2013: The Year That Went By 

We have been hearing about the trends that are shaping our world… Big Data is getting Bigger, the Cloud is getting Personal, and everything is moving to On-Demand. How do such changes impact the world of marketers, advertisers, technologists, and business, in general?

In many ways, one could argue that 2013 was a lost year for Technology. A recent write-up by Quartz summed it up well when it wrote, “Mobile phones stagnated, Wearables were a letdown, Former giants continued their inglorious decline, and M&A replaced innovation.”

But 2013 was also a great year for Digital Advertising. Google’s own blogs wrote that this was the year when “new technologies took off, creative got more intelligent, campaigns spanned screens and formats, media buying went real-time, and new metrics for success emerged!”

2014: What To Watch Out For

2014 has a lot of excitement in store, and there are a few trends that marketers would do well to keep in mind…

1. Mobile Is Gaining Ground

According to a Google/Nielsen study of Nov 2013, consumers are spending more than 15 hours per week on their mobile screens, searching for the information they need, and 93% of people who use a mobile to research, go on to complete a purchase of a product or service.

2. Cross-Screen, Cross-Format

The new world order is one of cross-screen, cross-format campaigns, since the “consumer” now uses different screen combinations per day e.g. ‘smartphone + computer’ or ‘smartphone + television’ simultaneously. “Viewability” is becoming a hot topic and, as an extension, “Cost Per Engagement” is beginning to gain a foothold as the new metric for success.

3. Data Skills and Integration

The line between CMO and CIO is blurring. According to IDC, by the end of 2014, 60% of CMOs should have a formal process to onboard marketers with data skills. Consumers want a seamless experience, and it is up to CMOs to integrate media silos and provide a data- driven, multi-channel coverage to the business.

4. Email Marketing goes Mobile

If there was ever a time for email marketers to take Mobile seriously, it is now. An Oct 2013 study by Litmus confirmed that nearly one in every two emails are now opened on the mobile phone or tablet, with iPad and iPhone dominating mobile opens. The key question is: Are your emails mobile ready?

5. Social meets Business

Social Software for Business is expected to reach a new level of adoption as the importance of Social Search and Social Analytics increases. Big Data is no longer confined to large enterprise systems. More and more businesses of all size and shape feel the need to tap into the millions of daily tweets and Facebook updates, to get a real-time sense of their consumers.

So what does this mean for marketers in 2014? Well, at the very basic level, the game hasn’t changed. It is still very important for marketers to understand what their customer is doing all day, what keeps them up at night, and finally, what is the best way to keep them engaged.

That said, the future certainly looks filled with sci-fi concepts like 3D Printing, DIY Apps and the Internet of Everything. As a marketer living in the digital age, one couldn’t ask for more!