Another year, another stream of predictions. Not that predictions aren’t interesting, mind you, but I’ve never been one to focus on them. Sure, I avidly follow trends in digital marketing and media, but what really jazzes me about following the sector for a living is the surprise factor. It’s not knowing what comes next because next can be so out-of-left-field disruptive.
The other cool thing about this job is it’s like being permanently enrolled in grad school. That may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I happen to love constantly watching and learning. So rather than share predictions for 2012, it seems more grounded and sensible to share a list of the top things I plan to study more closely and learn more about in 2012. Perhaps one or two of these topics will turn into a formal research report, perhaps not (oh, to be able to deep-dive into everything!).
- Behavioral Targeting: Not to begin on a negative, but I’m becoming increasingly convinced BT plain doesn’t work. That’s why I’d like to examine it more closely. Having done all my holiday shopping online, as well as extensive research and buying for a home remodeling project, it’s appalling how many wasted BT ads I see, most for the selfsame products I actually bought from the advertiser. “This can’t be right,” says my consumer persona to my analyst persona. “Look more closely at the methodology of all those studies out there that ‘prove’ BT’s effectiveness.”
- Personalized Search This has been going on a while now, of course, but more and more, your search results differ significantly from my search results. Location, time of day, social graphs, search history — a zillion factors figure in to what search results are displayed, and as a result, what ads and data appear in your browser. Need to keep up with this continually moving target.
- Social Media Fatigue Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Foursquare, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Miso – and that’s just a few off the top of my head. Just as consumers never watched all of the 200 or so cable channels bundled into their subscription packages, there’s only so many hours in the day to update where you are, what you’re doing, what you’re watching and eating and with whom. This space seems primed to shake out, doesn’t it? How will consumer behavior and adoption change, and how fast can new social plays keep launching?
- Big Data Collecting, crunching and making actionable data from disparate on- and offline sources will require significant investments in technology, manpower and learning for companies. Big data is all the buzz, yet many marketers still don’t know precisely what it is. Everyone needs to bone up on this topic in 2012.
- Real-Time Marketing Top consumer brands, notably Pepsi, are starting to take this topic very seriously, and even some B2B giants such as GE are looking at the space. Monitoring, assessing, triaging, assigning, and responding to real-time conversations, events, posts, tweets and other digital information increasingly matters. And like Big Data, the challenges and resources it requires are formidable. A fascinating area to keep an eye on.
- Regulated Industries It’s fascinating to watch highly regulated industries, such as pharma and banking, attempt to embrace digital marketing in general, and social media in particular. They face formidable barriers and more interesting challenges than most. I’m hoping to speak with more marketers from regulated sectors to learn more about how they’re coping.
- Internet of Things When everything has an IP address, everything gets a lot more interesting. Once devices from cars to refrigerators and the dog’s food bowl are connected, the implications for marketing, communication and even society will take surprises turns. This space is quite simply mesmerizing.
- Effects of Social Movements Occupy Wall Street fallout, the presidential election in the US, societal shifts in the Middle East. Social change resonates in digital channels (and vice versa). It’s going to be a big year for social change, and that will inevitably impact digital.
- What’s Starting Up? As always, I’ll be keeping a close eye on start-ups. What’s launching trend-wise? Who’s getting funded? Who isn’t? Following the money and the technology is not optional – it’s integral to watching this space.
- Content Marketing A pet topic, the subject of my most recent book and my forthcoming research report. Keeping a close eye on how marketers are moving into content, which requires a rebalance of thought processes (ongoing, not episodic, campaign-based thinking), as well as new budgets, agency relationship and staffing requirements – not to mention a shift in corporate culture.
That’s my 2012 syllabus. What’s yours?
Please reply in the comments. And if you’re behind a company active in one of the above areas, perhaps we should arrange a briefing sometime this year.