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#BizTrends2024: Lara-Anne Derbyshire - 4 trends that demand bold moves from creative agencies
While the ever-dynamic and on the brink of innovation, the creative industry is always on its toes, with its ever-changing and ever on the cusp of something new, the bottom line is that we need to ensure our brands stay relevant and ready to offer what people need before these needs even arise.
Anticipate, create and activate - continuously.
4 trends
- AI revolution: Gen AI and the creative canvas
Trend: The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially Gen AI, is reshaping the advertising landscape. It's not just about what we do anymore; it's about how we do it.
What that means is that AI, particularly Gen AI, is becoming a pivotal tool for creating efficiencies in developing and personalising creative content at scale. In 2024, as AI brings more opportunities for scale, efficiency, and creativity, the competition for audience attention will intensify as more and more content is produced, rapidly, efficiently and professionally at the tap of a button (so to speak).
Opportunity: Businesses should ensure that they are leveraging Gen AI and including it in their workflows to streamline creative processes, diversify thinking and campaign ideation processes and bolster creative iterations. The bold move here is to be at the forefront of AI integration into your business and ensure your customers' brands stand out in the content torrent.
- Visual search: A picture speaks a thousand conversions
Trend: Visual search is gaining momentum, driven by platforms like Pinterest, Google Lens and the new Apple iOS built-in camera (to name a few) that can recognise billions of objects. Before you had to know what you were searching for, now you merely have to point at it with a camera for hundreds of answers or options to become visible to further explore.
What that means is that search has moved on from the written word and as the younger more tech-savvy generations naturally embrace these tools - we need to understand how they can better serve us. The ability to go from a visual search to a purchase is transforming the e-commerce landscape.
Opportunity: Businesses need to add the consideration of optimisation for visual search to their strategies, ensuring their products are discoverable in this evolving search paradigm. The bold move is to look at how visual search capabilities can be leveraged for greater customer engagement.
- In-culture: Aligning with the pulse of your consumers
Trend: Culture will always come first. It is inherently what consumers connect with but now more than ever consumers want to stay true to their roots while expressing these values in modern ways. Success hinges on aligning marketing strategies with the pulse of societal norms, values, and aspirations.
What that means is that consumers want brands that align with their personal values and cultural trends. Misalignment can lead to significant setbacks.
Opportunity: The opportunity lies in understanding and syncing the brand's efforts with cultural shifts and knowing how to tap into them and build upon them in modern and appealing ways that drive relevance. The bold move here is brands should not only follow but actively contribute to the cultural conversation.
- Trust matters: We’ve got trust issues
Trend: With increasing concerns about data privacy, deep fakes now becoming more prevalent than ever and our industry needs to harness the power of this technology whilst utilising it responsibly, safeguarding against the rising mistrust of consumers (and real human beings in general) are feeling while nothing is as it seems online.
What that means is that users are becoming more conscious, sceptical and ruthless with what information they will accept and from whom. Creating brand trust is critical and it is important to carefully manage in the flurry of new bright and shiny tech and innovation.
Opportunity: The bold move here is to build brand trust by safeguarding the trust of your consumers - always have a clear strategy that remains true to your brand's purpose and never compromise the integrity of the brand by opting for something “trendy” that doesn’t align.
Bold steps into the future
The trends of 2024 demand bold moves — a shift from traditional paradigms to innovative strategies. Embrace AI, align with culture, challenge the norms, optimise visual search, and prioritise trust. In the game-changing realm of advertising, those who dare to be bold will emerge as the frontrunners, shaping the future of the industry. Stay ready, stay relevant, but stay true.
While staying on top of new things may seem a mystery to others, we know these will matter as the trends play out and become the new norms to our consumers in this world we call advertising.
All it takes is seeing the value and opportunity and then changing the game one bold thought, idea, strategy, and move at a time.
About Lara-Anne Derbyshire
Lara is a brand specialist who has been in the advertising industry for over a decade. Her key areas of interest are consumer behaviour & psychology and the impact thereof on creating brand positioning and strategies that solve business challenges and truly resonate with consumers.