Predictions for 2013?

2
30 November 2012

Looking back at the marketing predictions made at the start of 2012, it seems the ones that carried most relevance were the proliferation of mobile and video content…

But what does 2013 have in store for us? This is the question I’ll be hoping to answer in a feature I’m going to be putting together for the magazine next month. And I’d be keen to hear your thoughts.

For what it’s worth, I think we’ll be hearing more about both mobile and video, with savvy brands investing in responsive sites and more polished video output. But those predictions are pretty safe bets.

If I were to stick my neck out further though, I’d repeat my belief that Google+ will continue to refuse to die. It will become increasingly relevant, whether its users like it or not.

I also think there’s a chance prince context may finally replace king content as our monarch. Though regurgitating these hackneyed phrases lost its appeal long ago, brands looking to create more personalised campaigns and experiences for their customers are going to have to start dishing up context-relevant content. Customers require different types of content at different stages of the buying cycle, at different times of day, and on different platforms. They’ll even differ depending on how old the target is, their sex and whether they’re in a good mood. If brands want to create the Nirvana of B2P marketing, they are going to have to start thinking more about context.

So this could lead on to things like greater marketing automation take up, more brands turning to crowd-sourcing and embracing public discourse, and, even, some brands starting to tackle the data issue they’ve been ignoring for so long.

Another prediction I’d make, and one that seemed pretty widely agreed upon at the recent B2B Marketing Conference, is brands that continue to be scared of trying new things, and spreading their digital wings, are going to start finding things increasingly difficult.

Now, over to you: what will we all be thinking about over the next twelve months?

 

2 comments
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Anonymous help

Alex, I think you are bang on

Alex, I think you are bang on with 'Prince Context' - and the Prince might have to address 'big data' and work out how to create context dynamically.

My prediction is that Google will get more clever, and provide a 'context API' that allows delivery of contextualised content (probably starting with Google Adwords) in display and search networks, and can mesh this with geo-targeting and also sliced by media type.

Google have already stated that they are looking at providing what could be termed a superset of tools on top of Google Analytics that focus on the person, rather than the visitor, and this will be a crucial tools in developing contextualised web ad mobile content.

And as you say, and as I mentioned in a blog here last week, Google+ will continue to become an increasingly relevant and tool - you only need to look at the increased CTR that search results showing a Google+ company page give: 17% CTR uplift, anyone?

Hi David, pleased to hear

Hi David, pleased to hear we're on the same page. I definitely think people are soon going to start expecting context-specific content, but how well equipped the average business is to deliver on this I'm not so sure... it requires a level of integration few currently possess...

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