
Our Predicted Top Ten Digital Trends for 2015, No Crystal Ball Required
So here they are, Show+Tell’s long awaited predictions of the top ten digital trends for 2015; in no particular order but kicking off with a biggy.
Content Marketing
2014 was the year that content marketing transformed the face of marketing communications forever. Now the emphasis is for brands and businesses to create experiences that consumers will remember, using their already available platforms such as website, blogs and social media channels.
Brands and companies have learned the value of the visual. Copy heavy narrative no longer works for the reader, who prefer to engage with imagery, video and animated content. Visual content is far more digestible and is much more likely to be shared.
With brands pushing experiences rather than plain messages, the age of the storyteller has once again come to light. Brands are using emotive and relatable stories to speak to their target audience. Take for instance, HSBCs recent TV and online campaign ‘The Pink Ladies’; a story where three old ladies with pink hair donate their saving to their young hairdresser who dreams of being a fashion designer.
Wearable Tech
2015 will be the year that wearable technology will actually kick off. After the farce of Google Glasses, we hope for better times ahead and with the impending release of the Apple iWatch, we hope we have treat in-store. But the Apple watch will only be the start of thing to come, as it is predicted that in 2015, 79 million wearables will be sold and that number is set to triple by 2017. Big competitors for the iWatch include Google’s range of Android Wear and Fitbit’s latest range of fitness technology.
Near Field Communication
In 2014 we saw the use of contactless payment creeping into our lives and this is set to continue. In the future, not only will our credit and debit cards become contactless, it is predicted that smart phones will become our next form of currency. By 2017, it is believed that half of today’s smart phones will be using phone payments.
Personalisation
2015, we predict that personalisation of an individual online experience will happen increasingly more. Due to the heightened use of algorithms there will be an increase in hyper personalise ads in and around your web page. Marketing campaigns will use a use a mix of retargeting and location tracking algorithms to anticipate and respond to a consumer every need, delivering a more cohesive experience. So prepare to be targeted.
Mobile
The age of mobile marketing is upon us. With an average of four out of ten consumers do more search and internet browsing on a mobile rather than a desktop. Which makes mobile marketing critical point of influence in a shopper’s experience, which should be a key reason to revaluate their campaigns. The challenge now is for marketers to continue to find ways of condensing media which translates on to a 3-inch screen. We’ve got some ideas, so look out 2015…
Real Time
Several key examples highlight how all brands and companies now need to operate in real time such as, Ellen Degeneres and the Oscars selfie, Kim Kardashian’s arse and the Pepsi Vs Coca-Cola Halloween ‘ad off’. As borders and time differences are clouded by the swell of social media, brands and businesses can’t ignore the ‘right now’ and the millisecond you have to react. This has been reflected in how some companies are choosing to run their businesses. For Example TBWA are now a 24 hours ad agency to face the real time trend head on.
Original Video Content
More and more brands are using original video content drenched with emotion and positivity to drive shares. A company sharing original video content is a way to show customer appreciation which helps build that all important relationship between brand and consumer. A great example of a huge global brand using original video content to reach an audience, is Dove and the real beauty campaign, their film which features real women, talking about how they feel about their looks and has been viewed more than 65 million times on YouTube.
3D Printing
3D printing: the future, which no longer belongs as an echo in a science fiction film. 3D printing is very much with us and will be used increasingly more as we creep along into our 20-teens. 3D printing will translate the digital world into the real world.
Internet of Things
First of all, Internet of what?
The Internet of things (IoT) is a network of objects embedded with sensors which have the ability to communicate digitally. The result, the ever increasing information networks are creating new business models, improving business processes and reducing costs. IoT is fast becoming a thing of now and not the future, with a predicted 4.9 billion ‘things’ in use by 2015 and 25 billion by 2020. IoT can be used for field operation devices which assist fire-fighters in search and rescue, heart monitoring implant and help fridges to reorder milk all on their own!
And finally….
Augmented Reality
“Augmented what” I hear you cry… ‘Augmented reality’ (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified by a computer. The result, the technology functions by enhancing your current perception of reality. With a predicted 2.5 billion AR mobile apps to be downloaded by 2017, soon we’ll be saying experiencing is believing rather than seeing is believing.
So there we have it, there’s our top ten Misty Meg predictions for the Digital world in 2015. Next week, the lottery numbers.
Ciao for now!
Show+Tell