Next year will be anything but quiet

By Jamie Riddell, CEO, Co-Founder, Digital Tomorrow Today, August 24, 2012 at 10:55 am. One response.

Sure, there are no major events, but how many brands actually benefited from them in 2012? To benefit from the major events, a brand either had to become an event partner or boost its media spend to gain awareness. For the rest of the market, these events meant distractions away from ‘normal’ media consumption and a shift in bank holidays which meant more distractions from traditional media consumption.

So a year without these distractions 2013 will be more of a ‘normal year’ than 2012. However, that doesn’t mean businesses can kick back. In a year forecast for legible or zero economy growth, the consumer pound will be even harder to reach. A strategy of ‘Keep Calm & Carry On’ will not work

With no major distractions to plan for, 2013 (and the months leading into 2013) will be a great opportunity to review existing strategies, practices and results. Can improvements be made that will improve customer engagement, conversion or retention? Now would be the time to look at these elements.

But next year will not be totally quiet. 2013 will no doubt see its share of new releases from Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple. Some of these will be game changers. You only need look at the impact of the iPad launch and the roll out of Facebook timeline’s to understand the potential impact. The approved Facebook/Instagram deal, the growth in Social TV and Second Screen Media consumption will also start to impact on existing strategies and results. And when was the last time you thought, “We must consider Yahoo in our marketing strategy”? A reinvigorated company under the leadership of Marissa Meyer could well bring them back from the wilderness.

2013 will be a challenging year and anything but quiet. The smart brands should be planning to review their plans in late 2012 to ensure they achieve the maximum results for 2013.