What does it all mean?

2014
What does it all mean?
A collection of thoughts on what
may (or may not) shape the year
ahead.
December 2013
Photo: NASA JPL ESO/L. Calçada
2014
What does it all mean?
What does it all mean?
What’s on the horizon for 2014? If we knew for certain we’d be laying
down bets and preparing to retire to a tropical paradise.
What we do know is this: i) Predictions lists are a strange
and profoundly imperfect seasonal tradition. ii) We’re doing
one anyway because there are certain things we like talking
about.
With that in mind we surveyed some of DigitasLBi’s biggest
brains around the globe to get their predictions for brands
and agencies everywhere. Then we considered that everywhere is a very big place, so we kicked our ideas around and
boiled them all down into a set of sturdily pragmatic, futurepointing reflections on social, mobile, creativity, technology
and data.
faster online if they want to be tomorrow’s winners as well.
We forecast touchless experiences, a wave of Chinese money,
clever data things, and robots. Lots and lots of robots.
Looking down the line, we see digital marketing changing the
organisational structure of brands and clients and creating a
new breed of Chief Marketing Officer; we see geo-targeting
increasingly changing the mobile world, driven by retail; we
predict that today’s winners are going to need to react ever
Use this as a fitfully accurate compass, or simply as a paper
aeroplane. Just don’t blame us if something entirely different
happens.
2014
What does it all mean?
Social
We don’t need to tell you that social media is pouring into
every corner of our lives, or that more to the point, our lives
are pouring into every corner of social media. What you’d
probably rather know is what it’s actually going to mean for the world, for brands, for the very shape of our children’s
brains. Good questions. Yes. We’ve been thinking about that
too.
Let’s look at it like this. Even as social media currently stands
- and it isn’t standing, it’s doing its best to sprint off into the
distance - it represents too stiff a challenge for most brands
in their current configuration. So wherever social goes in
the coming year, look at it like a flood that’s already started.
Sandbags aren’t going to help you now - you need to build
that boat.
Organisational design has been our mantra since the web
started shifting in a social direction, and one thing remains
true, irrespective of the need for lists of predictions: brands
need to ready their businesses for these new conditions.
Nowhere are changes more necessary, or more likely, than in
the marketing department, where social media, and the data
that underpins it, are changing everything.
And of course, across the social sphere, the plates will keep
on shifting. There’s no serious sign of weakness on the
Facebook front, where the numbers only ever tend to go up,
but the market is fragmenting with intense competition for
attention from Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitter and a
global multiplicity of chat services. As commercial options
broaden, advertisers will be faced with tougher choices than
before.
3
2014
What does it all mean?
The convergence of channels is redrawing the way
companies are structured. We are already starting to see
large structural changes in marketing departments. We
expect to see many more in 2014 as large organisations try to
get to grips with joining up digital channels. There’s going to
be more commercial pressure on the CMO as responsibility
for larger parts of the technology and sales functions move
into the marketing realm. We will probably see a new breed
of CMO emerge - more digitally literate, with a mandate to
take a clean broom to marketing organisations and their
agency rosters. Alan Davies, Chief Strategy Officer, Global
Social goes back to basics. In 2014 we’ll see a rise in the
simplification of the big social platforms: Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube and more. Ironically, as companies invest more
in their social strategies, more of them will shut down or
decrease their number of social accounts - merging Facebook
pages, closing and signposting Twitter accounts. Global
brands will develop solutions for use in multiple markets in
several languages – they’re the ones spending the most on
advertising, so they’ll create tools with their needs in mind.
Facebook and LinkedIn are on the right track with global
pages – this approach will hopefully be implemented across
all social platforms. Consumers don’t classify themselves as
living in APAC or EMEA; they just want to engage with the
brand on their own terms. And hopefully this will also prompt
YouTube to reopen some of the inactive usernames for brands.
Darcie Tanner, Head of Social Media Management, UK
LinkedIn will be the big winner. LinkedIn will be the big
winner in 2014: LinkedIn has proven itself to be extremely
marketer-savvy, working with brands to create sponsored
content and influencer strategies, while using its rich data to
help guide consumer engagement. And while Facebook is
making headlines for forcing more pay-to-play engagement,
LinkedIn has found a healthy middle between owned
and paid content for marketers. Obviously platforms like
Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter shouldn’t be discounted—
they’re making significant progress in meeting marketer
expectations—but in 2014, LinkedIn will be the big winner as
it continues to develop customized solutions and profit from
them. Anne-Marie Kline, SVP, Social Content North America /
Managing Director, BrandLIVE
Facebook gets less social in Asia Pacific. In Asia, 2014 will see
a significant shift among teenagers migrating from Facebook
to messenger services for their social interactions. It’s not
the death of Facebook by any means (in fact Facebook’s
user base will probably continue to grow) but the level of
interactions on the platform will decrease. In the APAC region,
where in some markets people have skipped the purchase
of a desktop/laptop altogether and gone straight to mobile,
the prominence of messenger services and the adoption of
sophisticated platforms like WeChat and Line will continue to
grow. Amit Patel, PR & Content Strategist, Hong Kong
Whatever happens, #iamonatrain will continue to be King of
Hashtags. Photo: Flickr/LingHK
Publishing changes everything in 2014. We’re all publishers
now. When we tweet, update Facebook, compose an SEO
strategy or commission creative content we are publishing.
Platforms need to change and adapt; Google already
providing Hummingbird and Facebook with the Meme
update as examples from 2013 that herald what 2014 has
in store. Look to the growth of services like Snapchat that
destroy the publishing trail as evidence that the public care
about their “publishing strategy” too. The roles of commercial
publishers and agencies will grow closer together; both
tasked with growing audiences, making the most of content
and then finding the best way to extract business value
from the combination. Andrew Girdwood, Media Innovations
Director, UK
4
2014
What does it all mean?
Mobile
Has any media channel throughout history been subject
to more pseudo-analytical truisms than mobile? It goes
everywhere you go. It’s a computer in your pocket. The most
intimate relationship you will ever have is with your phone.
We’re loath to add to the sum of this kind of stuff, but it is
true that mobile is getting properly interesting, not least as
geo-targeting comes into its own.
In 2014, as in 2013, mobile will bring your physical and digital
existence closer together, only more so. Portable devices whether they’re phones or tablets or something new - are
increasingly aware of your surroundings in a way that desktop
computers can’t usefully be. Your phone knows where you are
and which way is north, and it can tell the time. But imagine a
phone that knows when it’s dark, reacts to noises, recognises
colours, and responds to temperature; a small device that
knows what you’re doing, who you’re with and how much you
paid to do it. In 2014, we’ll see that all come together, with
benefits for an incredible range of advertisers, but starting
inevitably with location-conscious retailers.
We’ll also see mobile becoming a loyalty channel. We have
already seen mobile apps like Key Ring and Apple’s Passport
begin to supplant physical loyalty cards. As mobile becomes
core to all aspects of the consumer journey, brands will focus
on using mobile to create experiences that deliver value and
inspire emotional connection.
Um, what else?
5
2014
What does it all mean?
The shopping experience will
start to migrate from brands
and retailers to individual
products, wherever they are
shared across multiple social
platforms and apps.
WeChat takes on the world. With over 100 million users
outside of China—and a whopping 600 million total—WeChat
is on track to become the most popular chat app in the world.
Just last month the Global Web Index declared it the fastest
growing social app used by youths worldwide, with a 1,021%
increase amongst that set in 2013—all without even factoring
in growth in China. What’s more, unlike current leader
WhatsApp, owner Tencent has made a significant investment
in its app’s ecommerce and marketing functionalities, making
WeChat a natural fit for brands. Justin Peyton, Strategy
Director MENA & Asia Pacific
Mobile bandwidth fuels social media growth. Mobile is
nothing new to most markets but where there are massive
increases in bandwidth - as there have lately been in Germany,
for instance - mobile can have a huge effect on marketers.
We’ll see brands in newly bandwidth-rich countries adapt
their social media strategies to mobile devices in 2014. More
bandwidth means higher quality content, which in turn means
greater consumer and brand adoption of global audiovisual
platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and Vine. Jessica Braeuer,
Social Media Manager, Germany & Switzerland
Shopping will be everywhere. Flipboard allows you to be a
magazine editor; Pinterest and Fab enable you to aggregate
and curate content to your heart’s content. Watch as these
‘magazines’ become ‘catalogues’, and every consumer
becomes an ‘affiliate’ making money off the back of a buy
button in magazines they have curated. The shopping
experience will start to migrate from brands and retailers to
individual products, wherever they are shared across multiple
social platforms and apps. Ilicco Elia, Head of Mobile, UK
Ad tech goes mobile. The future reality of all digital marketing
will be data-rich, natively focused and cookieless—much like
mobile is today. As we see the shift of user engagement
continue to flow in the direction of mobile - and in many
instances in favor of mobile - the market will demand ad tech
solutions that allow them to reach people across screens.
These new ad tech platforms will likely be tied initially to a
specific ecosystem such as Google, Facebook, Twitter or
Amazon. My bet is that Facebook will get there first. Chia
Chen, SVP, North America Mobile Practice Lead
Mobile will drive an ever-increasing number of online
transactions, sore thumbs and cricked necks.
Photo: Flickr/romainguy
6
2014
What does it all mean?
Creativity
We like to say that we pride ourselves on embracing the
creative tension between left brain and right brain. These
are analytical, strategy-heavy, data-driven times, which is
all the more reason why we need powerful storytelling to
breathe life into all that back-end cleverness. The essence
of creativity doesn’t change just because the calendar does,
but the pressures under which creative brands operate are
intensifying at an incredible a rate.
Meanwhile, the tools and approaches that allow us to be
creative in digital are constantly in flux. Here are a few we
believe are going to be fluxing more than most in 2014.
As brands market themselves increasingly through utilities,
content and timely communications, rather than traditional
campaigns, creativity at this pitch is simply impossible
without the means to support it. That’s why we expect to see
brands investing in a new kind of infrastructure.
7
2014
What does it all mean?
Given the saturation of media
channels, the way brands are
cutting through is by providing
functionality
Companies that are able to get out of their own way and
move stuff quickly are poised to win. These are the ones
who can be experimental and add things to culture in a
speedy way. This is how the world is working now whether
we like it or not. It’s fast, and it’s voracious, and brands need
to use digital to find ways to match it for speed. Chris Clarke,
Chief Creative Officer, International
We’ll see companies reinvestigating service design. Given
the saturation of media channels, the way brands are cutting
through is by providing functionality - through apps or utility
experiences. But they need content behind them to keep them
fresh, service departments to maintain them, technology
departments to innovate. It’s not just about setting up a
campaign and letting it run - organisations need to get to
grips with the continuous launch and support of a stream of
services. Disruption is everywhere, especially in industries like
finance, but what has never been widely understood is the
organisational impact on the client of this form of marketing.
I think they are coming to the point where they can’t simply
outsource it. Alan Davies, Chief Strategy Officer, Global
Meanwhile, the tools and approaches that allow us to be
creative in digital are constantly in flux. Here are a few we
believe are going to be fluxing more than most in 2014.
The rise of inclusive design. 2013 was a big year for
responsive design. In 2014 that trend will evolve into a more
holistic, inclusive web design approach that renews the focus
on users. The ever-growing range of devices and screens
coupled with people’s varied usage requires highly-specialised
device-specific solutions. Inclusive design will result in hyperpersonalised, customised and tailored experiences, moving
away from the egalitarian experience that purely responsive
sites deliver. Rasmus Frandsen, Creative Director, Denmark
More appropriate typography: The movement to broaden
the number of available webfonts has finally arrived.
Most major type foundries now offer webfonts, including
Monotype and FontShop. Even longstanding holdout Hoefler
& Freer-Jones recently launched cloud.typography, which
enables designers to use modern classics like Gotham in
their designs. This is a huge technological step forward. No
longer limited to a small range of system fonts, designers can
take advantage of nearly any conservative or expressive font
that meets their needs, which will have a huge impact on the
quality - and variety - of web design. Matthew Jacobson, SVP,
Creative, North America
In 2014, we’ll all Instagram pictures of pictures of food until
we curl into a ball and starve. Photo: Flickr/Tucano _ Tech &
Style, Milano
8
2014
What does it all mean?
Technology
You might argue that the technological world moves too fast
to capture the full impact of a coming year in a set of December predictions. We might well agree with you, but let’s look
at what’s already bubbling under as 2013 collapses in front of
the TV in a tired heap.
Consequently, addressable TV advertising, telescoping, tablet
commerce and dynamic ad insertion into video on demand
content are all growers, against a backdrop of increasingly
twitchy traditional broadcasters and increasingly popular
over-the-top services.
Starting with TV, you obviously wouldn’t want to bet your
house against smart television blurring ever further into the
internet in 2014.
Certain major tech brands are in a curious kind of limbo,
where their power only appears to grow, even as the levels of
love and trust they enjoy are increasingly called into question.
Will Apple lose its shine as the average consumer realises
fresh big ideas haven’t been forthcoming for quite some time
now? Will the grumbling anti-Amazon groundswell make any
real dent on its ever-growing empire? Anything is possible in
2014, but that’s not to say it’s necessarily likely.
Will there also be lots of interesting niche techno-things that
get astonishingly disproportionate amounts of coverage?
You know there will. 3D printing needs to prove it’s not a mad
novelty; plenty of far-fetched new interfaces will attempt to
kick the mouse and the touch-screen into history; and all
sorts of robot technologies will promise to change our lives
while threatening to destroy our very livelihoods. Don’t worry
about it too much - robots always say that kind of stuff.
9
2014
What does it all mean?
We’ll see the reality of a
connected experience truly
driven by behavior.
second round of funding. Following Tencent’s investment in
Snapchat, US tech companies will court Chinese investors for
large amounts of capital, while Chinese companies will see
this as a rapid path to global revenue streams. Justin Peyton,
Strategy Director, MENA & Asia Pacific
The internet of me: 2013 was about the internet of things,
and how everything around us can be identified and connected. Now, with everyday appliances and devices getting
smarter, smaller, and cheaper, we’ll see the reality of a connected experience truly driven by behavior. Simple predictive technologies, not unlike Google Now, will become readily
available across myriad touch points, providing personalised
and adaptive experiences in every part of our lives. We’ll start
to see our cars, kitchens, televisions, and phones think ahead
of us and anticipate our individual intentions. Paolo Yuvienco,
Chief Technology Officer, Global
Cyborgs for all. Next year we’ll continue to see constant
and at times terrifying advances in robot technology. We are
now starting to see the beginnings of what this may mean to
consumers in the field of home automation, with ever more
effective applications of robot technology in the form of
lawnmowers, vacuums, and self-driving cars. In 2014 these
technologies will become more commonplace in the home,
helping with chores, completing tasks you never had to before. And hopefully ironing your clothes. Mark Agar, Head of
Technology, UK
Touchless experiences you can feel. In 2013 we saw a lot
of technology shift from the mouse to the touchscreen. In
2014 more brands will move from touchscreen to touchless
experiences, experimenting with new technologies like gesture-based MYO and sensor-based Fundawear. There are opportunities here for brands to connect with people beyond
screen-based interactions; now, moving forward, we’ll see
(and create) more digital experiences where people control
things using voice, gesture, and eye movement. Marcus Mustafa, Head of User Experience, Global
Left-handers use smart phones too. Less a prediction, more
an observation. Photo: Google Now
Image recognition gets recognition. Next year when you
want to search for something on your phone you won’t have
to type it into your search engine, you’ll simply be able to
take a photo. Mobile image recognition has been around for a
few years now (like Google Goggles) but 2014 will be the year
it really takes off. We’ll see much deeper investment from retailer’s like Macy’s with its Star Gifts app, or eBay with its Motors app. And the technology itself is becoming more prevalent too - CamFind passed one million downloads in October,
and thousands of developers are currently working on apps
for Google Glass. Nicolas Dubost, Strategic Planner, France
The marriage of Chinese money and US tech companies. In
2014 we’ll see China become a big investor in the tech companies of Silicon Valley, particularly those looking for their
10
2014
What does it all mean?
Data
Everyone has been talking about big data in 2013, and they’ll
talk about it every bit as much in 2014, it will continue to
power new products, new systems of insight and entire new
industries.
The revelation of 2014 will not be the true power of data,
because that was the revelation of 2010 to 2013. We all know,
because we’re always being told, that more data was created
in the last ten seconds than was produced in the previous
trillion years, or something along those lines. We know that
healthcare stands to be revolutionised, that the mechanics
of advertising have already changed beyond all recognition,
that data is the key to all things.
That’s all well and good, but the more pressing challenge of
2014 for brands and agencies will be to remake their own
little worlds to take account of data’s possibilities.
join up the user experience. That doesn’t simply happen on a
spreadsheet - agencies need to be structured in the appropriate way to make their contribution, and brands will need to
find new ways to integrate a roster of inter-dependent disciplines. Perhaps one agency will handle all channels; perhaps
agencies will need to get better at interacting. Data has redrawn the map of what’s possible, and brands and agencies
now need to redefine how they go about reading it.
For marketing departments, a key significance of data is the
ability to connect all media - paid, earned and owned - and
11
2014
What does it all mean?
intake; and more sport brands will focus on helping consumers get fit. Chung Chao, Strategist, Netherlands
We’ll see new types of
analytics for understanding
audience behavior.
More full customer lifecycle attribution. Attribution modeling came about because of the need to manage media spend
more effectively across digital channels. However, as far as
maximising channel and conversion optimisation it’s only
been the tip of the iceberg. Some agencies are already doing
this, but 2014 will see an explosion of attribution evaluating
touch points across not only display but also social, web, mobile (app and web), multi-visit, multi-device right through to
advocacy. In short, more and more marketers will be attributing across the full customer lifecycle. Alex Loveless, Head of
Analytics, UK
The birth of people-based analytics (PBA). With the emergence of always-on, wearable devices such as Fitbit, Galaxy
Gear and Google Glass, we’ll see new types of analytics for
understanding audience behavior. The ability to look at real
geo-location, motion, patterned behavior not just through
media consumption or product purchase but through other
everyday aspects of a consumer’s life creates both new data
and new uses for this data. In 2014, wearable devices will help
marketers deepen their understanding of the consumer’s
shopping process, product consumption, and offline social
interaction—and with that, they’ll find countless opportunities to add utility to their products and to the lives of their
audiences. Jason Kodish, SVP/North America Strategy & Analytics Lead
The utility of mobile leads to bigger (and better) data. For
years now, marketers have spoken about a post-PC digital
world, with mobile at the center. In 2014 not only will we see
more brands providing value to their consumers via mobile
(which they should be doing already) we’ll see them leveraging bigger and better data à la Google Now. Just a few examples: public transportation apps will know and understand
your personal behaviour (improving your commute); pharmaceutical companies will help you with your daily medicine
Tech will soon have the measure of everything we do.
Exciting or terrifying? Let’s do what we can to make it the
former. Photo: Fitbit
Streamed data over bulk data. In 2014 the real-time data
trend will intensify across Europe, with more companies gathering insights from streamed data versus just bulk data. It’ll
change the way European companies handle big data, with
dedicated task forces responding in real-time to seize opportunities for brands. We already have the necessary technology available - what’s needed now is an evolution in analytics
skill sets, as marketers learn how to harness streamed data in
a way that provides real-time value to consumers, while staying ahead of brands’ needs. Niels Handberg, Director of User
Experience, Denmark
12
Being innovative is all about being
brave and experimenting, not being
scared of failing.
That’s why we’ve put these predictions together. If you agree with them, it’s
because our attempts at futurology contain an essential essence of wisdom. If
not, please see instructions on how to make a paper aeroplane at the back.
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