Founded by advertising industry expert Sergey Karshkov, 9 Pandas consistently outperforms its competitors in terms of leveraging the latest marketing tech and formulating dynamic and engaging advertising strategies.
9 Pandas strives to keep ahead of the curve, enabling the brands it represents to create and maintain a competitive edge. This article will explore marketing trends that are likely to become prominent in 2022 and beyond.
The Death of the Cookie
Earlier this year, Google announced that from 2022, it would no longer be supporting third-party cookies in Chrome. This dealt a significant blow to many online advertisers; Chrome is the most popular web browser worldwide, claiming almost 70% of the market.
For some advertisers, the cookie’s demise will call for some drastic changes. Web tracking is essential to many businesses and advertisers today. Nevertheless, with privacy concerns coming to the fore more and more following the implementation of GDPR, digital advertisers will have no other option but to switch tactics.
The Rise of Zero-Party Data
Zero-party data is gaining increasing traction. Essentially, it is data provided directly by the consumer to a brand. This can be achieved in several different ways; for example, by encouraging consumers to complete a survey, or through consumer/brand online interaction.
With cookies off the table, brands will have to shift their focus from buying data to persuading consumers to volunteer it, convincing them that sharing their preferences will improve their online experience.
Growing Interest in Online Events
COVID-19 triggered a surge in reliance on digital technology, with web users taking their interactions online. Instead of staging real world product launches, brands found ingenious ways to create excitement about their new products through virtual launches, and meetings and seminars switched from the real world to digital venues.
Experts predict that this trend is unlikely to abate as we move through 2022. In fact, insiders suggest that brands will increasingly participate in online events, leveraging the significant benefits they offer, such as the ability to gather data directly – eliminating the need for brands to rely on third-parties for information and enabling them to build engagement and rapport with their audience.
Transitioning from ‘Hard Sell’ to Educating
In the internet age, brand image is everything. To build a strong brand, companies must prioritise customer care – not only providing a quality product or service, but striving to organically raise brand awareness.
Today, companies must communicate with clients, leads and the world at large promptly and efficiently to earn consumer trust. Instead of shouting “buy from me now!”, brands need to offer web content that educates and offers value, whether it’s weekly podcasts or video tutorials. Today, successful companies must show consumers why they need them, rather than just telling them.
With marketing experts estimating that the average American is exposed to somewhere between 4,000 and 10,000 ads every day, how on earth can businesses get their ad to stand out?
The answer no longer lies in hard-selling tactics.
He/she who shouted the loudest may have made the sale in the past, but today consumers are more discerning. When brands start cajoling consumers to make a purchase, this typically puts them into defensive mode, causing them to switch off.
Rather than pushing products or services, effective marketers show consumers how they can help. Arguably, no company exemplifies this ethos better than Apple, which educates consumers on the value Apple products can add to their lives and uses its stores to offer consumers a space to learn about and try out Apple products.
Accessibility Will Become a Priority
With increasing emphasis on the customer experience, more and more firms are prioritising accessibility. In fact, between July 2020 and July 2021, the number of job advertisements featuring ‘accessibility’ in the title grew by 78%.
Forrester – a company specialising in business strategy – predicts that vendors will ratchet up their investments in 2022, honing their focus to increase accessibility significantly.
Personalisation
With more and more channels for customers to experience marketing content, from podcasts and Facebook ads to videos, brands have a variety of different options in terms of communicating with customers and engaging them in their message.
Since the launch of Clubhouse and similar platforms, podcasting has soared in popularity. Not everyone will listen to a company’s podcast, but those who do are likely to have specific interests that will align with the marketer’s objective, making them more likely to convert.
Similarly, individuals who read a blog post on a particular topic will be more inclined to purchase a related product. Personalisation is a powerful tool in terms of targeting and converting views into sales.
