Ten Digital Trends for 2020

The way we currently interact on social platforms is evolving to favor private before public interaction. To stay relevant within social, marketers will have to change the way they think about social potentially by how they measure its value, but more importantly by how they can build and retain interaction on their social channels through this shift.

Over the past few years, Facebook and Google have introduced bidding automation to help advertisers reach their target audience while maximizing efficiency. More recently, the platforms have pushed additional automation offerings in regard to more enhanced bidding strategies and placement mix while limiting reporting visibility for advertisers. These updates represent a major shift for these walled gardens, and agencies are having to adapt how they plan, buy, and optimize their digital media.

As we see the rise of influencer marketing now hit its peak with oversaturation, it can be argued that brand collaborations are headed for the same fate. Collaborations are by no means new, but the rise of social media has given it a new life – unfortunately to the point where now social media influencers are hurting their own brand trying to create new content and stay relevant.

Dive in to one of the most relevant techniques combining deep learning (artificial intelligence) and special effects. If you haven’t heard about deepfakes, you might be living under a rock, which might not be a bad thing since this technique is being used to fake politicians’ speeches, to add Nicolas Cage to all sorts of movies and videos, and to create user-generated content for social media.

In 2020 brands’ creativity in the digital realm will be on full display, with e-commerce playing its biggest role yet. Consumers are well acquainted with mobile shopping and are primed for a little more creativity in their digital brand experiences. Enter a year for experimentation. The blurred lines between content and commerce are allowing a brand’s story to be shared through many media and to reach the right consumer in the most convenient of ways.

Every cultural phenomenon that rises to define a generation seems to be followed by an underlying youth counterculture that challenges the social norm. The post-war consumerism and conformity of the 1950s gave way to a radical freedom and rebellion counterculture in the 1960s. The corporate greed “yuppies” of the 1980s set the stage for the teenage slackers who made up the grunge subculture in the 1990s. Most recently, the Pinterest-perfect, Instagram-flawless social media profiles that defined the 2010s will fuel a more digital anarchy among teens in the 2020s.

It’s been almost four years since the 2016 election, and we are gearing up for another 365 days of polls, pundits, and politics. We are all going to witness one of the most polarizing elections in recent memory – and the big question for brands looms – should we get involved?

Tsundoku is a Japanese term that means the piling of unread books. Today, your pile of books may be only a couple of titles deep, but your “pile” of content is much larger. In 2020, the age of multimedia tsundoku, how can brands avoid gathering dust on the proverbial bookshelf of the Internet? By becoming “architects of familiar surprises” who push the envelope of what’s advanced yet acceptable to their audience.

Podcasts have never been more popular, and the barriers to entry for brands to enter the space have never been lower. It’s time that brands start seeing podcasts not just as a digital replacement to radio, but as a legitimate testing ground for sparking new ideas and connecting with audiences in a deeper, more authentic way.

Why have so many corporations gone all-in on social issues, causes, and that squishiest of words: purpose? In America, the responsibility for moral leadership has historically rested squarely and safely on the broad shoulders of three culturally expansive institutions – our government, the church, and academia. But today, trust in our president, our preachers, and our professors is lower than it’s ever been. And into this nascent moral leadership void step…brands?