So what were the stickiest marketing trends this year? And will we even be talking about them next December? Or will we be saying “That was soooo 2013.”
Same time next year or 15 minutes over? Absolutely here to stay. Content is not only king; it is queen, offspring, and grandbaby. In fact, the content supply/in-demand ratio is clearly weighted towards overabundance, assisted by hordes of talented online writers working for cheap or free, and smarter mechanisms to distribute content to marketing platforms. In other words, the digital sky’s the limit.
Same time next year or 15 minutes over? Despite the media attention, I believe prankvertising will land somewhere in the middle. Like most trickery and outrageousness, it only works in small doses, and for the right situation. It can just as easily backfire if too frequent, feels forced, or crosses that blurry offensive line.
Same time next year or 15 minutes over? If the New York Times is any barometer, that would be an unequivocal yes. A number of ethics questions are still to be sorted out, however, particularly around quickly and clearly identifying that these articles are paid advertising. The FTC is considering measures to clamp down on the fuzzy lines. It will likely remain a controversial practice until publishers, marketers, journalists and regulators come to some sort of happy medium, which is not expected anytime soon.
Same time next year or 15 minutes over? In the not-to-distant future, responsive design will be the “new normal”. Most original and templatized sites will build in this capability by next December. Similarly, the pressure is on for all businesses—from consultants to online retailers—to get with the mobile imperative or say goodbye to their mobile-wielding consumers, who are only expected to increase in 2014.
Same time next year or 15 minutes over? So not over. Marketers will continue to widen their myopic attention to social networks, get smarter about integrating social media into their overall strategy and, like the content trajectory in 2013, focus on quality over quantity.
Happy Marketing in 2014!
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