Consumers will demand more meaningful experiences from brands that interact with them on digital platforms, according to a series of predictions for brand marketing in 2014 delivered to The Guardian Media Network.
A panel of brand marketing experts, including figures from ad agency AKQA, ad network Droga5 and youth communications agency Thinkhouse, have spoken on what areas brands need to focus their attention on to succeed in 2014.
One common theme across the board is that in an increasingly crowded environment, brands need to exert rigorous quality control in the bid to stand out or risk becoming – as AKQA’s James Hilton puts it – ‘digital landfill’.
Hilton calls for an end to what he calls ‘pointless’ social campaigns and poorly thought out apps, delivering his hope for a focus on quality.
Elsewhere, panel members cite a need for more meaning, predicting a backlash against ‘manufactured renditions of reality’ influenced by reality shows like Made in Chelsea and TOWIE.
Ben Romberg, social media director at Tug echoed this with his vision of brands with vivid ‘online personalities’. The digital landscape is the perfect setting for brands to showcase their personalities, bringing their products and services to life through a distinctive tone of voice. And as technology advances and digital platforms continue to diversify and add new functionality, this opportunity is only going to increase.
As the potential to connect with audiences grows, Emily Cramp, managing director, Thinkhouse, believes that becoming creators and publishers of ‘engaging, clever and bitesize content’ will continue to be important. ‘Speed, humour and personality will help brands shine’, Cramp added, expanding on how brands can support business growth by connecting with followers on social channels in inventive new ways.
Delivering content on the popular image-centric platforms such as Twitter, Vine and Snapchat should be an increasingly important part of the brand marketing toolkit for 2014. It’s a roadmap that invites brands to step up and diversify their content marketing approach.
The brands that stand out are likely to be those that are bold enough to experiment with new formats – honing the 140-character tweet, establishing a presence on Snapchat, or creating inspiring 15-second video spots for Instagram.
In many ways, 2014 looks set to be the year of mastering the art of brand storytelling through content. While many marketers have by now honed their prowess at engaging seamlessly through Facebook and Twitter – the next chapter involves extending that narrative with text, imagery and video content delivered across platforms. Those that create personalities that shine online will be ‘most likely to succeed’ at engaging new prospects in 2014.
