8 DIGITAL TRENDS FOR 2018

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1 8 DIGITAL TRENDS FOR 2018 Whether you re prepared with a kickass 2018 digital marketing strategy or not, we know how challenging it can be to keep up with new tech, trends, and techniques that help you and your team deliver the best results. We ve put together the Top 8 Trends for 2018 that you need to know about in the coming year. The importance of technology, building consumer trust and authenticity, and tapping data insights for personalized engagement can all be found, right here.

2 1 EXPECT EVERYTHING TO BE PERSONALIZED 2018 will be about shifting the customer relationship to deep depths with real-time dynamic personalized engagement. Almost every single brand interaction will be personalized, especially on the go with responsive geolocation targeting via mobile personalized s will no longer cut it. We ve entered the era of advanced audience insights. Brands will not only know the best time and place to target consumers, but they will possess a complete understanding of their customers likes and dislikes, searches, social and purchase history and their preferred way of communication. 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer that recognizes them by name, recommends options based on past purchases, or knows their purchase history (Source: Accenture) With the success and effectiveness of personalization proving its value to marketers last year, it should be a priority for marketers to get right in 2018.

3 2 HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR ONLINE/OFFLINE SHOPPER JOURNEYS Seamless customer journeys across channels are expected amongst shoppers who are becoming channel agnostic when it comes to buying online. The term omnichannel has been around for some time and retailers in particular have seen success in creating frictionless experiences, however getting shoppers into physical stores and connecting the online/offline journey still remains to be a challenge. In 2018, marketers in other sectors such as automotive will begin to start using online and offline data to inform omnichannel campaigns that understand customer preferences and channels of choice. This will allow personalization to be activated with precision, resulting in optimized budgets and measurable marketing spend. This will also mean marketers will need to unlock their first party data to understand existing customer behavior in more detail and leverage it to influence online and offline interaction.

4 3 ACCELERATED ADOPTION OF AI & MACHINE LEARNING Last year we saw AI adoption become a necessity across all industries in order to deal with the enormous volume of data created. Across the travel and retail sectors, AI will become a bigger component of the customer experience, both online and in store. In digital advertising, marketers will use AI to analyze customer data and provide personalized behavioral insights. Going forward, AI will be used to facilitate personalization to another level through techniques including audio and visual recognition, meaning creativity and intelligence will converge to deliver campaigns that even Black Mirror didn t see coming. By 2020, 85% of customer interactions will be managed without a human. (Source: Gartner) On a practical level, AI is set to be useful in helping measure and compare campaign ROI around new techniques vs. established channels a matter that brands are still struggling with.

5 4 EVOLUTION OF DATA-DRIVEN STRATEGY As the consumer tech landscape evolves, customers needs are becoming more progressive and their expectations are fetching new heights. There is an expectation that brands engaging with them will deliver personalized communication no matter the channel nor device. This year we re likely to see more marketers stepping up their data game to meet the mark. Whilst switched on marketers adapt to a data-driven marketing approach we ll see a shift in the usage of data platforms and providers. In 2018, savvier marketers will demand clean and fresh data that is actionable in realtime to communicate with customers in the moment. UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER INTERACTIONS ACROSS ALL TOUCHPOINTS IS THE NUMBER 1 CHALLENGE FOR MARKETERS (Source: Forrester & DMA) Effectively employed data-driven strategies will deliver successful, personalized and multi-channel brand experiences to only highly engaged customers, therefore optimizing budgets and delivering better ROI.

6 5 DEMANDS FOR CONTROL, TRANSPARENCY AND CONSENT In 2017 we all witnessed digital advertising encounter several bumps when it came to control and transparency, most notably the troubles for Google and YouTube. With brand powerhouses such as P&G, L Oreal and Nestlé having publicly spoken up about their concerns, proclamations of commitment to tackle brand safety have frequently been published from the likes of Facebook, Google and others. Brand safety, ad fraud, and viewability will continue to be a priority for both brands and the industry - a united front will be essential to collectively raise standards will also continue to see brands taking back more control and demanding more transparency from their agencies. Many will also join the growing group of brands who are successfully building their digital capabilities in-house. This could be the year where we see the beginnings of the brand/agency relationship mutating. And let s not forget, this is also the year of GDPR coming into action. In preparation for May 2018, consent will be at the top of the list for marketers as the fines for non- compliance are crippling. You can read more about GDPR in our simple guide, click here to access.

7 6 VOICE ACTIVATED MARKETING NORMALIZES One of the most impressive developments and implementations in technology we have seen over the years is voice activated marketing. Last year we saw a surge in popularity for smart-speakers such as Amazon s Echo and Google Home, with an estimated 67 million voice-assisted devices to be in use by 2019 in the U.S alone. As digital assistants such as Siri, Alexa, Cortana and Google s Assistant normalize in consumers day-today lives, marketers will begin using voice activated marketing to interact with consumers in a natural, conversational way. In 2018, marketers will need to get to grips with a consumer landscape where touch points transform into listening points, which means they ll need to be great at creating content that captures voice search and is delivered as a positive experience. Over 50% of searches by 2020 will be via voice. (Source: ComScore)

8 7 MOBILE DOMINATION CONTINUES Across the globe, mobile devices dominate total minutes spent online. Marketers will need to cater to the exponential growth of consumers who now use smart phones and tablets as their first or only device. Information gleaned from consumer preferences, behaviors and interactions will be used to personalize individual brand experience, therefore helping marketers deliver specific personalized ads to hit specific goals or conversions. Mobile will also be a significant enabler for brands wanting to create stand-out content to surprise and delight consumers, supporting the onset of new campaign creativity and exclusivity. Particularly, we will see more use of mobile specific AR in campaigns. For example, location data being used to trigger specific AR content available only in certain locations.

9 8 INFLUENCER MARKETING TAKES A BACK SEAT Whilst the rise of ad blockers and decline in TV drove the popularity of influencer marketing over the past few years, many brands are either finding it difficult to justify the increasing cost or understand the ROI on influencer marketing, particularly in the retail market. Beauty and health bloggers and influencers are set to continue in steadility popularity in However in other sectors, spend on influencer marketing is set to decline and move towards more organic channels of promotion. One of the biggest challenges in 2017 was increased restrictions and regulation - followers must be made aware that what they are viewing or watching is a paid for ad and for influencers to signpost affiliated content. For this reason, we are set to see budgets return to more conventional methods and new authentic methods of brand affiliations.

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