Trends affecting your brand in 2015

Things are changing rapidly and affecting the world of marketing in a big way. More than ever, bringing value to experiences and moments that matter to each client requires developing an  understanding about each of them as individuals.

Protecting the brand promise involves being very disciplined with your communication efforts – touching customers with the right message when it matters to them most, across all channels, in real time. This is no easy task. Creating engagement like this is a huge challenge to manage, but it will start becoming the norm in 2015. Leading companies are already making changes to people, processes and technologies.

Below, are the top seven trends we see making their mark in 2015.

1. Redefining “Responsive”. This does not just mean having a responsive site or answering an email within the hour, it goes much deeper than that and must be pervasive in every aspect of your firm. In 2015, people are expecting quick, fluid, seamless, and flexible arrangements. If you can keep up, this provides a relevant experience to your audience that will not go unnoticed. This will continue to grow in 2015.
2. Mobile will continue to rule the world, especially for the young.  How we buy and consume entertainment, goods, and advertising will all begin to pass through the mobile arena—smartphones, tablets, and other devices. We cannot leave the house without our phones anymore. It is predicted that mobile search will pass traditional desktop and laptop activity by 2016, though the ROI on mobile search might not as high as on desktop. For now. Apple Pay and other types of mobile pay are on the rise though it is important to note that people will still pay with cash and credit. Changing this requires a fundamental shift in consumer behavior. It is like getting your 81 year old grandfather to start online banking. We’ve all been doing it for years and years, but trying to convince him that it’s a good idea is another story altogether. But no matter, that generation is not our future. Mobile is.
3. Healthcare, or aging-related businesses, will continue to grow. The only major expenditure that grows as we age is healthcare, and their related industries. Everything else goes down. People have been saying this for years, and it’s getting stronger each year. This is not changing in 2015.
4. People, places and objects will be more connected than ever…and done remotely. Technologists for years have been talked about the Internet of Things (ioT) becoming more commonplace. This could be big business in 10 years. People are adding technology to every room in their home, office, and vehicles. Wearable trends like Google Glass and FitBit have put an emphasis on tech and functionality, not necessarily on aesthetics or style. Hard to say if those are here to stay but we do think that being “connected” in some fashion
5. People want to consume as much as they can, as efficiently as they can, but their attention is fragmented. Consumers are reducing what they spend or changing their habits rather than getting rid of things altogether. Getting streaming media or watching TV on demand is what consumer are expecting so they move to Netflix and Amazon Prime, away from basic cable. Expect the number of people without a phone land line to continue. The desktop is slowly going away. People are skeptical of promotions and offers (QR Codes have been saddled with mistakes like expired offers or the codes not scanning properly). Consumers are being hit with all kinds of content, but they are engaging in multiple things at a time – often unrelated to what they are watching or doing.
6. Our actions suggest that privacy and security concerns are not that big of an issue. Actually, it is a big issue, but consumers do not tend to be scared off. Increases in digital activity are expected grow in every category and form in 2015, regardless of all the major breaches and the theft of so much personal information. Security breaches and concerns are not predicted to derail this digital growth, even though they keep happening. Consumers are worried about it but actions do not suggest a major shift in behavior.
7. Quality over quantity. Every time. But here is the problem: People are consuming more, and in some ways they seem less discerning (reality shows, obsession with celebrities).  We are also moving from “ads as content” to “content as ads”. Are we going in the wrong direction with content whereby every piece of communication must have an agenda? Or we are simply getting overloaded by the sheer volume and audacity of content?  At Industrial Brand, we like to stress relevance over quantity. We agree with proper segmentation and building trust by adding value to our client’s lives. Tell your audience what they want to hear. Don’t waste their time. Less is more.

We want to guard against reaching a point where consumers start to ignore everything. The tips regarding the big trends above should help us all stay in track and meet consumer demand.

Here’s to a great 2015!