What’s next for marketing and digital trends in 2022?
Marketing and Digital Trends 2022 Let’s not beat around the bush, 2021 has been another strange year, but we saw the return of large-scale events and club nights and lots of fantastic creativity displayed across marketing and PR campaigns. From the Guinness’ ‘Welcome back’ campaign when lockdown ended to Aldi’s Cuthbert vs Colin war to endless brilliant meme content, it’s been a smasher of a year with lots of exciting tech developments. So what will 2022 bring? Here are five marketing and PR trends we expect to lead the way over the next 12 months. Augmented Reality From creating profound emotional impact with audiences to tracking consumer behaviour, experimenting with AR in 2022 is a great way to take your marketing strategy to the next level. Some brilliant examples born from the pandemic were the John Lewis‘ virtual sofa AR feature that allowed customers to see the furniture in their living rooms before purchasing and the ASOS ‘See My Fit’ AR feature that enhances the customer experience by showing shoppers how products realistically look in different sizes and on different body types. In turn, this experience has helped to drive sales and reduce returns, with the digital innovation contributing to a 24 % sales uplift. Nobody thought we’d see the humble QR code resurrected to the level it has been. But, thanks to the pandemic, the hospitality sector was initially forced to embrace the ugly little square to serve socially distanced customers. The technology is still being utilised to its full potential and doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere– allowing frictionless service and crowd control at busy bars. AR is an excellent opportunity for brands to tell their stories and create deeper connections with their customers and there are increasing chances not just for PR campaigns but with trade and consumer advertising. For example – Rolex enhanced its print ads with a creative virtual try-on experience. Readers could virtually try on the new models and scroll through style options from the comfort of their own homes. We expect to see more creative uses of this technology across all sectors in 2022. The Metaverse and NFT’S According to the artist previously known as Facebook, the future is Meta. Very simply put, the metaverse is a virtual world where we can experience products and services online. Users create avatars with their own identities that navigate through otherworldly digital realms experiencing all sorts of quite frankly crazy stuff. This year, Meta has invested $10 billion into virtual reality technology, including a robotic hand, high-tech VR glasses, and some more high-tech software applications. So, what are NFT’s, and how do they fit into this? NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token, and essentially, they are digital assets that can be traded in return for cash or other NFT’s and used within the metaverse. With society spending more time than ever online, digital possessions have grown in popularity in 2021, and many big brands (and smaller ones) have jumped on the trend, with everyone from Gucci to Warrington Wolves creating their own. Our client, bespoke NFT studio Ape Squared, recently launched a range of over 3,000 NFT’s called Space Bugs that sold out in 6 hours, with some of the rarer bugs gaining over 7,000 % in value! If you can get your head around the tech side, NFT’s are definitely worth considering as a valid investment opportunity. The metaverse has grown exponentially because of the pandemic, giving people the opportunity for escapism, staying social (albeit online), and taking part in experiences safely while instore real-life experiences are limited. With people continuing to spend more time at home into 2022, now is the time for brands to harness the opportunities that the metaverse brings by creating immersive, virtual experiences and advertising and removing the barriers of geographic marketing. One of our favourite examples is from premium skincare brand SK-II. Inspired by the streets of Tokyo, the SK-II CITY transports visitors to the middle of a bustling urban intersection with all the sights, sounds, and sense of discovery of Shibuya Crossing. Visitors can see Japanese Icons like Mount Fuji and Tokyo Tower and enjoy branded experiences found only in SK-II CITY. Make Sure You Stand For Something 70% of consumers want to invest their money in brands that have an opinion and that stand for important social and political issues in some way – and this figure has increased by 66% since 2017. Companies that don’t stand clear on their views on diversity, inclusion, and serious world issues risk being overlooked by their more vocal competitors. So even if it feels risky to stand up and get loud, your customers are only going to thank you for it. For example, Nike’s response to the Black Lives Matter movement showed consumers the brand’s humanness. The company made an urgent call for both consumers and companies to stand together in the fight against racism and used its huge platform as a weapon for good. With ‘B-Corp’ becoming another buzzword in 2021, brands must be authentic in their values and mission when it comes to purpose. There’s nothing worse and more evident than companies that try and greenwash or are disingenuous in their views on equality in the workplace. Brands must proactively act to be better every day for issues they genuinely care about, whether climate change, equality, or mental health. The Rise of Influencers During the last 18 months, especially when we were in lockdown, influencers were vital for brands in connecting to customers. Influencers kept us entertained or provided motivational content and added an essential lifeline for brands unable to reach us in other ways. From nano to mega, influencers create a bond of trust and authenticity that allows brands to reach out to their niche audiences, which is exactly why influencer marketing has grown so much over a short period of time. But where will it take us in 2022? Whereas most brands have previously worked with influencers for one-off campaigns or sporadic boosts during the year – many will build on the trust developed during
How can Digital PR enhance your marketing strategy?
The role of Digital PR Over the last year, it seems like the ‘Twittersphere’ has been awash with digital PR insights, killer case studies, and news and updates. Digital PR has become quite the buzzword, and you can’t go a day without hearing about the next incredible news jack or big brand trends takeover. For a long time now, most savvy PR agencies have included link-earning as part of their campaigns and strategies. But, over the last couple of years, there’s been a definite shift in focus to how online content can be used more strategically to bolster press coverage results. Creating linkable content Whilst digital PR could be considered any press coverage that is online, more strategically the overall objective is to get links in authoritative press titles. And, in recent years, creativity in securing those holy grail backlinks has gone wild. For a successful digital PR campaign, the content that’s shared with journalists has to have a purpose or be compelling or fun. Whether you’ve generated some newsworthy market research stats or even created a stand-out piece of interactive website content, whatever you create needs to be specifically targeted to your audiences for maximum impact. Unlike traditional print press coverage, once the content for your digital PR campaign is nailed, the potential for your assets to reach far and wide online is enormous. Through sharing with the right journalists your content has the opportunity to be seen globally and amplified through social media. The snowball effect The most impressive digital PR campaigns can earn links from just a small selection of top-tier press titles which can then snowball into landing multiple link placements. This drives brand awareness and increases the SEO authority of your website. By authentically building relationships and providing good quality information and assets for key influencers and journalists, brands can establish themselves as leaders in their field. It won’t be long before you’re front and centre in a journalist’s mind for creative content or the latest trends and statistics. Teamwork makes the dream work Over the last couple of years, marketing teams, SEO experts, and PR’s have had to quickly learn about each other’s roles and how they can work together to deliver press coverage and strategic content that fits into broader digital marketing objectives. Brands that haven’t adopted this approach and still don’t see PR as part of the marketing mix need to get on board or get left behind quickly. Social media teams, for example, are already very adept at creating reactive content that hijacks trends and the news agenda, so it’s understanding how this can turn into a digital PR opportunity. The best thing about digital PR is that it’s measurable with tools such as Kantar, Gorkana and Google Analytics, making marketers very happy! Recent examples of some effective Digital PR campaigns Using data that’s open for anyone to access, such as Google Trends, can be a great source of inspiration for your next digital PR campaign. Interior design company, Dowsing & Reynolds used data available from Google Trends to assess the UK’s favourite candle scent, earning a link from Ideal Home. Check out the full list here. Working with architects, Bloom & Wild created beautiful images to reimagine some of the world’s most recognised landmarks. The team compiled stunning graphics designed with plants and flowers for an eye-catching campaign which landed on House Beautiful. This campaign by Leasing Options is a fun piece of interactive website content that allows users to spend as much of Elon Musk’s fortune as possible, offering a fun way to waste time on the internet. The digital PR landscape is constantly evolving and while securing links can be a competitive sport, it’s a brilliant time to start considering how that next PR campaign can include killer content that delivers results with SEO goals in mind. And, if you need a PR agency that understands what makes a successful digital PR campaign then, get in touch here.