A Passion for Brands, Marketing and Communication: January 2016

The biggest trend and phenomena for 2015 was probably the rise of #socialconsciousness, which led to the explosion of the local social media landscape. Who would have thought that a hashtag would be able to mobilise such large numbers of people for a common course. A few characters on Twitter, is all it took to get people to express their views, took action and the results are unavoidable. It was a first for #southafrica and this trend has the potential to continue in 2016. High impact minimal investment.

#Product placement in the past, was diligently policed, but recently it has almost become the norm for brands to use this method of communication in their campaigns. Gone are the days when subtlety was at the order of the day. Clever execution to avoid alienating the consumer, successful competitive advantage achieved and the ability to convey the planned messaging across to the target audience to change #perceptions sustainably. Always consider the essence, personality and values of the brand during engagements with your stakeholders. Overt, desperate approach and lack of clarity, during product placement leads to alienation of your brand, irrespective of the target audience. This might be a trend to avoid in 2016.

There has been a noticeable increase in government advertising regarding various issues ranging from water preservation, electricity usage, health matters, road safety etc. This trend will continue in 2016 to create awareness of what government is doing for its #citizens.

#Insurance companies are still leading the way when it comes to advertising, including retail brands. They (insurance companies) are now occupying prime time spots as well. Gone are the days when they only occupied the timeslots during the quiet times on TV or low viewer’s figures, because people are already at work. You are guaranteed to see an insurance ad during an ad break on TV throughout the day. Their sms call to action initiative is an excellent tool to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns for the various products. The trend for 2016 will see an increase in advertising, because of the competitive nature of this market.

2015 had pockets of excellence as far as some #ads were concerned. These ads were able to speak to a diverse audience without trying too hard. And there were the usual suspects where the content was factually incorrect, the use of characters, which were inappropriate and lack of cultural sensitivity in their messaging. Unfortunately, we have witness an increase in the use of children in ads. It works for some brands.

“It’s true, less will remain more and #quality will always enable the conversation…”

A car manufacturer re-introduced music from an ad they did a decade ago with so much success and brought back the nostalgia of that brand. If it works for your brand, why change it?

Some brands incorporated music from days gone by. Mostly local #southafrican music from the late 80’s and 90’s. The question is whether all your stakeholders are able to relate to the music, is very important.

The trend of celebrity product endorsement continued in 2015. Let’s wait and see how this approach evolve in 2016. So may risks with recorded tangible case studies, especially in the area of endorsements and the use of well-known personalities.

Avoid the #socialmedia trend if your brand is not suitable for a specific channel or in the absence of skilled resources to manage the offering. Continue to be creative, current, progressive, responsible, relevant, clear in your messaging and align your social media offering to your bigger strategic objectives. These channels will continue to be channels and not the blue-print solution for your short term objectives. We will see more #Apps developed in 2016 as an ongoing trend; let your App be the one, which people embrace and talk about.

Start your own trend in 2016!