from search engines.
It’s a big difference.
They’re different from banner ads.
They’re different from social media advertising.
The marketers who simply copy existing advertising strategies into AI will be greatly disappointed.
Success requires understanding how consumers interact with AI assistants.
It requires testing.
Learning.
Refining.
And continually improving.
At CDMG, we’ve already begun helping marketers advertise within ChatGPT’s emerging advertising ecosystem.
Those early campaigns have taught us valuable lessons—not only about what works, but also about the mistakes marketers should avoid.
Those lessons will become increasingly important as AI advertising expands.
Why This Matters
Every major advertising revolution rewards early learning.
Not reckless experimentation.
Disciplined testing.
The marketers who begin understanding AI advertising today will have a powerful competitive advantage tomorrow.
Prediction #5 – The Biggest Competitive Advantage Won’t Be AI… It Will Be Knowing How to Use AI Correctly.
Every company has access to AI.
That alone won’t create a competitive advantage.
History teaches us an important lesson.
When new technology becomes widely available, the winners aren’t determined by who owns the technology.
They’re determined by who uses it most effectively.
The same will be true with AI.
Some companies will allow AI to produce generic marketing that sounds just like everyone else’s.
Others will use AI strategically.
They’ll combine AI with:
- Human creativity and emotion.
- Direct response principles.
- Scientific testing.
- Customer psychology.
- Audience targeting.
- Data analysis.
- Continuous optimization.
That’s where extraordinary results will occur.
AI should never replace strategic thinking.
It should enhance it.
It should make great marketers even better.
The companies that understand this distinction will outperform those that treat AI as a shortcut instead of a strategic advantage.
Why This Matters
Technology doesn’t replace experience or humans.
It amplifies it.
The marketers who combine AI with proven direct response principles will be in a far stronger position than those who rely on automation alone.
Prediction #6 – Multichannel Marketing Will Separate the Winners From Everyone Else
Years ago, we made an important discovery.
Marketing channels should never operate independently.
They should work together.
When we integrated multiple media into one coordinated customer acquisition strategy, something remarkable happened.
Response increased dramatically.
In many campaigns, we measured response improvements exceeding 80% compared with relying on a single marketing channel.
I wrote the first book on Multichannel Marketing: The New Multichannel, Integrated Marketing: 28 Trends for Creating a Multichannel, Integrated Campaign to Boost Your Profits Now.
That insight led us to become one of the early advocates of multichannel marketing.
Today, that philosophy is even more relevant.
In fact, it’s becoming essential.
The future isn’t about choosing between:
- Connected TV.
- AI
- Direct mail.
- Search
- Social media.
- Digital ads.
- Video
- Answer Engine Optimization.
It’s about integrating them.
Imagine this customer journey.
A prospect sees your Connected TV commercial.
Later they ask ChatGPT about your product.
Your company appears because you’ve invested in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
They visit your website.
They request information.
They receive helpful emails.
A personalized direct mail package arrives.
AI helps optimize the next message.
Retargeting reinforces the relationship.
Every channel works together.
Every message builds upon the last.
Every customer interaction becomes more relevant.
That’s the future of customer acquisition.
Not isolated campaigns.
Integrated customer journeys.
Why This Matters
The highest-performing marketers won’t necessarily spend the most money.
They’ll make every marketing dollar work harder by integrating multiple channels into one coordinated, measurable strategy.
Final Thoughts
I’ve lived through every major marketing revolution of the past four decades.
Some created enormous opportunities.
Others generated more excitement than results.
What makes today’s transformation different is that several powerful technologies are converging at the same time.
- Connected TV.
- Artificial Intelligence.
- Answer Engine Optimization.
- First-party customer data.
- Multichannel marketing.
Individually, each represents an important opportunity.
Together, they have the potential to redefine how companies acquire customers for years to come.
The question isn’t whether these changes are coming.
They’re already here.
The question is whether your company will lead and have the competitive advantage—or struggle to catch up.
Marketing revolutions don’t reward companies that chase every new technology.
They reward marketers who understand which innovations deserve testing, which should be ignored, and how to turn emerging opportunities into measurable profits.
I believe that’s exactly where the next generation of growth will come from.
Action:
Don’t Let the Next Marketing Revolution Pass You By
Every year, companies waste thousands—even millions—of marketing dollars.
Not because they have poor products.
Not because they lack talented people.
But because they invest in the wrong media, adopt new technology too late, or embrace it without a disciplined testing strategy.
The next two years will present extraordinary opportunities.
But success won’t come from simply adding AI, Connected TV, or Answer Engine Optimization to your marketing plan.
Success will come from implementing these innovations strategically, measuring results carefully, protecting your budget, and scaling only what proves profitable.
That’s where experience matters.
For decades, CDMG has helped clients successfully navigate major marketing changes through scientific testing, proven direct response principles, and measurable customer acquisition strategies.
That’s why we have won 125 marketing awards.
Today, we’re helping clients implement the transformational ideas discussed in this article, including:
- Connected TV (CTV)
- Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
- AI advertising
- First-party data strategies
- Advanced multichannel marketing
- Customer acquisition optimization
If you’d like to explore how these strategies could help increase leads, improve response, maximize ROI, and position your company for the future, call Michael at CDMG at 615-933-4647 or email him at [email protected].
He’ll schedule a confidential strategy discussion, review your current marketing efforts, identify your greatest opportunities, and show you how these emerging technologies can be applied to your business—without wasting valuable marketing dollars.
The future belongs to marketers who prepare today.
Now is the time to begin.
Note: Like to read the book on Multichannel Marketing?
Get my book The New Multichannel, Integrated Marketing: 28 Trends for Creating a Multichannel, Integrated Campaign to Boost Your Profits Now. Click HERE to order the book online.
You can also order it on Amazon, HERE.
Or get the audiobook version HERE, or on Kindle HERE.
You can also get an autographed version HERE or by phone at 615-814-6633 (M-F 10am to 3pm).
You can also send a check for $26.13 (includes shipping) payable to Media Specialists and send it to this address:
Media Specialists
1313 4th Ave N
Nashville, TN 37208
About Craig Huey:
Craig Huey is a Christian, political commentator, and marketing expert. He publishes The Huey Alert and hosts the Huey Alert Podcast with his wife Shelly.
Together, they stand at the intersection of faith, politics, and culture, helping Christians understand the issues shaping America today.
FAQs:
Q: What is Connected TV (CTV), and why are so many marketers talking about it?
A: Connected TV (CTV) delivers television programming through internet-connected devices such as smart TVs and streaming platforms. Unlike traditional television, CTV increasingly allows marketers to combine television’s emotional storytelling with audience targeting, attribution, and measurable response. For many direct response marketers, it is evolving from a branding medium into a highly effective customer acquisition channel.
Q: Is Connected TV only for large national advertisers?
A: No. One of the biggest changes in advertising is that CTV is becoming increasingly accessible to companies of many sizes. With improved targeting, flexible media buying, and better measurement tools, many direct-to-consumer companies, ministries, financial publishers, health marketers, and B2B organizations can now test CTV campaigns without the enormous budgets traditionally associated with television advertising. The key is developing the right testing strategy before scaling.
Q: What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and how is it different from SEO?
A: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps your website rank higher in traditional search results. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) prepares your content so AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, and other answer engines recognize your company as an authoritative source when responding to user questions. In the future, success won’t be measured only by where you rank in search results—it will increasingly depend on whether AI recommends your business as the trusted answer.
Q: Should companies abandon SEO and focus only on AEO?
A: Absolutely not. SEO and AEO should work together. Traditional search remains extremely valuable, and it will continue to generate significant traffic for many years. However, marketers should begin expanding their strategy to include AEO as consumer behavior shifts toward AI-powered search and conversational discovery. The strongest companies will optimize for both search engines and answer engines.
Q: Is AI advertising really the next major advertising opportunity?
A: We believe it is. AI platforms are beginning to introduce advertising opportunities that allow marketers to reach consumers while they are actively asking questions, researching products, and seeking recommendations. As these opportunities expand across additional AI platforms, advertisers who understand how consumers interact with AI—and who learn the best practices early—may enjoy a meaningful competitive advantage over companies that wait.
Q: What are the biggest mistakes marketers are making with AI today?
A: The biggest mistake is treating AI as a shortcut instead of a strategy. Many marketers simply ask AI to generate copy and publish it without applying direct response principles, customer psychology, or rigorous testing. Others assume advertising inside AI platforms will work exactly like search or social media advertising. Successful marketers understand that AI is a powerful tool, but it still requires human strategy, disciplined testing, and continuous optimization to produce exceptional results.
Q: Why is first-party customer data becoming so valuable?
A: First-party data includes information collected directly from your customers, prospects, subscribers, donors, and leads. As privacy regulations evolve and third-party tracking becomes more limited, companies that own strong customer relationships will possess a significant competitive advantage. First-party data improves personalization, strengthens AI recommendations, enhances CTV targeting, increases customer lifetime value, and helps marketers make better business decisions.
Q: Why is multichannel marketing more important than ever?
A: Customers rarely make purchasing decisions after a single interaction. Today’s highest-performing campaigns coordinate multiple touchpoints—including Connected TV, AI, AEO, search, email, direct mail, digital advertising, social media, and video—into one integrated customer journey. When each channel reinforces the others, companies often experience higher response rates, stronger customer engagement, improved conversion rates, and greater return on marketing investment.
Q: How can my company begin testing these new technologies without wasting money?
A: Begin with a clearly defined testing strategy. Establish measurable objectives, start with manageable budgets, test one variable at a time, measure every result, and expand only after you’ve identified profitable approaches. Avoid chasing every new technology simply because it’s receiving attention. The most successful marketers focus on disciplined testing, careful analysis, and continuous improvement rather than hype.
Q: How can CDMG help my company prepare for the next generation of direct response marketing?
A: Every company faces different challenges, opportunities, budgets, and growth objectives. That’s why there is no one-size-fits-all solution. At CDMG, we’ve spent decades helping organizations successfully navigate major marketing transitions through scientific testing, direct response strategy, and measurable customer acquisition. Today, we help clients evaluate Connected TV, implement Answer Engine Optimization, prepare for AI advertising, strengthen first-party customer data, and integrate multichannel marketing into profitable campaigns. If you’re looking for practical guidance—not hype—contact Michael at CDMG for a confidential strategy discussion. We’ll evaluate your current marketing, identify opportunities to improve response and ROI, and develop a testing roadmap designed to help you grow while protecting your marketing investment.
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