Five predictions by global brand-architect and marketing expert, Norty Cohen, have been revealed for the coming year, putting the importance of building loyal communities and creating a feeling of real belonging forefront for brands in 2019.
Author of a revolutionary new book, Join the Brand: Building Loyal Communities and The Need for Belonging, Cohen has identified the following trends, which will top the agenda in the New Year and make the difference to which brands create the ‘Superfans’ now needed to succeed in the digital age.
Marketing in 2019 will be shaped by:
- Personal marketing will get even more competitive. How well individuals plan their exposure and share creativity will be even more defined. We all know friends who are taking this to the next level – and to the clever, goes the status. Creating an Instagram series/theme is an easy way to breakthrough and stand out.
- Brands as a service (BaaS) will gain traction – brands that amplify their importance by doing even more to serve consumers will earn more valuable relationships.
- Consumers will voice their intolerance for repetitive ads – over saturation of the same message will work against advertisers. Make them look good, feel good and entertain them – but don’t annoy them. They know how to do marketing – why don’t you?
- The “we can deliver it bandwagon” will slow down. Sooner or later, the travel time of food won’t be able to beat the clock and the novelty of impulse delivery will lose to food that tastes right.
- Digital detox may become cool at some point next year as consumers realise they are spending an entire day a week looking at their mobile, every week, equating to an average of four hours plus per person a day.
Cohen comments: “Building loyal communities of super fans will be more important than ever in 2019, as people continue to want to join with brands who they feel reflect their personal ethos. Brands should also plan for customers to increasingly reject traditional advertising and marketing initiatives as they look to digitally detox and instead build real-life communities of like-minded individuals.”
