Trends to Watch in 2008
Even with all the attention given to the Internet and new media, we are still in the early growth stages of the interactive explosion. The nineties really can be considered the early adopter stage but now we are full steam ahead in a rapid global growth stage of new media consumption. 2008 is sure to bring much more excitement and changes to our increasingly digital lifestyles. Here is a forecast of trends to watch for:
- An increasing shift from traditional marketing to new media. Only 8 percent of marketing budgets were spent on digital advertising in 2007, according to Forrester Research. This will increase to 10 percent in 2008 and will double to 16 percent by 2011.
- Video will continue to explode online. YouTube proved that they are not a fad. Look for more video advertising to be incorporated into websites. The smart marketers will go beyond just placing their tv spots on the web.
- Look for marketers to pursue a more “integrated” marketing approach by combining traditional and interactive tools within a single campaign. This will create more unique brand experiences allowing consumers to fully engage with a brand.
- Emerging media in the form of blogs, podcasts, social media, etc. will continue to mature. Consumers will begin to expect brands to offer some sort of emerging media component to interact with. Those that don’t will suffer.
- The obsession with metrics will continue to grow. Look for new technologies to incorporate metrics across various reporting platforms and customer experiences.
- Mobile marketing will continue to gain steam as companies and consumers experiment with the media.
- Email marketing will become more sophisticated as marketers adopt sophisticated tools to deliver relevant and personalized messages to their target audiences.
- Search marketing has been dominating and will continue to dominate in 2008, because it works and is extremely cost-effective.
These are the big things to watch for in 2008. Overall, the interactive industry will continue to grow at a rapid pace, more start-ups will appear and fortunes will be made. The second big tech-boom has arrived! 2008 is going to be great!