The 12 digital marketing trends of 2011

The IPv6 transition will be interesting to watch. Projection mapping sounds very Blade Runner.

Feels like some pretty solid, well thought out predictions here Cathie.

I hadn’t thought about using the possibilities of unique IP’ing to deepen
datasets – but it makes sense. Well, it makes sense if the majority of IPs remain static.

Anywah, good stuff. It’s nice to see some thoughts on coming trends that feel grounded in reality.

‘Smart phone sales will eclipse PC sales by 2010, according to recent figures from Morgan Stanley.’
Isn’t it 2011 already?

Awesome post, Cathie.

I think we’ve already seen the rise of social shopping with Groupon and the like – but it will be interesting to see how that evolves in the social sphere and how sales will evolve in regards to people based by location or interest facilitated by social.
I very much would love to see transactions via mobile and geolocation tools.
Stickybits looks like it’s an awesome concept; but getting people used to the concept of scanning items and walking out the store will be interesting. (Just the other day I saw a poor employee being abused by a woman because the store only had self-service checkouts and no real staff. She looked on the verge of tears because she had no idea what to do.)

The iWallet sounds very interesting (I need to look into it more!); but we’re already seeing shifting financial models and payment methods (like the Windows Phone 7 marketplace …and I keep waiting for Flattr to take off to microdonate to online content).

I’d like to think that user experiences can not only be seamless on different interfaces; but that browsers can sync where we’re up to when we’re browsing. I’d love to be able to be reading a webpage on my mobile and when I get to work that site loads in my browser from where I left off. (Actually, this totally should have been invented already. Someone link me to this ;))

As hopeful as I am for Diaspora, I fear it doesn’t have the crowd behind it; and the huge network of interaction is very hard to catch up to. The proliferation of ‘Likes’ on the web, with Facebook Connect means that Facebook is so integrated with my browsing experience that a competitor, as much as I’d love to see, would need to work really hard to fight that. In saying that, there’s a lot of features I’d like to be able to plugin and customise in my social network, that I think that this demand might rise especially among digital native in the next few years.

It’s also a really exciting time for internet tv – it is in the crossover time where not only is the technology available (come on NBN!), television channels and distributors are actively looking towards merging with the internet and the consumer demand is prevalent. At the moment, people are making-do with downloads and tweeting during live television, however, I also think that in 2011 this will shift and the migration will have some very interesting results.

However, I think there is more to explore in the realm of cloud computing – since there is personalised cloud computing, like Dropbox, which is the norm for many people I know – but how that will shift with Operating Systems, servers and software will be a whole different kettle of fish, with tablets and other mobile devices having a whole lot of room to play in this area.

*Cough* I guess I’d better get back to work now. *shifty eyes*

these read more like technology trends than marketing trends tbh.

marketing can’t hide behind new tech.

I think 2011 will also see a rise in micropayment technologies, which will work hand-in-hand with the rise of geolocation tools. Interesting not to see micropayments in Cathie’s list. Both of the leading smartphone providers (Apple and Google) have my credit card details on file and I know I’m not alone there. A buck here, a buck there, and soon you’re talking a serious business model.

I don’t see how the IP4->IP6 migration affects marketing in any way shape or form so I propose you replace #8 with NFC which will in turn revolutionise mobile payments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_payment) as distinct from how you tangentially touch on it in #4

Google are already including it in the NexusS. Watch it become more ubiquitous throughout 2011 on other android devices and mobile platforms.

As for QR codes? lots of marketing hype, but aside from some cool art uses (I’ve lost a great example link), NFC should finally see the death knell of something which belongs where it was initiated – in a car factory.

Facebook was valued at over $50 Billion which is more than Time Warner or Boeing and gives it a price to earnings ratio around 4 to 5 times more than Apple and Google.

Twitter was valued at $4.1 Billion in spite of it not even being able to generate any earnings at all.

Social Media is over hyped and over sold.

Most of these predictions have already happened.

Are people really reading this and thinking ‘Wow, I never saw that coming. I wonder if it actually happens!’

Strong and well thought out list Cathie.

Agree with Franksting on NFC – this will get stronger this year and explode in 2012.

Francois – I don’t really see these as predictions. You are right about them already happening. I think Cathie is suggesting these will become more mainstream in 2011 and therefore more likely to be part of the marketing mix that will get a decent budget.

I too agree with Paul. These are really some pretty solid, well thought out predictions here Cathie. However, it all comes down to economic growth.If you are really looking forward to hear about future trends in digital and mobile marketing, industry experts can answer your queries much vividly. Click (shameless plug for event removed by Mumbrella) is just the right platform for budding entrepreneurs as well as business houses to exchange their mutual knowledge and expertise in respective fields. Besides this event comes with the potential to generate tremendous brand exposure for start-ups in the digital marketing field. Make it a point to book your reservation early

Hi, very interesting article. I am about to start uni this year (as a mature age student) and since some of the bigger retailers were complaining about online shopping I decided that my other major (besides marketing) would now be e commerce. You need to be at the forefront of your career so you can always be on top and ahead of your game. As I believe that if you are behind the times how can you keep up?

Hi Cathie,

I enjoyed your article. Are you able to provide a source for the quote below? Thanks.

“Facebook landing pages alone won’t keep an audience engaged: with less than 2% of fans revisiting a brand’s page after becoming a fan”

Great post. Especially agree re shopping (and decision making in general) being more influenced by social platforms. “If my friends like it, then I will too.”

More sources of information (online mainly) is making for more savvy consumers. So I think we may see the emphasis shift away from Branding (as its thought of in a traditional sense anyway) and towards engagment promotions, transparency, and especially customer service.

There’s a lot of things I see on this list as likely to be a short term fad, if they even take off at all. Things like social shopping and mobile / smart phone related technologies are a great idea but I’m afraid they are at great risk of falling into this category. I wouldn’t go as far as declaring them fads, but if nothing else this list provides a lot of things for people to keep an eye on in terms of development and uptake.

For me, there are a few things that seem a bit more certain though:
– Transmedia is probably one of the strongest things I can see here as being a solid trend.
– Facebook is massively over-rated and is usually sold on potential and not what it actually achieves.
– Full integration of marketing campaigns across all effective media needs to happen.
– Cloud computing has been around for a while now and is great.
– Data reliance is going to increase as we find new ways to measure, and measure accurately.
– IPTV is an awesome idea in theory, but I’ve seen little progress in this area between device manufacturers and publishers, meaning a lot of content is blocked at the moment. Don’t get me started on bandwidth problems either…

Thank God someone mentioned DATA. This will now, more than ever be the corner stone of marketing success. What you know about customers and prospects and how that translates into the message they receive is the only way marketing communications will be successful in 2011 and beyond. The best way to break through the clutter is to build relevancy with the recipient of the message. It will be this relevancy that comes from the DATA and it will give the communication the best opoortunity for success.

Hi Simon,

The stats are courtesy of a Brand Glue study http://brandglue.com/, and are certainly reflective of results I’ve seen across various campaigns.

Cathie

As Mary Meeker is one of the best in her field, I though someone should link to her original presentation:

http://www.morganstanley.com/i.....s_web2.pdf

Have a read of Richard Watson’s “Future Minds”.

I would love some advice from all your Digital Marketers out there. I have been a BTL marketers for 13 years. I would love love love to learn more about Digital – my main reason is that the digital ‘experts’ I have worked with are far from it, they lack the knoweldge and operational skills I had hoped for. So this year, I want to learn myself.

Any recommendations on course, seminars, places to learn more? And I mean LEARN more, not just sit in a workshop and forum and walk away with top line ideas which you cant implement.

Help please – Im really keen to boarden my skills into this area.
Thanks muchly!

I too agree with Paul. These are really some pretty solid, well thought out predictions here Cathie. However, it all comes down to economic growth.If you are really looking forward to hear about future trends in digital and mobile marketing, industry experts can answer your queries much vividly.
(Shameless plug for conference removed by Mumbrella), Asia’s largest Digital & Mobile Marketing Conference is just the right platform for budding entrepreneurs as well as business houses to exchange their mutual knowledge and expertise in respective fields. Besides this event comes with the potential to generate tremendous brand exposure for start-ups in the digital marketing field. Make it a point to book your reservation early.

I too agree with Andy. These are really some pretty solid, well thought out predictions here Cathie. However, it all comes down to economic growth.If you are really looking forward to hear about future trends in digital and mobile marketing, industry experts can answer your queries much vividly. (shameless plug for conference removed by Mumbrella), Asia’s largest Digital & Mobile Marketing Conference is just the right platform for budding entrepreneurs as well as business houses to exchange their mutual knowledge and expertise in respective fields. Besides this event comes with the potential to generate tremendous brand exposure for start-ups in the digital marketing field. Make it a point to book your reservation early.

I’d stop agreeing with people now If I were you, Sally.

Anonymous … I agree.

That’s some solid agreeing there Sally.

The key word in Cathie’s heading is ‘digital’…. Yes, there is a lot of talk of technology in this story, but marketing can no longer be fully effective without technology consideration and the integration of digital marketing into the mix. Of course we, frequenters of this medium, would know that many of these trends are up and running… What Cathie projects is that they become mainstream and she is correct. I look forward to seeing the laggards join in! 🙂

Client-side education regarding potential of transmedia is an important area, particularly for small business clients. In the niche magazine market on the editorial side of the business we are seeing a good response.

interesting read, thanks

I agree with Sally.

Agreed. Solid.

Sarah D – you might find Digital Citizens useful (full disclosure / shameless self-promotion – I’m one of the co-founders) – it’s a forum intended for people working in the industry to learn, connect and share. There’s usually a panel discussion, people share case studies and it’s generally fairly practical.

Thanks for the comments all, especially my new BFF Sally.

Stay solid…