10 advertising trends that will shape the decade

WPP’s media investment arm GroupM in its futures report ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY) 2020 revealed some of the top watch-outs that will shape the Indian consumer and therefore industry in the coming decade.

The trends presented were around emerging technology, behavioural changes, data, etc, that put the consumer at the centre and emphasise digital driving the change across all formats of media.

1. Brands will move from trendspotting to culture creation by becoming content creators both in the online and offline world:

Standardization of product offering, price point wars, easy access and alternatives due to digital disruption has decreased consumer loyalty. To gain loyalty brands will have to go beyond traditional norms of marketing and create a culture around the brand. This can only happen when brands become content creators and start building Unique IPs both in the online and offline world like the way brands like Redbull and Myntra have been doing.

2. Attention is easy, but where’s engagement!

With a connected ecosystem that aids in content discovery through inorganic means taking prominence, reach will become further commoditised and higher value will be placed on relevance. Brands will therefore need to sharpen the communication narrative to innovate and find new ways of engaging consumers. The need to optimise the communication to personalise at scale with human touch will become critical

3. The Trust Paradox – Building trust in the age of the conscious consumer will push brands to establish trust by being genuine and honest

The rise of p2p content, Consumer ratings, testimonials, and the mistrust in news and information being spread through organic channels has given rise to a far more conscious consumer. Consumers feel the need to associate with brands that they can relate to and trust. To establish trust and build relevance, brands would need to work on initiatives that can help brands come across come across more honest and genuine to stay relevant with consumers. More brands will work towards building a community of influencers and making them their trusted loyalist.

Data privacy policies will also force brands to become more cautious and conscious. With more countries adopting stringent policies on data and privacy, brands will have to play a cautious role in the way they collect user data and engage with users.

4. AI used to understand behaviour can now be used to influence behaviour

All content being consumed today is being personalized by an algorithm that’s trying hard to get to know us and our interest. The news feeds on social, the playlist on streaming apps or the videos on youtube are all driven by an algorithm that’s constantly trying to understand our behaviour and the content we may be interested in. With more time being spent on these platforms, our lives are therefore being controlled by algorithms. The ability to understand how the algorithms work and use them to be the difference between success and failure. Therefore, marketing to algorithms and not humans may be a very big trend to watch out for

5. New Retail & social commerce will drive the next phase of commerce

We now live in an interconnected world of online and offline channels. While the gaps between online and offline seem to diminish the consumer expectations of having a seamless experience especially in the retail industry seems to be growing. Creating a seamless experience across online and offline and connecting internal ecosystems to manage trade for an omnichannel world will be a key factor in the retail world

6. Audio 2.0: Pump up the volume

Increasing number of people are getting more comfortable with streaming audio, internet powered radios, podcast and using voice commands to control their devices. This has led to an increase in time spent and consumption of audio led content. Brands will invest behind building audio experiences and create journeys inclusive of audio and voice. With platforms powering their services across multiple languages the adoption to voice will be a lot faster than anticipated. Voice will be input while audio is output – audio will lead the touchless user experience.

7. Platform specific strategy vs integrated strategy.

In the early 2000s the dominance was largely done by content portals such as Yahoo, Rediff, Sify etc.. In the decade of 2010s we saw the rise of platforms dominated largely by Google and Facebook ecosystem. These ecosystems have grown to be the largest media vehicles in the country. It is also interesting to note that consumers behave differently on different platforms. The way they react to content, the time they spend, the content they consume and the content they create differ from platform to platform. If their behavioural patterns differ and if each platform ecosystem has a sizeable sum of audiences, how can one strategy address all? Marketers may, therefore, need to adopt a platform-specific strategy while drawing its communication plan

8. Immersive experiences vs passive experiences

Gaming as an industry is a 138$ Bn industry. That’s almost 80% as big as the movie industry and 9 times as big as the music industry. The money made per user in the gaming industry is three times the revenue Google makes per user. In India, the number of game developers has increased 10x in the last decade and India still holds the highest number of game downloads in the world. With this context brands may need to find ways to use gaming in a big way to engage with audiences. While the previous decade was about skill, nerd culture and hardware specs. The next decade will see India culturally embracing e-sports across demographics and genres

9. Customising the content for Indic languages

Consumers consuming more regional content is currently around 68% which is expected to grow to 90% in the years to come. Preference for content in Indic languages is a clear indication and opportunity for content creators and marketers. The implication of this is that marketers may need to start creating content and advertising communications in multiple languages. We will see a lot of more tools and technologies trying to address this challenge

10. From FOMO ( Fear of Missing out ) to JOMO ( Joy of Missing out)

More and more consumers feel the need to switch off from the digital world. Screen addiction is increasing and the need for moderation has been voiced by many leaders. This will be getting wider traction and more social acceptance. As this trend grows the ability to create and associate with experiences that aid in digital detox may stem up as a good opportunity to be capitalized on. The need to advocate a lifestyle that’s okay to slow down in a fast world i.e. slow food, Slow travel, healing Festivals etc. might take prominence.

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