Zenith has published a special edition report acknowledging that many areas of real opportunity for marketers have been developing over the past couple of years. The agency has clustered these areas under four headings:
Trust –
Brand communication in a post-truth world: Developing strategies and solutions for handling organizational communication in a world where fake news and alternative facts are common terms.
Inclusivity-
Brand purpose in an era of social protest: As a consequence of the growing adoption of brand purpose, advertisers have increasing confidence in aligning themselves with causes some of which have in the past been seen as controversial. Standing for something meaningful is a powerful marketing tool.
Rethinking targeting-
From Gen Z to perennial marketing: The secret to brand success is about identifying whom to target, with what to communicate and how to best convert to sales. Brands grow by increasing penetration not by getting existing buyers to buy more.
Immediacy –
Experience on demand: There is a rise of experience economy and the easiest way to improve the experience is through adding digital-based services to improve performance. Experience can improve brand performance across all stages of the consumer journey.
Artificial Intelligence: AI is a broad topic and has almost universal application across the business in 2018. While on a macro level AI is the engine that drives tech giants, on a micro level off the shelf solutions make AI actionable, accessible and applicable to many business tasks.
Seamless Interaction-
Shop as you view: Video platforms are making it easier to add shopping to video, whether through YouTube’s ads, Instagram Stories or Snapchat’s swipe-up as an e-commerce call to action. It is essential to add relevant shopping calls to action, without damaging the brand story.
The voice: For smart brands, it’s time to start thinking beyond virtual assistance-about true virtual companionship. Marketers will need to have a comprehensive data strategy in place to improve the value of their services.
