Marketing Transformed: Top Trends at the Intersection of Media, Technology, and Communications

January 14, 2016    

Key Takeaways

At the intersection of media, technology, and communications, there are seven key trends evolving for marketers in 2016:

1. Virtual Reality
2. Globalization at scale
3. The OTT Marketplace
4. Programmatic
5. Real-Time Content
6. Omnichannel Omnivores
7. The experience imperative

Whitney Fishman of MEC discussed three of these trends in depth at the Internationalist Think Tank in January 2016.

• Virtual reality will move from gimmick to gamechanger. VR presents a way for brands to create experiences, taking consumers almost physically out of their location and putting them in a new world. The creative possibilities are endless. Hiking boot brand Merrell partnered with Oculus Rift to create the Merrell Trailscape at Sundance in 2015, a virtual reality journey that made people feel like they were hiking high in the mountains.
  
  Skeptics argue that virtual reality won’t scale because people won’t buy VR devices. But now smartphones give people access to an iteration of VR called 360 video. The increasing convenience of consumer access to VR puts the onus on brands to provide content worth engaging with. Virtual reality can amplify powerful stories and provide consumers with valuable experiences.
• Brands will also create more real-time content in 2016, with a particular emphasis on real-time live video and live streaming. It’s no longer enough for brands to have “war rooms” at major events or a strategy of tweeting five times a week. Constant, real-time streaming content is increasing in popularity. Periscope and Meerkat are the key players in mobile live video. Meerkat’s live streaming is always public. With Periscope, people can create live feeds and push them through Twitter either privately or publicly.
  
  BMW USA used Periscope to create an interactive experience for fans. The company teamed up with National Geographic photographer Jimmy Chin and professional rock climber Alex Honnold, who took a journey in BMW’s new X1. Fans watching the livestream could vote on what was next at key points in the journey. Brands can use these platforms to provide exclusive, behind-the-scenes content that engages consumers in the moment. Real-time content creates excitement for consumers, who need to be there with the brand or miss out on what’s happening.
• Brands will develop more strategies to serve omnichannel omnivores in 2016, as mobile has reinvented what brands knew as the path to purchase. People now can shop offline, online, in store, and out of store. It’s hard to tell when online shopping ends and offline shopping begins. Aside from showrooming, we now have web rooming, where people go online first and do research, and then purchase a product in store because they can still physically touch and try it.
  
  Some strategies are already in play for these omnichannel omnivores. Chevron was the first gas company to adopt Apple Pay, so that consumers could simply swipe for their purchases. Another company put a weather feature on its shopping app to give people recommendations about what to wear, solving a problem consumers didn’t know they had. More and more brands are using beacon technology to reach consumers in the right moments. The in-store experience is yet another touchpoint for omnivores. Designer Rebecca Minkoff’s new SoHo store is entirely interactive, allowing customers to order champagne, see options, and communicate with salespeople using touch screens throughout the space. The dressing rooms are PayPal enabled, so that customers can easily pay and have clothes sent to their apartments without waiting in line. This is the kind of omnichannel experience that we’ll see more of in 2016.

Source

"Marketing Transformed: Top Trends at the Intersection of Media, Technology, and Communications." Whitney Fishman, Tech and Consumer Insights Director at MEC. An Internationalist Think Tank with the ANA, 1/14/16.