Trends redefining advertising, communication
2023 feels like it went by in the blink of an eye and it’s clear that there is no slowing down. The beginning of 2024 presents an opportunity to plan for what’s to come and hit the ground running.
Before we dive into marketing and communication trends for 2024, let’s recap on the biggest marketing highlights from 2023. In 2023, the movie Barbie dominated multiple marketing channels for months across the world. The campaign took viewers on a journey as they applied a ‘bread-crumb’ approach and shared video-shorts/ reels with fans.
This naturally got fans engaging online in anticipation of the movie and other brands were drawn to the hype. Much like the saying goes: 'if you can’t beat them, join them’, we saw several brands collaborate with Barbie and launch exclusive products and deals which sky-rocketed both sales and pre-movie ticket sales. We can all agree that the Barbie hype could not be ignored and something quite magical happened when they made the movie. A question to ask is, can the Barbie movie hype be replicated or topped in 2024? Time, approach and innovation will tell.
My top three trends that could shake the marketing and communication world in 2024 are:
1. Blockchain marketing: Blockchain technology has become very popular over the last couple of years. When it was first introduced it was purely associated with cryptocurrencies but with new innovations, even marketers and brands can leverage it to boost the performance of their digital marketing strategies. In 2024, we could see more brands using Blockchain marketing for consumer buying insights and more accurate tracking of their habits. This will allow brands to be even more intentional about how they target digital adverts, while also giving customers the transparency they seek to determine their loyalty to a brand.
2. Affiliate Marketing: With the organic attraction to micro-influencers by brands, it would be interesting to see affiliate marketing take-off in 2024. This approach would take ‘paid partnerships’ to another level as it would allow for influencers or content creators to demonstrate their direct impact on the bottom line. With affiliate marketing also being driven by AI, we can hope to see more strategic and accurate collaborations between brands and content creators that include the average customer. It would be a win-win relationship for brands and customers.
3. Ephemeral content: Short- lived or time bound content that disappears from a social media page has grown very popular over the last year. Insights indicate that this form of content will only increase this year as it gives brands a human appeal which helps customers connect to brands better. Brands can use this by creating a frequent, low-lift touchpoint with their audience to stay relevant. This approach is much like creating FOMO to trigger a response from customers such as having an exclusive deal in a story that a customer can gain from.
Tina Mokobi is deputy Managing Director at Incepta Communications