3 trends that will shape Brand Marketing in 2016

Perhaps more than any other discipline Brand Marketing has a cliched history of always being at the “crossroads”. Every year delivers a fresh challenge. Whether it is the emergence of the internet, the ubiquity of mobile, the decline of live TV, or the proliferation of social networks. Each has challenged brand marketers to re-think, re-define, and re-calibrate how they work.

2016 will be no different.

Here are what I believe to the be the t0p-3 trends that will shape brand marketing in 2016.

ONE — How we use video as a tool will change for good

Recently I had the privilege of joining a group of Starbucks marketers at a summit hosted by YouTube. Some of the statistics shared on video consumption were mind-blowing. While that is not news what is changing is how marketers are now starting to leverage video (particularly online and mobile). No longer is putting your latest TV ad online considered enough or effective. Long format videos are not only getting more frequent, they are getting better. There are numerous examples including one that I wrote an earlier post on. Brands such as Adobe and Dove are leading the charge by creating long format videos that not only educate but are also entertaining and engaging.

Marketers (and, dare I say it, most agencies) need to adapt to this new reality. Production budgets aren’t increasing so how does one create numerous pieces of high-quality, long format video content frequently? Is the trade off a reduced media spend on TV? Is it leveraging (or setting up) in-house talent? The answers will differ but the traditional TV-first video utilization model is dead.

TWO — Brands will erase the last remaining lines between “traditional” & “digital”

Brand marketers are brand marketers. However, many brands have one team focused on “traditional” advertising and another on “digital” and/or “social”. While this originally served a real purpose of placing talent in their rightful areas of expertise, in 2016 this model will finally be put to rest. Content creation, the essence of brand marketing, will be done using the collective expertise. Not individual departments. The brands that truly embrace this integration will succeed. And, leaders who facilitate this change will be doing right by their brand.

THREE — Marketers will be asked to deliver on a broader set of metrics

This is where the rubber hits the road. Brand marketers will be held accountable to deliver on a much broader set of results. Yes, the traditional numerical metrics of acquisition, sales, conversions will still apply. Added to this will be softer metrics that measure impact on the brand. In the past these were used only for explicit “brand campaigns”. Now, these will apply to all marketing. Are the right people feeling that the message being communicated is “for someone like me”? Is the brand’s “reason for being” clearly articulated? It will be fascinating to see how marketers react to this evolution.

As a marketing “geek” I am personally excited to see these changes occur. They will make our jobs not just more challenging but also far more meaningful.

Amit