5 Marketing Trends 2014

from Marketing Diva.com 22 Nov 13 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

As we draw closer to the end of the year, it’s important to reflect on the lessons of 2013, as they can reveal much about where the industry may be headed in the coming year. Many technologies that gained traction this year are likely to see continued growth through 2014 – altering the face of the business for years to come.
From Programmatic to Native advertising, these 5 marketing trends are sure to continue making their presence felt through 2014.

1. Increase in Mobile Real-time Bidding. The shift to real-time Bidding & Programmatic options has been pervasive in advertising overall. Even major publishers that previously resisted the change are giving in to what advertisers want and offering Programmatic options. For example, The New York Times recently hired its first-ever “programmatic” Advertising Director to guide its transition to programmatic, and USA Today opened up an Ad Exchange earlier this year to experiment with the process. Combine the growing overall trend of real-time bidding with the fact that > 1/2 of U.S. adults have a Smart-Phone, and 90% own some sort of Cell Phone, and you have a growing opportunity for Mobile Advertising.

B2C Ad buyers is where the push will come, as they want to reach audiences where they are — on their mobile devices. An AdExchanger mobile roundup earlier this year predicted mobile RTB to increase to about 30% of the market share by the end of 2013. That percentage is likely to grow significantly in 2014.

B2B Marketers, making the shift to mobile – and eventually – real-time bidding will also happen in 2014. According to this year’s report from Forrester, “The Social Behaviors of Your B2B Customers,” 80% of B2B customers are active on Social Media. Combine that with the fact that Facebook reports 48% of its users are on mobile (Twitter is even higher at 75%), and B2B marketers have plenty of reason to take advantage of mobile social ads. Twitter just purchased MoPub to expand native & real-time bidding capabilities for mobile, and it’s rumored that Facebook’s RTB exchange will expand into mobile soon.

2. More Wearable Tech = New Opportunities. While wearable technology isn’t new, the industry & devices are making a shift. With the introduction of Google Glass, smart watches & many other wearable fitness devices [like FitBit, Nike Fuel & Jawbone], the industry has grown significantly in the past few years.
For marketers, this means new opportunities to use that technology to reach users. Some retail brands are repositioning themselves with Tech Platforms in an effort to offer “added value” to their customers, as with UnderArmour’s recent purchase of fitness app MapMyFitness.

B2B & beyond. The popularity of wearable tech won’t only benefit consumer brands, but also B2B. It has been predicted that wearable tech will be increasingly used as a “productivity” tool for professionals in the medical, rescue, manufacturing & warehouse sectors. Look for partnerships that provide employee teams with wearable tech devices.

[ Facebook fades, Twitter flys; Cookie free Ad Tarketing, More Automated “Native Ad” Networks in Premium Content ]