It’s coming to the end of the year, brands are building up to that Christmas push before toasting to another fine year of business. Well – hopefully a good year of business. There have been a series of trends growing throughout the year which have transformed brands’ fortunes in 2014.
We take a look at the top marketing trends that have been successful for brands this year, and will give plenty a very happy Christmas.
#1. The End of Desktop
The desktop is dead – long live the desktop. Mobile is becoming our main port of call for online activity nowadays with one in every five people across the globe and two thirds of Americans now owning a smartphone. So it seems common sense that it should be every new business’s first step and every existing business’s priority to having an engaging mobile site.
A mobile site of course makes it easier for consumers or potential clients to browse your site, whilst a mobile optimized site will also sit well with Google, who rank mobile sites more favorably.
#2. Brand Ambassadors
Brand ambassadors have been an integral part of business in 2014, whether they be sportstars representing casino brands or simply customers spreading the word about their experiences on social media.
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has formed a formidable partnership with PokerStars creating viral videos, taking part in tournaments, and even going head-to-head with football legend Ronaldo in The Duel which has created a heavy media buzz as it gets closer to the date in November.
It’s a method that certainly gives brands an edge. It builds trust, authority, and in this case, a lot of excitement transforming your brand from the ordinary to a truly interesting company.
#3. Snackable Content
Because of mobile’s new influence, we’re becoming more and more reliant on shortened down, snack-able content. The attention span of a user, particularly when on-the-go, has dramatically decreased.
A fine example of this is the use of Vine in marketing now. We’re more likely to see a Vine video posted and shared from a brand like Samsung, than a campaign based around a two minute video advertising their mobile. It’s less likely to be shared on social media, whereas their basketball video posted back in June last year has looped round almost a quarter of a million times.
Alongside Vine, Instagram and Pinterest are also hugely influential, with Pinterest being a great tool for standing out. Take the Honda Pintermission campaign, it was put together on a shoestring budget but earned numerous awards last year and set the tone for Pinterest marketing.
#4. Wearable Tech
The wearable is slowly making its way into the public imagination, and brands are beginning to catch on. The Christmas period will of course boost the sales of the likes of the Samsung Gear 2 and Google Glass which will kick-start brands marketing push.
One brand already doing that – and having great success – is Nike. The Fuelband has revolutionised the way people keep fit, syncing the Fuelband to a mobile device, capturing data including speed, distance, and how many calories have been burnt off.
The Nike+ software has over 28million users, and is the perfect example of how brands can capture the imagination of its audience, and with wearables set to take off further – that figure is only going to rise.
#5. Market Real Time
Whether it’s during a sports match, a national holiday, or during the American Idol finale, engaging with fans in real-time can spread the word of your brand considerably. Since the 2013 Super Bowl, brands have looked to Oreo as the company that got real-time marketing up and running.
During the game, the floodlights went out, with Oreo tweeting their now infamous “You can still dunk in the dark” post. Now you’ll see posts on everything from Thanksgiving to National Dog Week, and it’s a brilliant way to get your brand shared to potentially millions of customers.
Images: ”year 2014 changes to 2015/ Shutterstock.com“
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