5 Digital Innovations Changing Advertising and Marketing in 2015
Change is the only constant. Nowhere is that aphorism more applicable
than in the digital marketing and advertising space. Just think about
how much has changed since 2010. In the past five years,
we’ve seen the rise of mobile Web traffic, social graphs and
omnichannel marketing. What marketing and advertising innovations will
2015 bring? We asked a number of top marketing and ad executives what
they see coming down the line this year and here are the highlights.
Video Innovations
Socially integrated live-streaming video service Meerkat was the biggest app to come out of SXSW Interactive this year. “With all of the recent developments in video — Periscope, deeper Facebook integration, YouTube 360-degree videos — I’m excited to see what brands and consumers do with the new technology,” says Grant Owens, Razorfish’s Global Vice President of Account Planning. He points to the recent Meerkat and smart USA campaign as a good example of this.
Matt Rednor, CEO of Decoded Advertising, says brands need to consider silent video in their plans for 2015. “Autoplay on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter starts with the video muted and a majority of people don’t take the extra effort to click to turn on the sound,” he says. “As brands shift their spend to online video this year, they’re going to see that just running TV commercials online won’t work as well and will start designing for the flick, creating short-form video ads that people consume in their feeds without sound.” He predicts 80 percent of brand content on Facebook will be video and the network will be more effective than TV.
Snapchat and Messaging Apps
Social networking has taken a very personal turn in the past year with the rise of messaging apps and especially blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Snapchat. “For marketers, there’s ample opportunity for experimentation,” says Aaron Shapiro, CEO of Huge. “Two years ago, it was really just Facebook. Now we’re seeing a real explosion of social media innovation. It’s much more multidimensional than just collecting Facebook likes.”
Brands are sharing pics on Snapchat and messaging app Kik facilitates promoted chats with users. As of May 2014, 700 million photos and videos were sent on Snapchat each day; by comparison, Facebook averages more than 350 million photos per day and Instagram more than 70 million. (And Snapchat’s user base has grown substantially in the past year.) “If you’re not on Snapchat yet, you’d better start,” Rednor says. “And it’s not just teens anymore; more 18-34 year olds use it than any other platform besides Facebook and Instagram.”
Smartwatches
Messaging on smartwatches is tied directly to the popularity of messaging apps, Advertising Age reports. Personalized interactions with affluent, tech-loving consumers are where smartwatches will excel. Many of the initial apps for smartwatches were in categories you’d expect: flight trackers, maps, fitness, music, shopping lists. The Apple Watch is branching out with app integrations for Target, Honeywell and BMW.
With the release of the Apple Watch and evolution of smartwatches such as Samsung Gear and LG G Watch, mobile payments could start reaching critical mass, Shapiro predicts. Rednor is less convinced about smartwatches’ potential. “We can’t live without our phones and I can’t envision a scenario in which I’d leave my phone at home in favor of a watch,” he says. “So, if I’m always going to have the phone on me then what really changes?”
Anticipatory Design
Shapiro says Amazon’s Dash Button is just the beginning of the convergence of products and marketing. “More stuff in our lives is being automated and it’s a very powerful marketing construct,” he says. “Tide is a product, but by having the button on the refrigerator, Tide becomes a service too.” The next step is fully automated services — your calendar automatically orders you a car at the end of your meeting, for example.
Owens calls this the digital service economy — “many of the standard, expected brand engagements are becoming more personal, predictive and seamless on the backs of new technologies. Having to submit a query, choose from a drop-down menu or click a series of links will become less and less necessary. The things we need will simply appear.”
Research firm Gartner predicts autonomous mobile assistant purchasing will reach $2 billion annually by the end of 2016.
Smarter Retail
Shapiro says retail is entering a new cycle right now, “Stores are realizing they have to offer an experience in-store,” he says. Retail has to prove itself as more than just a fulfillment channel. “How can the store be an expert advisor to make the right product decisions?” Many stores are integrating beacon technology and employing shoppers’ personal phones to integrate the in-person and online experiences. “It’s fertile ground for innovation,” he says. Nearly three-quarters of retailers will increase technology spending on customer experience this year, according to Gartner.
What’s the common tie? Storytelling
The abundance of new technology doesn’t change the fact that consumers react most strongly to good storytelling. “The old model of a 30-second commercial hasn’t gone away,” Shapiro says. “It’s just in other forms. We’re seeing storytelling in innovative ways, through social media, content activated across many challenges.”
Some great examples are JBL’s #CordFail campaign, AT&T’s #SharetheSavings campaign and HTC’s Creatography campaign.
“In 2015, we’re already seeing brands truly mature on the major technology and social platforms. Marketers are getting comfortable and focusing on what matters most — good brand storytelling,” Owens says. “The major Q1 advertising events like the Super Bowl, Grammys and Oscars proved that brands aren’t just using social media and digital technology for technology’s sake, but rather deciding to use it because it helps convey their story.”
Video Innovations
Socially integrated live-streaming video service Meerkat was the biggest app to come out of SXSW Interactive this year. “With all of the recent developments in video — Periscope, deeper Facebook integration, YouTube 360-degree videos — I’m excited to see what brands and consumers do with the new technology,” says Grant Owens, Razorfish’s Global Vice President of Account Planning. He points to the recent Meerkat and smart USA campaign as a good example of this.
Matt Rednor, CEO of Decoded Advertising, says brands need to consider silent video in their plans for 2015. “Autoplay on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter starts with the video muted and a majority of people don’t take the extra effort to click to turn on the sound,” he says. “As brands shift their spend to online video this year, they’re going to see that just running TV commercials online won’t work as well and will start designing for the flick, creating short-form video ads that people consume in their feeds without sound.” He predicts 80 percent of brand content on Facebook will be video and the network will be more effective than TV.
Snapchat and Messaging Apps
Social networking has taken a very personal turn in the past year with the rise of messaging apps and especially blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Snapchat. “For marketers, there’s ample opportunity for experimentation,” says Aaron Shapiro, CEO of Huge. “Two years ago, it was really just Facebook. Now we’re seeing a real explosion of social media innovation. It’s much more multidimensional than just collecting Facebook likes.”
Brands are sharing pics on Snapchat and messaging app Kik facilitates promoted chats with users. As of May 2014, 700 million photos and videos were sent on Snapchat each day; by comparison, Facebook averages more than 350 million photos per day and Instagram more than 70 million. (And Snapchat’s user base has grown substantially in the past year.) “If you’re not on Snapchat yet, you’d better start,” Rednor says. “And it’s not just teens anymore; more 18-34 year olds use it than any other platform besides Facebook and Instagram.”
Smartwatches
Messaging on smartwatches is tied directly to the popularity of messaging apps, Advertising Age reports. Personalized interactions with affluent, tech-loving consumers are where smartwatches will excel. Many of the initial apps for smartwatches were in categories you’d expect: flight trackers, maps, fitness, music, shopping lists. The Apple Watch is branching out with app integrations for Target, Honeywell and BMW.
With the release of the Apple Watch and evolution of smartwatches such as Samsung Gear and LG G Watch, mobile payments could start reaching critical mass, Shapiro predicts. Rednor is less convinced about smartwatches’ potential. “We can’t live without our phones and I can’t envision a scenario in which I’d leave my phone at home in favor of a watch,” he says. “So, if I’m always going to have the phone on me then what really changes?”
Anticipatory Design
Shapiro says Amazon’s Dash Button is just the beginning of the convergence of products and marketing. “More stuff in our lives is being automated and it’s a very powerful marketing construct,” he says. “Tide is a product, but by having the button on the refrigerator, Tide becomes a service too.” The next step is fully automated services — your calendar automatically orders you a car at the end of your meeting, for example.
Owens calls this the digital service economy — “many of the standard, expected brand engagements are becoming more personal, predictive and seamless on the backs of new technologies. Having to submit a query, choose from a drop-down menu or click a series of links will become less and less necessary. The things we need will simply appear.”
Research firm Gartner predicts autonomous mobile assistant purchasing will reach $2 billion annually by the end of 2016.
Smarter Retail
Shapiro says retail is entering a new cycle right now, “Stores are realizing they have to offer an experience in-store,” he says. Retail has to prove itself as more than just a fulfillment channel. “How can the store be an expert advisor to make the right product decisions?” Many stores are integrating beacon technology and employing shoppers’ personal phones to integrate the in-person and online experiences. “It’s fertile ground for innovation,” he says. Nearly three-quarters of retailers will increase technology spending on customer experience this year, according to Gartner.
What’s the common tie? Storytelling
The abundance of new technology doesn’t change the fact that consumers react most strongly to good storytelling. “The old model of a 30-second commercial hasn’t gone away,” Shapiro says. “It’s just in other forms. We’re seeing storytelling in innovative ways, through social media, content activated across many challenges.”
Some great examples are JBL’s #CordFail campaign, AT&T’s #SharetheSavings campaign and HTC’s Creatography campaign.
“In 2015, we’re already seeing brands truly mature on the major technology and social platforms. Marketers are getting comfortable and focusing on what matters most — good brand storytelling,” Owens says. “The major Q1 advertising events like the Super Bowl, Grammys and Oscars proved that brands aren’t just using social media and digital technology for technology’s sake, but rather deciding to use it because it helps convey their story.”
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