Five Marketing Trends for 2013

Crain’s Branding Guest Blogger: Laura Sheridan

Trend #1: Mobile is THE new ad vehicle

Phones are replacing TV commercials, magazine ads, billboards, radio spots, and plenty of other ad vehicles. People are spending over 2 hours on their smartphones a day, and only 12 minutes of that time is spent using their handheld wonder as a phone.

Trend #2: Content is king

Bill Gates coined the phrase in 1996, and ever since then savvy marketers have discovered ways to engage and delight their customers with remarkable content. Prospects are less motivated by paid ads that don’t speak to them.

Consumers are doing everything online from researching product features to reading customer reviews. They honor brands that share news and valuable information that enhances their lives.

Trend #3: Everything isn’t online

Not everyone wants to manage their life surfing from one “buy now” button to another. Don’t forget those customers who prefer to call you or meet with you in person. Note to self: handwritten notes never go out of style.

Trend #4: Brand ambassadors matter

Finding and creating Brand Ambassadors is one of the most important activities marketers can do to catapult their brands. Today, consumers are less trusting about what brands say about themselves than they are about what others are saying about them. Nielsen’s April 2012 Global Trust in Advertising report, which surveyed more than 28,000 internet responders in 56 countries, found that 92% of consumers say they trust recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising.

Trend #5: Actionable metrics count

The days of excessive brand building campaigns without tracking, measuring, and analyzing results are over. To succeed, responsible marketers have to be laser focused on identifying actionable metrics that can help them drive business results.

Marketers are retiring brochures and ads that their companies have invested in year after year. Instead they’re putting their money in marketing opportunities that they can measure.