TOP DIGITAL TRENDS: 2014

Trends to look out for in 2014 and how best can we leverage them for brands

KEY TRENDS IN 2014

top digital trends: 2014

• Storyfication through visuals & videos • Topical Content through the Brand Lens

• Mobile gets Smarter, more Social • Digitally wired on-ground experiences

• Get Social with Celebs

• Blogging: Visual & List-based

• Influencers to Brand Advocates

KEY TRENDS IN 2014

storifycation through visuals & videos…

• ‘Visual Social’ will take center stage in 2014 • Increased smartphone penetration has fueled the success

of visual based platforms • 350 Million + photos uploaded everyday

• Visual platforms like tumblr, pinterest, instagram etc have witnessed unprecedented growth

• With video consumption at an all time high; story telling through videos is becoming a popular trend

• Snack size video content creation & consumption will be bigger in 2014

• Introduction of FB video ads will change the dynamics of video advertising

KEY TRENDS IN 2014

topical content through the brand lens…

• With content overload over the last few years; content will start skewing towards being relevant than just interesting

• With FB changing the dynamics of news feed & platforms like Storify; most platforms are filtering out content on the basis of relevance

• Localized content will drive higher levels of engagement

EXAMPLES OF GLOBAL BRANDS UPDATING REAL TIME ON SOCIAL IN 2013

OREO TWITTER / FB UPDATE DURING SUPERBOWL BLACKOUT

TIDE TWITTER / FB UPDATE DURING SUPERBOWL BLACKOUT

COCA-COLA TWITTER / FB UPDATE AFTER BIRTH OF ROYAL BABY

KEY TRENDS IN 2014

mobile gets smarter, more social

Smartphone + Social Media Platforms • Most smartphones are integrating social media platforms

with their core • Smartphones have fueled mobile lead social platforms

such as Vine, Instagram etc. • UGC is largely driven through mobile • Most brands are driving mobile based content &

endeavoring to engage the mobile user • IM App usage is growing with Watsapp, WeChat,

Rocketalk Snapchat & BBM leading the way

KEY TRENDS IN 2014

digitally wired on-ground experiences…

• Concerts, events and even political rallies are getting increasingly digitally wired

• Digital extends before, during and after the event to maximize impact

• Digital intervention opportunities: • At the pre-event stage, FB event invites, Twitter contests for passes as

gratification (Sunburn), popularizing Twitter #tags • During event, tweet wall, Facebook RFID, blufi, AR interaction, Instagram

activities, on-demand music via Twitter, collective rewards on Tweeting/ sharing in real-time

• Post event coverage- images, text, videos, cross-pollinating blog content (in case of bloggers)

• Purely digital events • Hologram-based events (NaMo, Tupac) • Social/ online streaming (Pepsi’s Music Abhi Concert) • AR-only event unlocking (Doritos’ late night Blink 182 concert)

NaMo’s hologram-based speech

Pepsi’s virtual concert with Raghu Dixit live-streamed online + on-demand setlist based on votes

Hashtag-centered blogger meets

KEY TRENDS IN 2014

get social with celebs…

• Social Networks have been bridging the gap between celebrities & fans • Brands with celeb associations are leveraging this trend using Google

Hangouts, Tweet Chats etc. • G+ has 2.2 mn Indian users, up by 58%. Hangouts will become a key

source of interaction in 2014 • Brands using G+ hangouts by leveraging celeb associations better:

• Garnier Men’s hangout with Dravid & Sangakkara (pre IPL) preceded by Twitter contests to promote the hangout. 20k interactions, 350+ people at the hangout.

• Myntra plans to sell products through Shoppable G+ Hangouts and are partnering with Hrithik (with his line of apparel & casual wear, HRX)

• Tweet chat with celebs continues to be popular. Typically, an influencer or brand hosts the chat.

• Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) is picking up in India too. ISRO scientists organized an AMA after the Mars Mission

KEY TRENDS IN 2014

blogging: visual & list-based…

• Blogs continue to grow as a key part of the digital eco system • 36 million blog readers • Up by 48%

• Reach of blogs in India is at 49% while the average time spent is 10 mins

• Blogging will become more evolved both in the form of content & visual representation using gifs/ memes

• Sites that aggregate & feature interesting content from around the web have gained loyalists e.g. BuzzFeed, Upworthy & closer home, ScoopWhoop

• Trend in Action: Partner with ScoopWhoop to create sponsored content to popularize “Clear Speak” with topical context & content. BuzzFeed uses this model with brands like Microsoft, Levi’s etc.

KEY TRENDS IN 2014

influencers to brand advocates…

• Shraddha Sharma & Miss Malini are two stories that have changed the way social celebs/influencers are perceived

• From influencers to now being advocates; they have started a trend which will allows brands to leverage non-celeb influencers

• As word of mouth becomes critical for brands day by day; these influencers will have more power than ever

• With increased following & power to these influencers; brands can turn them to digital ambassadors & drive positive, branded word of mouth