January 5, 2016

10 Critical Market Trends for 2016

A few of the trends are current market values morphing into new market structures. Some are new market tenets. All are actionable.

Robert Passikoff,

by Robert Passikoff,

Founder & President at Brand Keys Inc

0

Marketing-trends

 

By Dr. Robert Passikoff:

As researchers who have eyes only for predictive metrics, we appreciate having a real strategic foundation of insights to help identify trends. So, for the past 31 years, Brand Keys has conducted a year-end examination of our validated loyalty and emotional engagement metrics, this year representing over 100,000 consumer interviews, more than 150 B-2-B and B-2-C categories, and nearly 1,000 brands.

This provides Brand Keys with a correlated-to-behavior view of changes in category drivers, path-to-purchase values, consumer expectations, the arrival, departure, and formation of category and customer values, as well as the percent-contribution these elements make to consumer engagement and brand profitability.

Examined in aggregate, these assessments provide our clients with a leading-indicator trajectory of future trends marketers will have to address in the next 18 to 24 months. For marketers and brand managers who want stay ahead of that trajectory this analysis identified 10 critical trends that will become 2016’s market realities. A few of the trends are current market values morphing into new market structures. Some are new market tenets. All are actionable opportunities for brands, and have been identified as follows:

  1. We only have emojis for you.

The eyes have it and increased consumer visual literacy rates will concurrently and dramatically increase use and utility of emoticons. Using emoticons will help to create brand differentiation, make brands appear user-friendlier, and increase engagement, particularly in social media outreach. 

  1. New rules of engagement.

Awareness will be a given. Marketers will link “engagement” to how well brands are perceived versus their category’s Ideal, rather than relying on measures of entertainment like “likes,” tweets, or share counts.

  1. A brand is your best brand asset.

 Brands will need to differentiate and stand for something meaningful, emotional, and important in the mind of the consumer. Otherwise – whether known or not – marketers will find themselves managing well-known commodities.

  1. Watch smart wearables move beyond watches.

Wearable device shipments have already increased 200% from last year and smart wearables will move from accessories, focused on notifications, to more advanced capabilities doing more, creating real opportunities for brands.

  1. Shopping at the sMall.

A new twist on customization and personalization will become a new tradition. Consumers will seek out ready-made from brands able to create the look and feel of small-business, handmade, uniquely- crafted products, services, and experiences.

  1. Emotional brand IQs will rise.

As consumer decision-making becomes more emotionally-based, successful brands will identify and utilize emotional values as strategic foundations for meaningful positioning, differentiation, and more authentic storytelling.

  1. Mind the expectation gap.

The ability for brands to accurately measure real, unarticulated, and constantly-expanding consumer expectations will provide significant advantages to engage, delight, and profit for brands that can.

  1. Caution: speed trap ahead.

As more-and-more agile, hot-wired-to-mobile-device, culture-of-now consumers move faster and faster á la social marketing and outreach, brands will need to get faster too. 40 percent of consumers expect a brand response across a variety of social media platforms within an hour of their reaching out to the brand. 

  1. Naked truth vs. well-dressed lies.

Storytelling is fine, but the stories brands tell must reflect real brand values, category realities and, most importantly, the truth. Consumers have signaled increased preferences for traditional, value-driven brands, and particularly brand honesty, have become more wary of brands that betray their trust. Just ask Volkswagen how that’s going.

  1. On-demand escapism.

Consumers will demand to be more inspired, more emotionally engaged, and more entertained by brands. Social media’s democratization of content creation will require that brands generate more immersive virtual and augmented realities that allow consumers to both participate – and shape – their own brand experiences.

It’s said that a new year provides marketers and brands a chance for new resolutions and new beginnings. But if you want to do something new, you have to stop doing something old. These 10 trends provide brands with an opportunity to break habits, embrace new methods of brand engagement, and introduce new business models, new technologies, and new – and profitable – opportunities.

Thanks for listening in. We wish you all an engaging and profitable 2016.

0

smart technologyvirtual reality

Disclaimer

The views, opinions, data, and methodologies expressed above are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official policies, positions, or beliefs of Greenbook.

Comments

Comments are moderated to ensure respect towards the author and to prevent spam or self-promotion. Your comment may be edited, rejected, or approved based on these criteria. By commenting, you accept these terms and take responsibility for your contributions.

More from Robert Passikoff,

Why market research deserves a seat at the table

Research Methodologies

Why market research deserves a seat at the table

How do we get market research back around the decision-making table?

Robert Passikoff,

Robert Passikoff,

Founder & President at Brand Keys Inc

Research Methodologies

Believability Is An Issue When Brands Use Social Media

What does the Netflix/Verizon spat tell us about brand trust? New data indicates quite a bit it seems.

Robert Passikoff,

Robert Passikoff,

Founder & President at Brand Keys Inc

Brand Strategy

Super Bowl XLVIII Ad Engagement Review: Why Brands Must Engage, Not Just Entertain

The Super Bowl Engagement Survey predictively measures consumers’ emotional and rational reactions to brands.

Robert Passikoff,

Robert Passikoff,

Founder & President at Brand Keys Inc

Insights Industry News

What’s Going To Happen To Your Brand?

There are a lot of questions smart CMOs, marketers, planners, and brand strategists should ask about their research.

Robert Passikoff,

Robert Passikoff,

Founder & President at Brand Keys Inc

ARTICLES

Moving Away from a Narcissistic Market Research Model

Research Methodologies

Moving Away from a Narcissistic Market Research Model

Why are we still measuring brand loyalty? It isn’t something that naturally comes up with consumers, who rarely think about brand first, if at all. Ma...

Devora Rogers

Devora Rogers

Chief Strategy Officer at Alter Agents

The Stepping Stones of Innovation: Navigating Failure and Empathy with Carol Fitzgerald
Natalie Pusch

Natalie Pusch

Senior Content Producer at Greenbook

Sign Up for
Updates

Get what matters, straight to your inbox.
Curated by top Insight Market experts.

67k+ subscribers

Weekly Newsletter

Greenbook Podcast

Webinars

Event Updates

I agree to receive emails with insights-related content from Greenbook. I understand that I can manage my email preferences or unsubscribe at any time and that Greenbook protects my privacy under the General Data Protection Regulation.*