WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CREATIVE TREND FOR 2008?
The marketing and creative tactics we were using five years ago won’t work with today’s shifting demographics and preferences.
Agencies and marketers need to understand digital media options and how to design for the medium. The Mobile Marketing Association says that by 2008, 89% of brands will use text and multimedia messaging to reach their audiences, with nearly one-third planning to spend more than 10% of their marketing budgets on advertising in the medium.
The baby boomer population will grow by 25 percent in the next decade while other segments remain flat. As the U.S. population grows older it becomes more multicultural, busier than ever and increasingly cynical toward traditional sales pitches. Communications and creative strategies need to address these facts.
Advertising online will continue to mature and evolve. 24/7 Real Media Inc. says online ad spending is up as much as 33% over last year. Internet giants like Google are introducing new programs that bring global marketing techniques to the local level. Creatives can localize their campaigns and zero in on targeted segments to drive online and brick-and-mortar traffic.
Likewise, word-of-mouth advertising will continue to evolve. Creative agencies may take the lead from Sony’s Paint ad now up on YouTube and encourage viewers to share a film experience with friends.
Understanding how all types of audience segments utilize the Internet to meet and connect with others — on a personal or business level — will be critical to designing effective, response-driven campaigns in 2008 and beyond. After all, social media options like Facebook are replacing bars and coffee houses as a place to meet people.
Fashion will seep deeper into mainstream media, influencing not only how people dress but how marketers design. The colors, textures and details that influence the “sporty-chic” and “ethno-mix” trends predicted for 2008 will infiltrate print and electronic campaigns.
