2014 digitaslbi global predictions

8/13/2019 2014 DigitasLBi Global Predictions

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DIGITASLBi PERSPECTIVE

December2013

DigitasLBi Global Predictions

Whats on the horizon for 2014? We surveyed DigitasLBi leaders across the globe to get their predictions

for brands and agencies everywhere. From worldwide trends to local market-level predictions, see theinsights that every global marketer needs to know: the social networksthat will win (or fail), how mobilewill continue to change our lives, exactly how marketers will designfor consumers, the technologythattheyll use, and whats next for big data.

Social Content

LinkedIn will be the big winner in 2014: LinkedIn has proven itself to be extremely marketer-savvy,working with brands to create sponsored content and influencer strategies, while using its rich data tohelp guide consumer engagement. And while Facebook is making headlines for forcing more pay-to-playengagement, LinkedIn has found a healthy middle between owned and paid content for marketers.Obviously platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter shouldnt be discountedtheyre making

significant progress in meeting marketer expectationsbut in 2014, LinkedIn will be the big winner as itcontinues to develop customized solutions and profit from them.

Real-time marketing: it will get better (and bigger). Despite some recent backlash, real-timemarketing is here to stay. In 2014, well see deeper investment from brands and agencies both in terms ofbudget and time spent. And, well start to see greater integration of RTM into every day brand buildingversus just one-off momentsor, using the newsroom analogy, think more feature stories vs. breakingnews.

The result will be a substantial increase in quality content that anticipates what audiences need andwantit wont all be reactive la the Super Bowl blackout, but if done correctly, itll feel right in themoment. And though social will continue to lead the way as marketers choice of medium for RTM, wellsee greater expansion into other channels as well, including DOOH.

- Anne-Marie Kline, SVP, Social Content / Managing Director, BrandLIVE, DigitasLBi North America.

In APAC, Facebook gets less social . In Asia, 2014 will see a significant shift for teenagers fromFacebook to messenger services for their social interactions. Its not the death of Facebook by anymeans (in fact their user base will probably continue to grow) but the level of interactions on the platformwill decrease. In the APAC region, where in some markets people have skipped the purchase of adesktop/laptop altogether and gone straight to mobile, the prominence of messenger services and theadoption of sophisticated platforms like WeChat and Line will continue to grow.

- Amit Patel, PR & Content Strategist, DigitasLBi Hong Kong

The demise of Tuenti. Tuenti, a Spanish-based social network (known to many as the SpanishFacebook) has been very popular in the past amongst teenagers. But it seems destined to become the

next one-hit-social media wonder. The last few months have seen a consistent decrease in traffic, with itsyoungest users leaving for Instagram and mobile messaging apps like Whatsapp. Tuenti has also failedto monetize their platformadvertising is extremely expensive and inflexible, with limited API availabilityonly for Goliath-sized clients.

Everything points to Telefnica either shutting down this once-promising social platform orconverting it into a Whatsapp or Line-styled messaging app, while maintaining the mobileoperator side of Tuenti for lo quiero todo papi young consumers.

- Eugenio Sanz, Social Media Strategist, DigitasLBi Spain
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Social goes back to basics. In 2014 well see a rise in the simplification of the big social platforms:Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more. Ironically, as companies invest more in their social strategies,more of them will shut down or decrease their number of social accounts: Facebook page merges, theclosing and signposting of Twitter accounts, etc. Global brands will develop solutions for use in multiple

markets in several languages theyre the ones spending the most on advertising, so theyll create toolswith their needs in mind.

Facebook and LinkedIn are on the right track with global pages this approach will hopefully beimplemented across all social platforms. Consumers dont classify themselves as living in APAC orEMEA; they just want to engage with the brand on their own terms. And hopefully this will also promptYouTube to reopen some of the inactive usernames for brands.

- Darcie Tanner, Head of Social Media Management, DigitasLBi U.K.

MobileWeChat takes on the world.With over 100 million users outside of Chinaand a whopping 600 million

totalWeChat is on track to become the most popular chat app in the world. Just last month the GlobalWeb Index declared it the fastest growing social app used by youths worldwide, with a 1,021% increaseamongst that set in 2013all without even factoring in growth in China.

Whats more is that unlike current leader WhatsApp, owning company Tencent has made a significantinvestment in their apps e-commerce and marketing functionalities, making WeChat a natural fit forbrands. All combined, in 2014 we'll see WeChat head straight to the top.

- Justin Peyton, Strategy Director MENA & Asia Pacific at DigitasLBi (Singapore)

Mobile will bring your phys ical and digital existence closer together. Portable devices be theyphones or tablets or something new are increasingly aware of your surroundings in a way that desktopcomputers cant usefully be. Your phone knows where you are, can recognise North and can tell the time.

But imagine a phone that knows when its dark, reacts to noises, recognises colours, and responds totemperature; a small device that knows what youre doing, who youre with and how much you paid to doit. In 2014, well see that all come together.

Shopping w ill be everywhere. Flipboard allows you to be a magazine editor; Pinterest and Fab enableyou to aggregate and curate content to your hearts content. Watch as these magazines becomecatalogues, and every consumer becomes an affiliate making money off the back of a buy button inmagazines they have curated. The shopping experience will start to migrate from brands and retailers toindividual products, wherever they are shared across multiple social platforms and apps.

- Ilicco Elia, Head of Mobile, DigitasLBi U.K.

Mobile becomes the focus of creating loyalty. We have already seen mobile apps like Key Ring and

Apple's Passport begin to supplant physical "loyalty" cards. Moving forward, well see marketers usingmobile in even richer ways. As mobile becomes core to all aspects of the consumer journey, brands willfocus on using mobile to create experiences that deliver value and inspire emotional connection. Mobilepayments, incidentally, will get rolled out as a component of mobile loyalty experiences.

The next generation of cross-channelad tech platforms comes from mobile. The future reality of alldigital marketing will be data-rich, natively focused and cookie-lessmuch like mobile is today.

As we see the shift of user engagement continue to flow in the direction of mobileand in manyinstances in favorof mobile -- the market will demand ad tech solutions that allow them to
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reach people across screens. These new ad tech platforms will likely be tied initially to a specificecosystem, e.g., Google, Facebook, Twitter or Amazon. My bet is that Facebook will get there first.

- Chia Chen, SVP, North America Mobile Practice Lead, DigitasLBi

Say goodbye to cash and credit cardsmobile replaces everything in the UAE.In 2013, the PrimeMinster of the UAE, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, released a mandate for all governmentagencies to start providing their services via mobile. Since then, everything is going mobile, from usingyour phone to get on the metro, to checking in at the airport, to paying utility billsand more. In 2014,these processes will become second nature; mobile will replace boarding passes, loyalty cards, creditcards, and even cash payments. In the UAE, mobile innovation is no longer just the purview of techcompaniesits a government priority. Businesses and tourism will reap the benefits of that.

- Roy Badawi, Managing Director, DigitasLBi MINA

More mobile bandwidth in Germanyand better social as a result. Mobile is nothing new toGermany. But with recent massive increases in bandwidth (in particular, the availability and adoption of

LTE), mobile will have a huge effect on German marketers in 2014. Well see German brands adapt theirsocial media strategies to mobile devices. And since more bandwidth means higher quality content, thatalso means greater German consumer and brand adoption of global image/video platforms likeInstagram, Pinterest, Vine, etc.

- Florian Schiel, Account Manager, DigitasLBi GermanyCreative Design

The rise of inclusive design. 2013 was a big year for responsive design. In 2014, that trend will evolveinto a more holistic inclusive web design approach that renews the focus on users and builds a single-or multi-platform presence for brands. The ever-growing range of devices and screens, and peoplesvaried usage, requires both the write-once-run-everywhere and highly specialized device specificsolutions. Inclusive design will result in hyper-personalized, customized and tailored experiences, movingaway from the egalitarian experience that purely responsive sites deliver.

- Rasmus Frandsen, Creative Director, DigitasLBi Denmark

The end of fake 3D.Here is a trend that started in 2013 and will continue in 2014: the end of fake 3D,drop shadows, and Apples skeuomorphism. The screen is flat and there is no reason to pretendotherwise. Even if Windows 8 had a rocky start, the design was leading the way. Google was first inadapting, Apple made its way with the release of iOS 7, and countless other web offerings - commerce aswell as marketing platforms - are about to follow. Flat design in combination with translucency and semi-transparent is the way of the future. On top of that, higher screen resolution and larger screens will leaddesigners to make use of the space beyond the minimal viewport (Full Screen Design).

- Andreas Teigeler, Executive Creative Director, DigitasLBi AG, Germany & Switzerland

The best navigation is no navigation: What's the best way to get from point A to point B? By using asingle straight line, of course.

When it comes to navigation, the "Keep It Simple, Stupid" philosophy is becoming moreprominent as an increasing number of websites move away from the "choose your ownadventure" navigation in favor of simple, concise, controlled journeys that guide


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the viewer seamlessly through the experience. While this structure is not appropriate in all scenarios, itsan increasingly popular rule of thumb that will be (and should be) much more often, when appropriate.

More appropriate typography: The movement to broaden the number of available webfonts has finally

arrived. Most major type foundries now offer webfonts, including Monotype and FontShop. Evenlongstanding holdout Hoefler & Freer-Jones recently launched cloud.typography, which enablesdesigners to use several of their modern classics (i.e. Gotham) in their designs.

This is a huge technological step forward. No longer limited to a small range of system fonts, designerscan take advantage of nearly any conservative or expressive font that meets their needswhich will havea huge impact on the quality - and variety - of web design.

- Matthew Jacobson, SVP, Creative, DigitasLBi North America

Technology

The Internet of Me: 2013 was aboutthe Internet of Things, and how everything around us can beidentified and connected. Now, with everyday appliances and devices getting smarter, smaller, andcheaper, well see the reality of a connected experience truly driven by behavior. Simple predictivetechnologies, not unlike Google Now, will become readily available across a myriad of touch pointsproviding personalized and adaptive experiences in every part of our lives. Well start to see our cars,kitchens, televisions, and phones think ahead of us and anticipate our individual intentions.

Agile Marketing goes prime t ime. While some agencies adopted it in 2013, 2014 is the year that wellsee more and more marketing organizations take on tenets of the Agile Methodology, which includesrapid iterations, closer collaboration (consumers included), and the heavy use of testing and data. Thiswill be driven by the need of companies to act faster, adapt when necessary, and become more predictivein their marketing and advertising efforts. Agile over traditional conventions will ultimately allow marketersto speak directly to a consumer rather than a market segment.

- Paolo Yuvienco, Global Chief Technology Officer, DigitasLBi

Touch-less experiences that you can feel. In 2013, we saw a shift for a lot of technology from themouse to the touchpad. In 2014, more brands will move from the touchpad to touch-less experiences,experimenting with new technologies like gesture-based MYO and sensor-based Fundawear. There areopportunities here for brands and people to meet beyond screen-based interactions; now, movingforward, well see (and create) more digital experiences where people control things using voice, gesture,and eye movement.

- Marcus Mustafa, Global Head of User Experience, DigitasLBi

The marriage of Chinese money and U.S. tech companies. In 2014, well see China become a biginvestor in the tech companies of Silicon Valley, particularly those looking for their second round of

funding. Following Tencents investment in Snapchat, U.S. tech companies will court Chinese investorsfor large amounts of capital, while Chinese companies will see this as a rapid path to global revenuestreams.

- Justin Peyton, Strategy Director MENA & Asia Pacific at DigitasLBi (Singapore)

Print-your-own 2014 will bring about a widespread proliferation of 3D printersnotjust at tech companies and ad agencies, but in the home of everyday consumers. This will meantwo things: as well as seeing the potentially sinister side of this technology (3D


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printed guns, anyone?) well also see the amazing creative possibilities of this technology. 3D printing willgo to space, fabricating replacement parts, and to the developing world as a way to help provide cleanwater. In 2014, 3D printing on site, and at times in hostile sites, will allow us to achieve things that wereonce just pipe dreams.

Cyborgs for all. Next year well continue to see constant and at times terrifying advances in robottechnology. We are now starting to see the beginnings of what this may mean to consumers in the field ofhome automation, with ever more effective applications of robot technology in the form of lawnmowers,vacuums, and self-driving cars. In 2014 these technologies will become more commonplace in the home,helping with chores, completing tasks you never had to before, and hopefully ironing your clothes.

- Mark Agar, Head of Technology, DigitasLBi U.K.

Image recognition: technology that wins at mobileand commerce. Next year when you want tolook up a product on your phone, you may not need to type inyoull simply snap a photo. While mobileimage recognition has been around for a few years now (like Google Goggles in 2010), 2014 will be theyear it really takes off. Well see much deeper investment and more executions from retailerslike

Macys with their Star Gifts app, or eBay with their Motors app. And the technology itself is becomingmore prevalent tooCamFind passed one million downloads in October, and thousands of developersare working on apps for Google Glass.

- Nicolas Dubost, Strategic Planner, DigitasLBi France

ig Data

The birth of People-based analytics (PBA). With the emergence of always-on, wearable devices (suchas Fitbit, Galaxy Gear, and Google Glasses) well see new types of analytics for understanding audiencebehavior. The ability to look at real geo-location, motion, patterned behavior not just through mediaconsumption or product purchase but through other everyday aspects of a consumers life creates bothnew data and new uses for this data. In 2014, wearable devices will help marketers deepen theirunderstanding of the consumers shopping process, product consumption, and offline social interactionand with that, theyll find countless opportunities to add utility to their products and to the lives of theiraudiences.

The death of Media Mix Modeling. Cross-media integration relies on ongoing optimization at theconsumer level. The growth in cross-media, multi-touch attribution in 2013 (and more-so in 2014) signalsthe imminent extinction of Media Mix Modeling. With the ever expanding ability to truly integrate mediainto a Single View of the Consumer, the industry will no longer rely on the macro-level modeling tounderstand the true impact of media on consumer decision making. While MMM won't totally disappearin 2014, marketer's desires for consumer-level optimization will increase with our ability for consumer-level (programmatic) media buying across digital, social, broadcast, and mobile media.

- Jason Kodish, SVP/North America Strategy & Analytics Lead, DigitasLBi

The utility of mobile leads to bigger (and better) data. For years now, marketers have spoken about apost-PC digital world, with mobile at the center. In 2014 not only will we see more brands providing valueto their consumers via mobile (which they should be doing already), well see them leveraging bigger andbetter data la Google Now. Just a few examples: public transportation apps will know and understandyour personal behaviour (improving your commute), pharmaceutical companies will help youwith your daily medicine intake, and more sport brands will focus on helping consumers get fit.

- Chung Chao, Strategist, DigitasLBi Netherlands
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More full customer lifecycle attribution. Attribution modeling came about because of the need tomanage media spend more effectively across digital channels. However, as far as maximising channeland conversion optimisation it's only been the tip of the iceberg.

Some agencies are already doing this, but 2014 will see an explosion of attribution evaluating touchpoints across not only display but also social, web, mobile (app and web), multi-visit, multi-device rightthrough to advocacy. In short, more and more marketers will be attributing across the full customerlifecycle.

Data Management Platforms (DMPs). Having been first incepted as an extension of the displayadvertising industry, in the U.S. Data Management Platforms (DMPs) also became a solution to dataintegration challenges across all channels. That trend is now moving over to Europe, with DMPs enablingpersonalisation, owned/bought/earned marketing consistency, increasingly complex behaviouralsegmentation, and ultra-advanced attribution. This space is still in its nascency here, but expect anexplosion in 2014.

- Alex Loveless, Head of Analytics, DigitasLBi U.K.

Streamed data over bulk data. In 2014, the real-time data trend will intensify across Europe, with morecompanies gathering insights from streamed data vs. just bulk data. Itll change the way Europeancompanies handle big data, with dedicated task forces responding in real-time to seize opportunities forbrands. We already have the necessary technology availablewhats needed now is an evolution inanalytics skill sets, as marketers learn how to harness streamed data in a way that provides real-timevalue to consumers, while staying ahead of the brands needs.

- Niels Handberg, Director of UX, DigitasLBi Denmark

2014 digitaslbi global predictions

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