Marketing Briefing: 4 trends that captured marketers’ attention the last six months and what’s next

By Kristina Monllos

The last six months has been a whirlwind for marketers. Dealing with ever-changing consumer sentiment due to the ongoing pandemic has meant adapting messaging on a dime to meet the moment. At the same time, the looming death of the third-party cookie has been more pressing with privacy changes shifting in the marketplace. For the latest edition of our marketing briefing, we look back at four trends that have dominated the last six months and how marketers have navigated those issues.

Privacy impact

The first half of the year was a mix of privacy changes from tech behemoths Apple (i.e. iOS 14) and Google. Despite Google’s recent decision to give a reprieve for cookies, that doesn’t change the trajectory of the industry when it comes to privacy changes. Marketers are continuing to test alternatives to third-party cookies to prep for life without them. Now, those marketers have more runway to test and learn, according to marketers and ad execs who say they will continue to work as if that stay of execution hadn’t happened.

“It does take some pressure off but we still need to start to prepare for it because Q4 2021 will be here in a few months,” said Duane Brown, founder of performance marketing shop Take Some Risk. “Then it will be 2022. 2023 is not as far away as we like to think it is. Chrome, like Apple devices, has such a large market share that trying to prepare as much as you can is more important than ever.”

Return to Normalcy

Aside from figuring out the ever-changing privacy landscape, marketers and agency execs dealt with an ever-shifting consumer mindset over the last six months concerning a return to normalcy as vaccinations increased in the United States. As people have started to gather again and attend events, marketers have tried to reflect that in advertising messages — flicking at that rather than overtly celebrating has been key — as well as where they are showing up. That means there’s been a resurgence of out-of-home ads as well as some experiential marketing. Navigating the tricky consumer mindset isn’t over yet, according to marketers and agency execs who say that dealing with a changing mindset will likely continue into the fall, especially with the Delta variant of Covid-19.

Continued rise of TikTok

Last year, TikTok’s fate in the United States was uncertain. This year, however, TikTok has continued to grow its audience beyond Gen Z and started to become a staple of the social media advertising budget, according to marketers and agency execs. The platform even had another viral brand moment with users organically creating bumper content for Adult Swim. The rise in popularity has increased costs for advertisers but that hasn’t turned away marketers just yet, according to agency execs, who say brands are prioritizing influencers on the platform now. Agency execs expect the platform to continue to grow and for marketers to look for more ways to interact with the audience there during the second half of …read more

Source:: Digiday