Bin The Words ‘The Digital Age’ – 2014 Marketing Trends
As we move towards 2014 with quiet optimism after a few years of cynicism and fear, we are now settling into a new way of working.
This year has seen personalised Coca Cola bottles, the realisation of horsemeat, Netflix being the first choice for TV series platforms, the Royal baby, the #askjpmorgan/#askBG (British Gas) debacles and twerking.
Embracing What Is Now The Norm
One thing that has been set in stone over the past year is acknowledgement that the ‘digital age’ is not something reserved for those who have a keen eye on technology, but the way that we all work and interact.
The words ‘digital age’ is now something from 2010, not a phrase that has its place in the coming year. What it now represents is another way of saying ‘it’s what builds our identities and credibility’. Or more simply ‘the way we do things round here.’
2014 Marketing Trends
The ‘way we do things’ has encouraged a more augmented way of working that promotes creativity and the power of an idea. What the digital age has now moved into is a world where platform usage is encouraged to apply what we stand for and have a voice in places we were once not familiar with. Imagination and perhaps using traditional media in a new light can pave the way for cutting through the same old messages and broadcasting the merits of your product over the competition.
The power of an idea can stem from ingenuity injected into campaigns from whatever end of the investment spectrum. Have a look at this recent campaign where a billboard becomes a flytrap (and highlighting the increasing influence of real time marketing).
To the opposite end of what can be more cost effective is the sign that was outside my local sandwich shop, where a car had driven through the front window a few weeks before. To read more from the original article and read the message, click here. Creativity will always have a place to gain attention.
The ‘way we do things’ age is now part of our lives. Just look at the channels we consume content that are now seen as the norm. From 4 billion number of hours watched on YouTube per month to the growth of the tablet market (tablets now outsell desktops and laptops), the word ‘digital’ can now come to represent mass market acceptance, it’s part of the norm.
A World Where Content Is Curated & Shared
The digital platforms we now use represent a two-way dialogue to share, converse and build relationships. We can passively consume and take the role of a nosey neighbour (where we don’t interact, just watch and observe) or we can actively participate in conversations and opinion where others understand what we stand for with the aim to build an audience who are willing to participate with our point of view and know, like and trust us. We do this by producing content that is on our terms and on the platforms that we have ownership of.
Whilst we are still slightly cautious of what 2014 and beyond holds, there has never been a better time to take control and build a world that we control and immerse with others and recognised as an authority. In the words of Leonardo DiCaprio and his role as Calvin Candie in Django Unchained, ‘you had my curiosity, now you have my attention.’
