Trends Identified

Dynamic data
This year, a number of companies made use of impossibly detailed personal information. Not age, name or location, but details gathered from saliva samples and body tracking sensors. Biometric information, like your genomic profile, has become more easily accessible, thanks to the increased efficiency and falling costs of the technology involved in obtaining it. This has given brands in various categories, from luxury fashion to FMCG, the opportunity to use biometric information to both add value to their product and strengthen their marketing messages.
2018
Most contagious
Contagious
Augmented Reality Gets Real
Let’s get one thing clear: Augmented Reality is not a new thing. It has been a very, very slow burn. From BlippAR- integrated magazines to interactive head-tracking promotions for movies, creative technologists, brands with more money than sense, and agency innovation leads – you know the kinds of people we’re talking about – have been trying to make AR happen FOR YEARS. And let’s be honest: it hasn’t. But things are changing...
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
The End of Typing
ComScore says that 50% of searches will be done by voice by 2020. Gartner believes that by 2020, 30% of searches won’t involve a screen at all. At present, Google says that 20% of searches in the U.S. on Android devices are done by voice. In the UK, Deloitte found that 36% of smartphone owners are aware of voice search and 11% use it regularly. 60% of people using voice have started in the last year, according to Mindmeld. Voice searches are three times more likely to focus on a local topic than a text search. And people are shifting to voice for the obvious reason: It’s easier and more efficient than typing.
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
The Tragedy of the Commons in Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing only works when the communications are authentic – from the perspective of the audience. When influencers are offered a load of cash to pimp the latest product or service, the audience is usually tolerant for a while. But when an influencer veers towards shill too often, credibility loss and audience erosion are sure to follow. We know this because we’ve seen it before – with celebrities. Will.i.am isn’t a particularly valuable partner for brands these days (in our opinion), because everyone knows he’s for sale. And yet, some agencies and lots of brands are happy to stump up to established and emerging digital influencers and expect that the influencer will become a spokesperson for the brand. Over time, this threatens to disrupt the opportunity for everyone as audiences question the credibility not just of individual influencers, but of the whole medium.
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
The Amazon Awakening
Amazon will be the most important emerging platform for digital advertising in 2018. This is not about product pages. It’s about thinking of Amazon as a useful platform for advertising in every part of the sales funnel. And they’ve got the product suite to match.
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
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