The trends that will change how you do your job in 2018
From the GDPR opportunity and the purpose backlash to wellbeing as a differentiator, Marketing Week has rounded up all the trends you need to know going into 2018.
Below, Marketing Week outlines the eight key trends, issues and predictions that will define 2018.
Click on each heading for the full analysis.
Marketers will become more accountable in an uncertain economy
Next year is expected to get more volatile, as pressure on consumer spending means marketers will also have to be careful that their investments have a laser focus on supporting and growing sales.
Brands won’t be able to do with data what they can’t explain to customers
With GDPR coming into effect next May, the questions hanging over marketers as the deadline for compliance approaches are: how proactive have their preparations been, are their measures sufficient, and will the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) actually be capable of prosecuting anyone?
Purpose will morph back into positioning
2018 should be the year brands move away from doing purpose for purpose’s sake (particularly when it is simply a clumsy bolt-on) and instead focus on brand differentiation through better defined positioning.
Workplace wellbeing will become a business imperative
If 2017 was the year the UK started to take mental health seriously, 2018 will be the year wellbeing becomes a boardroom priority, as well as a key differentiator for employer branding.
Retailers will face a tougher test as big brands dominate
The effects of consolidation are clear for retail marketers, in that monolithic competitors will have huge marketing budgets, economies of scale to drive down prices, and a growing number of consumer touchpoints dominating share of wallet.
Brands’ perspective on gender will transform
The need to squash outdated gender stereotypes in advertising is admittedly a trend that has been a few years in the making, but 2018 will see this movement accelerate as more brands get behind it.
Marketing will finally shake off its ‘colouring-in department’ image
Marketing should lose its ‘colouring-in department’ moniker for good in 2018, as the profession proves how its commercially-savvy business decisions are having a tangible effect on the bottom line.
Marketers will find the best strategy for voice
Voice offers a new and innovative way to reach consumers that technologically advanced brands can take advantage of.
