Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

As we approach the year's second quarter, Google is already returning over 46,600 results for “digital trends 2017.” And if you’re in the digital marketing space, there seems to be an unspoken rule that you must always have an opinion on what the key trends will be for the year ahead.

But could it be that we’re all stuck in an industry echo chamber? As it turns out, some new research from Code Computerlove might burst that bubble.
Code Computerlove surveyed 1,000 U.K. adults to find out what they really think about these trend predictions -- things like voice search, virtual reality, and chat-bots. That data was then compared to what’s actually making the most noise online. Some key findings included:

• Mobile payments are the most sought-after technology in 2017.
• 9 out of 10 consumers claim to have no interest in using augmented reality in the near future.
• 1 in 5 people surveyed aim to spend less time in front of screens this year....

When a book telling people to throw away almost everything they own becomes a best seller and the start of a spiritual movement, it’s a good indication we’re consuming too much. But it’s hard to reconcile this idea when so many families, even in some of the world’s most durable economies, feel like they are barely getting by.

Households have never had so many material goods, yet we hear constant reports of economic anxiety and feelings of hopelessness.

The problem is livings standards. Our expectations of what we should own have increased—but incomes, for many of us, haven’t kept up. The disconnect leaves households vulnerable and struggling.

There is no doubt living standards are rising. People around the world, of all income levels, are living longer, finding more leisure time, and enjoying more luxuries than at any time in history. Remember, only 30 years ago, air-conditioning was a luxury. Now it’s practically seen as a necessity....

There’s a widening gap between how marketers and consumers feel about brands collecting data and tracking customer journeys.

According to a recent report by Edelman and The University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre, 77% of marketers believe their organization should invest in predictive data and 71% of consumers believe that brands with access to personal data are using it unethically.

Much of this data is collected by tracking customer journeys, which has gotten more complicated as consumers juggle devices over the course of considering and making a purchase.  An OMD report revealed that people swap devices 21 times an hour.  The traditional tracking cookie falls short....

So why is this? Why do some societies not encourage casual smiling? I got my answer, or at least part of one, when I stumbled across a new paper by Kuba Krys, a psychologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences. In some countries, smiling might not be a sign of warmth or even respect. It’s evidence that you’re a fool—a tricky fool.

Krys focused on a cultural phenomenon called “uncertainty avoidance.” Cultures that are low on this scale tend to have social systems—courts, health-care systems, safety nets, and so forth—that are unstable. Therefore, people there view the future as unpredictable and uncontrollable.

Smiling is a sign of certainty and confidence, so when people in those countries smile, they might seem odd. Why would you smile when fate is an invisible wolf waiting to shred you? You might, in those “low-UA” countries, even be considered stupid for smiling.

Krys also hypothesized that smiling in corrupt countries would be, um, frowned upon. When everyone’s trying to pull one over on each other, you don’t know if someone’s smiling with good intentions, or because they’re trying to trick you....

The buyer’s journey is an important framework for marketing strategy — but what does it look like? How are buyers getting from step one (“Do I have a need?”) to a justified decision? How can marketers harness this knowledge to create campaigns centered around the customer lifecycle?

We’ve all heard this popularly-quoted statistic: that 70% of the buyer’s journey is complete before a buyer even reaches out to sales (SiriusDecisions). Marketers and sales reps alike are having to adjust their strategies to cope with these changing consumer practices. But what can they do about the 70% of the buyer’s journey that they’re missing out on? What are buyers doing during this time? And how can a tool like marketing automation help marketers keep pace with their buyers?...

I first drew a version of this cartoon years ago sitting behind the focus group one-way mirror while working at General Mills. We held a lot of focus groups, many of them in a Minneapolis suburb called Eden Prairie. We used to jokingly refer to those focus group respondents as “The Oracles of Eden Prairie.”

We seemingly brought just about every marketing idea to the Oracles of Eden Prairie for inspiration and direction. But what frequently happened is that we would listen for statements that confirmed what we already believed and then disregard the rest. I learned that focus groups can be a great tool for confirmation bias.

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about how focus groups are gradually being displaced by technology-driven tools like social listening. As Seventh Generation’s Maureen Wolpert put it: “It’s very expensive to find that progressive-leaning, millennial new mom who has the time to attend a focus group. This is a way to listen in on the conversation moms are having and to really see their problems.”...

Generation Z, America’s youngest generation (Born in 1996 or later) has never lived in a time when the barrier to real-time information and communication has been nearly nonexistent.

By 2020, Gen Z will account for 40% of all consumers, making it more important now more than ever to successfully connect with and engage this generation to create life long relationships. While many brands invest in Millennial marketing initiatives, with Gen Z, everything is going to get even crazier. This is the generation that will end the ideals of generations.

Researchers say goldfish have a larger attention span than Gen Z (6–8 seconds) and they cannot concentrate for long period of time. YES, this is technically right. But what the data won’t show you is Why. Gen Z just has a fast pace, highly selective and decisive filter that marketers have never seen or had to encounter before. However, once they find something they deem ¨worthy¨ they can become obsessively committed and engaged. This creates a unique opportunity but it also requires a new perspective and approach.

When I am asked, ¨Connor what was the ROI?,¨ the question goes in one ear and out the other. When executives use the acronym ROI, they are using the typical meaning which stands for Return On Investment. However, I think of it in terms of Return On Interaction. Putting resources towards relationships, engagement, and giving value to meaningful interaction, meaningful to them AND you, will mean way more for your brand than any form of traditional advertising, marketing or communication....

 At first glance, the weakness in luxury is puzzling because consumer confidence is high and Tiffany's customers still have discretionary income to spend.

But Yarbrough points out that people are increasingly spending on categories other than luxury retail. 

"People are still willing to spend on auto, and they're still willing to spend on their homes which are bigger-ticket items," he said.

"They're more interested in cars or homes or experiences," he said, pointing to movies and traveling as examples — not apparel.

An analysis by Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research for Thomson Reuters, confirmed that people were spending their money on hotels and casinos, too, Business Insider's Hayley Peterson reported earlier this month....