In direct marketing, everybody’s a prognosticator. Here are some of the top calls for the next year from our mailbag.
The reversal begins. A growing number of marketing campaigns will be led by digital and supported by offline as first-party customer data grows in importance.
–Finnegan Faldi, CEO, TruEffect
The Rise of “MomPopolies”: Social media has been a great equalizer for many small brands, which have used Facebook and other platforms as soapboxes from which their loyal customers can sing their praises. Add online transaction-processing technologies and a small dress shop in Petaluma can compete with Macy’s in Cincinnati. The result is what we call MomPopolies – Mom and Pop establishments with as much engagement power as some of their national rivals, but with the ability (and panache) – of being hands-on local.
Loyalty to go. The degree to which data generation drives positive feedback to loyalty marketers is critical, and much of that feedback derives from mobile technology. Adoption numbers alone should tell loyalty marketers and brands that mobile is where they need to be in 2013.
— Michael Hemsey, president, Kobie Marketing
Privacy in the spotlight. Marketers who walk the walk of customer-centricity will tread more lightly when pursuing personal information. In light of newly revised Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act regulations, more Internet advertisers will be careful when marketing to children under 13. Marketers in the know about mobile marketing will also be careful using geolocation from mobile devices to deliver ads campaign. A great majority of people view this as very creepy and, if not used nimbly, the strategy could backfire.
–Larry Ponemon, The Ponemon Institute
The year of video? Video will find its way into every form of online advertising: pre-rolls, rich media banners, mobile, and social media.
— Diaz Nesamoney, CEO, Jivox
A holly-jolly year for iPads and Androids. Android phones and tablets will continue to move past the iPhone in marketing influence. iPad and Android device searches grew 200% over the past year while iPhone searches grew 58%.
–Rohan Chandran, executive director for consumer products, YP (formerly the Yellow Pages)
Aggregate, good times, c’mon! Demand for high-quality, third-party data will [continually] increase as test budgets continue to translate into permanent demand for high-performing data. [That high-quality data] will be widely available as consolidation allows the cream of the data aggregator crop to rise to the top.
— Michael Benedek, CEO, Datonics
Retail 2.0. Retailers will make more use of Big Data to personalize their marketing and deliver and more enhanced shopping experience by accommodating shopper preferences and habits throughout the entire shopping cycle.
—Retalix Ltd.
