Trends Identified

Seriously Serious
Digital marketing has grown up. So has the Web as a whole. Both the grown up practice and the grown up medium are facing serious challenges which will and must be addressed in 2018. GDPR represents a positive step. There is also an array of initiatives to address problems with fraud in digital display and confront client concerns about programmatic buying. Platforms are working to make measurement more transparent and deliver a clearer link between marketing activity and business outcomes. A lot of progress will be made in 2018, but not enough. Governments will have to make progress on state-sponsored hacking. The security industry will have to make big progress to protect us from the ever-increasing volume of madness. These are needs well beyond the purview of marketers and probably unrealistic for much progress in 2018.
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
Get to know gen Z
Gen Z are now attracting the type of attention that has long been bestowed on Millennials, but with little separating Gen Zers (16-20) from the youngest Millennials in terms of age, how different should we expect these two audiences to be? Do Gen Zers really have de ning characteristics distinct from those of their Millennial counterparts?
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
Social commerce: take 2
It has often been assumed that social commerce will transform the way we shop online. As we enter 2018, however, it’s a trend that has gained traction in parts of Asia but is yet to take hold in the West, where online shopping is still rmly rooted in traditional online retailers.
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
Sports' online revolution
In a splintering media landscape, live sports have managed to retain their appointment viewing status. But with the likes of ESPN, BT and Sky now reporting some declines for their sports broadcast audiences, it’s clear that even sports are no longer immune to the ‘cord-cutting’ phenomenon. How serious could this digital disruption be and how should the industry respond?
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
Digital lessons from Africa
More than in any other world region, mobiles have played a central role in the development of internet behaviors in Africa. This is borne out in the habits of its digital consumers; many online behaviors in Africa are distinctly different from those seen in other parts of the world, and the trends emerging in this region offer us a glimpse into how the coming era of mobile primacy could impact other markets.
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
Do smart consumers want smart homes?
By early 2018, Apple will have launched its HomePod device, a smart home speaker/assistant to rival the likes of Amazon Echo and Google Home. With Samsung, Sonos and others also set to enter this space, competition to become the default name in this area will be erce.
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
The mobile payment race
It’s easy to think that the most inclusive and developed financial infrastructures will shape the future of mobile payments. In actual fact, it’s in emerging markets where the potential of mobile payments is being realized, as rapidly expanding smartphone penetration rates help mobile payments leapfrog relatively undeveloped financial infrastructures. Two payment providers in particular – Alipay and Apple Pay – are eyeing up this window of opportunity to establish themselves in these markets, and both services have the financial backing and technical know-how to seriously shake up the industry.
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
The advent of social music
Across 2017, video established itself as the new driving force of social media innovation and engagement. With both Facebook and Snapchat now investing in original TV content to be made available via their platforms, the commitment of the social media giants to stake a claim to a portion of TV revenues is clear. So, what media will social services engulf in 2018? Well, a glance at the acquisition and hiring strategy of Facebook suggests that this social behemoth, at least, is beginning to take music seriously.
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
Is the influencers marketing boom sustainable?
Influencer marketing has become the industry’s hot go-to strategy – just take a look at the host of celebrities on your social media feeds encouraging you to visit this hotel and try that beauty product. Many brands have invested heavily, attracted by the opportunity to amplify their content and organically build new relationships. But is this buzzworthy trend all that it’s cracked up to be and, importantly, is it set to be a sustainable strategy for brands?
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
Engineered Empathy - Human engagement in an EI-expectant world
Emotional intelligence – an ability to empathise and engage on a human level – will become a core and advocacy-building consumer expectation, as well as a valued everyday life skill demanded by workplaces and personal relationships alike.
2018
Trending 2018
Foresight Factory