It’s 2013. Now what?

Now that it’s January, we’re back to work and everyone seems to have a series of predictions on what the year will bring from a marketing perspective. Here are my top three:

1. Big Data Gets Small – There are many who are talking about the impact of data on brands and how marketers need to take advantage of this before the competition eats their lunch. Brands have spent the last few years gathering data on people via loyalty programs, purchase data, web and social media monitoring, and other sources. There is so much data in fact, we have no idea what to do with it. So what’s a brand to do? In a word, focus. The strongest, most profitable and longest-lasting customer relationships are the result of when we treat people as individuals. Big Data and trends are meaningless, unless we use this information at the one-to-one relationship level. Think about how we can use this information to add the highest level of value to John and Jane Smith to bolster our relationship with them. In 2013, we will continue the balancing act between the science and the art of marketing, with a greater focus on using data to make creative far more potent.

2. Agencies Will Accelerate Homogenization Between Marketing Channels – People do not live their lives by a media plan. We are all super-connected all the time. Traditional agencies are deeply involved in digital and racing toward experiential. Below the line agencies are broadening their expertise. 2013 will be the year when we start to stop using terms like “digital marketing”, “social media marketing”, “experiential marketing”, etc. It will all just be “marketing”. What was once called “Integrated Marketing Communications” (typically a linear process) has evolved into something that is more hyper-connected and real-time. We will see a much more aggressive approach to mergers and acquisitions, and everyone will claim to do everything. The strongest creative ideas, based on the most surgical strategic insights will be king, regardless of channel and be a key driver of differentiation and success.

3. Brand Experiences Will Grow – In a world filled with noise, and starved for breakthrough content to entertain, share and attribute to our brands, there will be an increased focus on brand experiences. Never before has the adage, “Experienced by few, witnessed by many” been more true. In 2013, the greatest challenge for marketers will not simply be finding that thing that goes “viral”, but finding a way for proper brand attribution and most importantly, monetizing this content. How can we take top-of-funnel activity and use it to drive sales? The answer is… <please feel free to reach out to Jack Morton to learn more about how we can help your brand succeed>

What are your thoughts on what 2013 will bring?