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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Welcome 3Trend 01: Scaling Walled Gardens 4Trend 02: Enabled Audiences 5Trend 03: Omni-Context 6Trend 04: Email Warming 7Trend 05: High Frequency, Low Curation 8Trend 06: Audience Tunnel Vision 9Trend 07: Marketing Personification 10Trend 08: Data is the Enemy 11Trend 09: Bad Apples and Ad Blocking 12Trend 10: Mobile Obsession 13Trend 11: Virtual Reality 14Trend 12: Money is (no longer) an Object 15Trend 13: Journeys to Convergence 16Trend 14: Well-Connected 17Trend 15: Stop Making Sense 18Trend 16: Marketers as Rain Makers 19Key Takeaways 20About IgnitionOne 21

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Every industry has its trends and marketers by nature are attracted to that next shiny object. From QR codes destined to revolutionize mobile to the 2004 prediction that music players (like iPods) may someday support video, trends come and go with every passing year. While trend prognosticating is interesting, the trick is to understand which ones are worth your focus, your time and your investment with the real potential to move your business forward. To help, the pages that follow will step you through the 16 trends we see as the most interesting and/or valuable for marketers in 2016, along with advice on how these trends can be used in the real world to benefit your brand. Want more detail? Here’s a direct link to the playback of the webinar on this same topic: http://www.ignitionone.com/16-for-16-webinar-playback Let’s get started.

Welcome

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The TrendWalled gardens on the Internet gained a lot of ground in 2015, and will continue to do so as 2016 goes on. Facebook and Google dominate this concept, and marketers are quickly learning how to thrive in and around these walls.

In August 2015, over one billion people logged onto Facebook in a single day, meaning one in every seven people on the planet visited the social site in that 24-hour period. When it comes to reach and relevance, social is Facebook. And with the launch of Facebook Custom Audiences, brands can leverage existing first-party anonymous and known data to engage customers with highly relevant content within Facebook throughout the customer journey.

Facebook’s Website Custom Audiences has become a powerful and proven cross-device remarketing tactic during the consideration phase.

What it means to youIt’s important to find ways to use your data to target smarter across Facebook , and tailor your content to the context as well as the interests of the audience. Look for new ways to combine channels with Facebook, allowing for a coordinated, orchestrated customer experience with brand.

Scaling Walled GardensTREND

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The TrendWith the rising popularity of tools like Facebook Website Custom Audiences and Google’s introduction of Customer Match, it’s clear that 2016 is becoming the year of enabled audience. Marketers should embrace this trend, which complements increasing consumer demand for personalization, and utilize smarter data-management tools to enhance enabled audience capabilities.

What it Means to You The key to this trend is to supplement tools offered by companies like Google and Facebook with other data-driven algorithms to make the most out of what’s being offered in the marketplace. For example, search is a steady performer in all verticals, but with cost-per-clicks rising and finite inventory, the focus needs to shift to audience for maximum marketing impact.

Enabled AudiencesTREND

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The Trend True one-to-one communication starts with gaining customer insight across channels. Consumer behaviors, marketing and technology are all tectonic forces deep below the surface of messaging, shaping strategy. The message is the point at which all of these forces come into contact. First and foremost, marketers need better insight on the needs and intentions of their customers at specific moments in time, and to be able to take action in the context of those insights.

What it Means to You Faster Insights: Marketers should have as much relevant data as possible at their fingertips, and also have the ability to readily glean insights from that data without having to wait for help from IT or an analyst.

Find Hidden Gems: Gain the ability to ask any questions of the data – relative to any attribute and drill down to any level of detail.

Automated Interaction: The volume of customer data is so large that it is impossible to act upon it manually – and that’s precisely what automation provides. Marketers need a marketing platform that translates those customer insights into automated actions. However, it’s important to remember that the breadth and quality of data you bring to your automation is going to determine the quality of marketing and the associated results.

Engage across channels: Consumers are engaging with brands across channels. Data from all of those channels should be used to form views and connect with customers consistently cross-channel.

Omni-ContextTREND

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The Trend Only 7% of consumers agreed with the statement that “Email offers are usually well-timed with my needs.” The truth is, they are well aware of how much data and information marketers and companies have amassed about them – and they expect that data to be used for their own benefit. Especially when it comes to email marketing. The tactic has seemed to reach a critical mass, with 2016 leading to higher expectations from customers in terms of email communications with brands.

What It Means to You Use email marketing with the main goal of advancing the consumer relationship with the brand. It’s a tool to connect with audiences in a meaningful way, driving engagement and interactions between digital touchpoints. For example, sponsored content on social may drive open rates to get exclusive discounts. Use data to identify personalized audiences, and get specific in email messaging. If audiences consistently see relevant messaging from a brand, they’re more likely to warm up to email once again.

Email WarmingTREND

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The Trend 2016 is all about making sure the right message makes it to the right people. The average consumer is exposed to about 50,000 marketing messages per day, compared to 5,000 a day in the 1970s. Content is king, but content without relevance is a false idol. There is an increasing focus on context and conversation instead of merely campaigns.

What It Means to You Have the conversations internally in order to open up those silos with the need for stronger coordination of messaging. Churning out content without quality assurance and an end-goal that guides creation won’t deliver results. Focus on the interests of your most qualified audiences, and ensure that messaging isn’t being sent out “just because”, but rather for compelling reasons that will benefit both the audience and your brand.

High Frequency, Low CurationTREND

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The Trend It’s no secret that attitudes within our society are becoming increasingly polarized, with people becoming more set in their ways, engaging only with those who share their views while lashing out at those who do not. Within the same period of time, marketing and advertising tech have made significant gains in the ability to segment and target individuals with incredible precision, serving up information and campaigns specifically tailored to reflect an individual’s preferred view of themselves and their world. Could this advanced targeting indirectly be deepening the gap between viewpoints and reinforcing the trends toward division? While hyper-targeted campaigns have been incredible for marketing efficiency and ROI, perhaps the lack of cross-pollination of ideas across information channels has broader implications, limiting opportunities for growth, acceptance and unity of individuals across audiences.

What It Means to You It is the job of marketers to use past behaviors and preferences to develop strong messages for individuals and audience segments; however, by looking exclusively at the past, it’s important to consider the wider implications of limiting exposure and appreciation of different values and opinions. In 2016 and beyond, the Age of the Customer may give way to increasing awareness of marketing mindfulness.

Audience Tunnel VisionTREND

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The Trend Today, 18% of US online consumers expect any desired product or service, customized at their moment of need. The percentage will only grow as audiences become more accustomed to the “instant” world of the present. Marketing isn’t just about connecting with a general group of people, it’s about connecting with every single individual within that group. As customers voluntarily provide more data through platforms like Facebook and Twitter, they expect to see that data utilized in the campaigns and ads served up to them on a daily basis.

What It Means to You It is now the job of data to increasingly align with the customer as an individual, versus aligning with the general market. It’s important to embrace this trend in the early stages, rather than have a “catch up when we can” attitude. Utilize engagement scoring and every piece of available data, and rather than considering a “Go to Market” strategy, think of it more as a “Go to Customer” strategy.

Marketing PersonificationTREND

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The Trend Despite the willingness of many consumers to volunteer data with the end-goal of a better digital experience, many consumers are suspicious of data, with recent events like the Safe Harbor ruling in the EU further proving that the public doesn’t like the idea of anyone snooping around their private information. But in an age of trending data-phobia, it’s up to marketers to use data for good not evil.

What It Means to You Marketers are, in short, the James Bonds of the data world. Without giving away too much, data played a major role in the latest Bond film that came out in November 2015. The problem? It was being used for evil, and everyone was far too eager to give up on the “old-fashioned way” double-o agents handled situations, in favor of sending in tech to do it instead. But ultimately, tech and data alone weren’t enough to do the job. Like the perfect pair of James Bond and Q, marketers must embrace the combination of both data and personalization. A data management platform can be likened to Q. Bond has mastered the skills of a spy, but it’s Q’s latest advances that keep him ahead of the game. A DMP can provide marketers with an expansive array of data, but it’s still up to people to figure out how to use it in a way that best benefits both the company and the customers.

Data is the EnemyTREND

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The Trend 2015 was the year ad blocking truly caused an uproar in the marketing industry. But as 2016 moves forward, that will give way to a wake-up call for display marketing. The discussion about ad blocking will expand to include an increased awareness and sensitivity to user experience overall – the realization that there are real people on the other side of those screens and they demand a quality user experience. Ad Blockers are especially attractive due to poor mobile display practices. Perhaps it should be about blocking the poor performing sites versus the ads themselves.

What It Means to YouIt may not be possible to control consumers’ use of ad blocking technology, but it is possible to create more relevant, high-quality messaging and campaigns. Many 2016 trends are focused on dialing in the type of content being pushed out into the marketing space, and this trend is no different. Consistently beneficial ads and campaigns are far less likely to make a consumer wish they could make it all disappear.

Bad Apples and Ad BlockingTREND

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The Trend Customer obsession means mobile obsession. According to research from Forrester’s North American Consumer Technographics research survey, consumers use technology everywhere – quite literally. In fact, 50% of online consumers admit to using their smartphone in the bathroom. The idea that phones go everywhere with consumers can create some very intimate opportunities for consumer-brand relationships that weren’t possible before. There is no longer a gap between a customers’ connection with a brand’s TV ad and the moment they’re standing in-aisle at a store. The mobile phone is the connector, and it’s a trend that’s only strengthening over time.

What It Means to You Brands now have the opportunity to walk with consumers through every single part of their day, which means it’s time to consider more personal messaging strategies. Relevance and timeliness are once again key with this trend, and the payoff of a lasting consumer-brand relationship is well worth it.

Mobile ObsessionTREND

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The Trend Virtual reality has only just begun to grow, and with companies like Facebook considering its use in advertising, it’s quickly changing from something out of science fiction to something marketers should seriously consider. Several industries are already using it to their advantage:

• Healthcare: Cognitive behavior therapy to treat patients with social anxieties and phobias• Auto: Toyota’s TeenDrive365 campaign educates teenagers and parents about distracted driving• Education: Virtual field trips, vocational training and even situational gaming• Hospitality: Marriott Hotels created a “teleporter” which lets users “visit” downtown London or a beach in

Hawaii. Users can even feel wind in their hair• Entertainment: Makers of the Christopher Nolen movie Interstellar also created a traveling VR experience that

puts users in the cockpit of the spaceship from the movie.• Retail: At the Sundance Film Festival this year, Merrell, an outdoor apparel brand, set up an experience where

users could go trekking up and across treacherous mountsides, while wearing their hiking shoes, of course.

What It Means to You It’s important not to get caught up in virtual reality as a “gimmicky” idea. Rather than writing it off immediately or jumping onboard the bandwagon, consider first how it may or may not be relevant to your marketing goals. If it’s a tactic that makes sense, it’s no longer necessary to shy away from it as something silly or unproven. In the right setting and in the right industries, VR is a highly profitable marketing option.

Virtual RealityTREND

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The TrendThe exchange of currency in 2016 will be more an exchange of digits on a screen than cash exchanged by hand. And while people are always cost-conscious, they also will pay a premium for perceived value. Value may be convenience, connectivity, or even the “new” factor. Consider the uberization of business – customers are willing to pay more for an Uber than a taxi because they can access an uber within minutes from an app on their smartphone. No actual phone call required, no address needed. This trend can also be seen in the rising popularity of food subscription services like Plated and Blue Apron. Once again, consumers are willing to pay the price for the convenience of groceries delivered right to their doorstep.

What It Means to You Look for ways to innovate. Convenience is king, and it’s important to pay attention to what customers want – and what they’re willing to pay for – when crafting new strategies and offerings. If there is a way to make something more simple and easy, now is the time to do it. Consumers live in an instant world, and they expect brands to keep up.

Money is (no longer) an ObjectTREND

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The Trend Internally, 2016 is bringing momentum when it comes to organizations looking at customer experiences and the journey. As data sources come together and channels are better aligned, the streamlining the customer journey will accelerate. There is also a convergence of B2B and B2C marketing approaches. B2C can learn from B2B CRM approaches, while B2B can learn from B2C customer experience orientation. There is no longer only one “right way” to do something based on industry or vertical – instead, all paths should be considered with the possibility of merging multiple solutions together.

What It Means to You Breaking down silos and doing research into the strategies of other industry partners, or even competitors, has never been more important. No brand is an island, nor is any department.

Journeys to ConvergenceTREND

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The Trend Adoption rates by consumers and inclusion possibilities for home tech and wearable gear will increase in 2016, providing intimate details for marketers to use to better engage with individuals. In fact, Wearable tech will see a user adoption rate of 28% by 2016. Services like Samsung SmartThings, which connects components of your home through an integrated hub that provides you with alerts and management through its app on your phone, are gaining popularity with consumers who seek a fully connected lifestyle.

What It Means to You Although the data provided by home and wearable tech is offline, it offers a treasure trove of information both in terms of utility and increasingly positive experiences for consumers. Marketers should be prepared to look into new ways to use such data, and seek it out even if it isn’t readily available.

Well-ConnectedTREND

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The Trend Data is rational – people are not. Most marketers, whether they realize it or not, subscribe to economist Adam Smith’s theory of rational economics, which is that people will evaluate all of their options and always pick the best one

It makes sense in theory, but does not often play out that way in reality. The fact is, humans can’t be rational. We can’t evaluate all of our options and always pick the best one.

Unlike computers or robots, humans:

• Need mental shortcuts• Preserve mental energy whenever possible• Crave comfort

Because we crave comfort, we are also often very change-averse. Change is a move away from something we know (comfort) into something we don’t (discomfort).

What It Means to You • It’s the job of marketers to work with the natural process of the human brain, not against it• Provide mental shortcuts. Make it easier to do business with you and to choose your brand• Help people save mental energy • People crave comfort, so innovate around that desire. Make each brand interaction comfortable.

Stop Making SenseTREND

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The Trend Data, automation, technology and new approaches show marketing shifting away from awareness and art toward a more solid and scientific approach. Marketing is becoming increasingly revenue-focused and metric-driven, with marketers seen as rain makers. “If you can’t measure it, we don’t do it.” This introduces a different approach and skill set to maintain a career trajectory and results. From creative to calculating. From revenue drain to making it rain.

What It Means to You As a marketer, it’s important to take the time to audit your own skillset. What do you need to do more of to achieve higher recognition and success?

Marketers as Rain MakersTREND

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• Our world is increasingly more data-driven and personalized – customers expect brands to keep up and know them well.

• It’s crucial to increase the art and automation of data-centric marketing.

• Customers know when a brand is not being authentic. Don’t lose sight of brand voice brand humanity as you work to refine data strategy.

• Allow your campaigns to work in harmony across every step of the customer journey, rather than thinking of a given tactic as a one-off experience.

• Do great things. We’re here to help.

Want more 2016 trend insights? Access the playback of the original webinar for further strategies, a Q&A session and more at http://www.ignitionone.com/16-for-16-webinar-playback.

Key Takeaways

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More questions? Don’t be afraid to ask. Here at IgnitionOne, we’re committed to your success — especially when it comes to the efficient, painless adoption of data management and cross-channel technology to help you reach your goals faster.

IgnitionOne simplifies life for marketers, providing deeper insights and robust targeting of individuals through the use of proprietary engagement scoring and integrated marketing and advertising solutions. The IgnitionOne DMS is full-featured digital marketing hub which significantly improves performance across all devices and channels. IgnitionOne allows marketers to better understand their customers and activate personalized 1:1 messaging across search, display, social, mobile, email, and website personalization. With a global footprint of over 450 employees in 17 offices across 10 countries, IgnitionOne is one of the largest independent marketing technology companies in the world. IgnitionOne currently scores over 300 million users monthly in 75 countries and powers more than $60 billion in revenue each year for leading brands, including General Motors, CenturyLink, Bridgestone, La Quinta and Fiat, as well as advertising agencies such as 360i, GroupM and iProspect.

For more information, please visit http://www.ignitionone.com, follow the company on Twitter @ignitionone or visit the blog at http://www.ignitionone.com/blog.

Copyright © 2016 IgnitionOne, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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