Cutting Through the 2017 Trends Clutter: My Top 5 Picks
At this time of year we are inundated with predictions and trends for 2017. Plenty of them bring real insights and forward thinking to help us prepare for what’s to come. The problem comes in trying to keep up with them all and to parse out what fits your business model and what doesn’t.
To bring a bit of clarity, here’s my Top 5 picks for promotion marketers:
1. Budget, Budget, Budget
Perhaps at the top of every marketer’s list is, ‘what’s the budget for 2017’? To plan for next year, CMOs aren’t looking back in the rearview mirror. Last year’s plan may be informative and can certainly provide a road map, but it’s time to take a risk by eliminating waste and identifying new opportunities to drive revenue. Look forward, not backward.
2. Political Pain Points
CMO.com came out with 10 prediction; one it calls “Election Hangover.” The message is that the caustic political rhetoric during the presidential campaigns—and beyond—has left consumers, in particular younger ones, conscious of inequality. Marketers should to take the political fallout into consideration in marketing messages.
3. Don’t Be the Underdog
Here’s one of my favorites. It’s time to turn an eye toward your competition. Turn your attention outward and understand and take a really deep dive into what your competitors are up to and what that might mean for you, Ken Williams of Imprint says. Take advantage of what they are not doing to move in and gain some market share. He says to start with social since there is so much data available and to set new benchmarks for your company based on your findings.
4. Talent Matters
The difference between a great agency and an almost great agency is its people. “Most agencies of any given type do pretty much the same thing; some just do it a whole lot better. What differentiates those agencies is the quality of their people,” Jack Morton’s Chief Creative Officer Bruce Henderson told Chief Marketer. Top talent will be in high demand. Lou Kovacs, CMO at Octagon North America says “Our biggest asset is our team. We’re going to work hard in 2017 to make sure our people have the opportunities and resources they need to see market trends and to help our clients anticipate what’s next. We are actively adding more people to our digital and creative team in the U.S. including strategists, developers and planners.”
5. Mobile Mania
Mobile will be the dominant platform. Intelligent devices—smartphones, tablets, watches, wearable gadgets, glasses, microchips, HoloLens, and others—will reshape and remix the marketing world. As we shift to a world of intelligent devices, marketing will strike up an even more personalized relationship with customers. Those who can do it faster than their competition will lead in this evolving category, author Geoffrey Colon wrote in his book, “Disruptive Marketing: What Growth Hackers, Data Punks and Other Hybrid Thinkers Can Teach Us About Navigating the New Normal.”
So while 2017 will bring plenty to think about—and worry about—take time to gather with friends and family and raise a glass to a blockbuster New Year!
