We couldn't be more excited for 2015. Seeds have been planted in the digital realm in the past year that will amount to some of the most pivotal shifts in history. Everything from changing the way we pay for everyday goods, to blurring the lines between reality and virtual worlds. The amount of new technology and behavioral changes across all touch-points on the horizon is truly staggering. The sea change in the marketing industry to evolve digital from a segmented curiosity to an always-present part of the puzzle will ultimately divide marketers into two categories: future ready, and extinct.

2. CRYPTO CURRENCIES WILL EXPAND
INTO MAINSTREAM COMMERCE
Bitcoin and other crypto currencies have been and will continue to fuel
the black-market economy, owing to their electronic convenience and
cash-like anonymity. Last year, however, Bitcoin got a huge boost in
legitimacy (and value) as panicking Cypriots turned to the currency in
droves, looking to shelter their savings during Cyprus' banking crisis.
Bitcoin will become increasingly common in 2015 as more major
retailers begin to accept it. Bitcoin banks like Circle, with its fully
insured deposits, will increase consumer confidence and help to make
catastrophic collapses (like the Mt. Gox fiasco) a thing of the past.

3. CHANGING THE WAY WE PAY:
MOBILE PAYMENTS ON THE RISE
The ways that we exchange money are rapidly evolving. In 2015,
mobile payments will continue to grow, fueled by the recent rollout of
Apple Pay. The consumers' eagerness to adopt this next gen
technology indicates that NFC payments will soon be as mainstream
as credit cards. In addition, Facebook is entering the money transfer
arena soon with through Messenger and "Buy Now" buttons. Peer-to-
peer money transfers will grow substantially as indicated by the
runaway success of Paypal's Venmo, and the ambitious upstart
Snapcash. This means that services like Facebook and Twitter will be
promoting their services aggressively in order to stake a claim in this
wildly lucrative market.

4. APPLE WATCH WILL MAKE THE
MASSES DESIRE WEARABLE TECH
Proving that their sense of irony is alive and well, Apple, the company
that put the final nail in the coffin of the venerable wristwatch, will
start a revolution with a wristwatch. Until now, wearable tech was a
novelty; something for joggers who wanted to brag on Facebook. All of
that changes in 2015. Since its announcement in late 2012, techies have
been whispering about the iWatch killing the iPhone. If the rumors
prove true, smart watches and other wearable tech will rise from
novelty to necessity and alter our daily lives as dramatically as smart
phones did in the mid 2000s.

5. PROGRAMMATIC ADVERTISING
AND DYNAMIC CREATIVE WILL
CONTINUE THEIR TAKEOVER
Programmatic media will put price pressure on traditional media (TV,
Radio, Print, OOH, and Tradigital Media), making it, as a whole, more
efficient. Media companies will need to consolidate to maintain
market share and business health. Also, big data intrusion will
continue to be a hot topic fueling programmatic and contextual
advertising discussions. Traditional Media will see a surge in usage
but not necessarily a surge in revenue due to price pressure from
programmatic media competition. Programmatic advertising will see
new avenues of growth via efficient native advertising and dynamic
creative technologies that adapt to the properties they are being served
on.

6. VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES
WILL TAKE A MASSIVE LEAP INTO
THE MAINSTREAM
When Facebook bought Oculus earlier this year, the Internet held its
collective breath. Could their brilliant minds and limitless coffers
deliver the VR technology that sci-fi has been promising us for
decades? The answer, it seems, is "yes, sooner than you think." Oculus
recently debuted their Crescent Bay prototype, and by all accounts, it's
incredible. Competition from giants like Samsung will only make it
better sooner. Companies like Meta and Magic Leap are working on
augmented reality systems that will blur the line between reality and
the virtual world. At this point, the possibilities for gaming, film and
TV, education, and medicine (to name just a few) are limitless.

7. SOCIAL MEDIA BEHAVIORS WILL
SHIFT TOWARDS TRIBES AND
SMALLER INTEREST-FOCUSED
COMMUNITIES
We'll see a resurgence of old web technologies and a decrease in the
popularity of all-encompassing social platforms. Due to the recently
increased focus on privacy, forums, private messaging, and
anonymous social platforms are on the rise. Facebook's "Rooms" for
example, is a throwback to the days of "pseudonymous" forums. Cyber
bullying and illegal activity will lead to the rise and fall of any number
of anonymous chat rooms and social networks such as Yik Yak due to
pressure from government, communities/citizens, and investors.

8. THE CONNECTED SERVICE
ECOSYSTEM WILL CONTINUE
TO EXPAND
In 2015, we're going to go far past novelty Internet-connected gadgets and
shift more into the connected service. The release of Amazon Echo will
mark the beginning of the connected personal assistant hardware
revolution. The number of connected devices will continue to increase,
creating a community of symbiotic tech offerings. Dropcam, Nest, and
Uber are all examples of how services will extend and intermingle,
allowing each user to create a personalized ecosystem. Home automation
will extend into personal automation with smart algorithms helping
predict what we want when. In 2015, a greater focus will be placed on
creating curated content experiences to accompany all the colored lights
and smart thermostats.

9. EXPERTISE AS A SERVICE WILL EXPAND
THROUGH DIGITAL MENTORING AND
BETTERMENT
Rather than having just one mentor or Life Coach, people will connect to individual
"Skill Coaches" digitally through apps like Rise, Google Helpouts, and other
platforms that link users with experts. These apps and experts can offer advice and
answer questions about virtually anything (e.g. healthcare, gardening, fitness).
Whatever the topic, it's very likely that there is a knowledgeable expert out there
ready to connect and help. This will lead to the idea of "betterment" going beyond
"measurement" to improvement. Platforms like Basis, Fitbit, and Arccos will use
algorithms and crowd-grouped data to give you insights on how to improve. Tools
like GOQii not only track diet and exercise, they also pair users with trainers,
combining their powerful algorithm with human experts to help users become their
best selves.

10. CONSUMERS WILL GET KICKSTARTER
AND PRE-SALE FATIGUE
While its 2009 launch drew accolades from virtually everyone, a
growing number of increasingly high profile campaign failures imply
that the honeymoon period is over for Kickstarter (and similar crowd
funding sites). Delivery delays (only 25% of projects are delivered on
time), shoddy products, and flat out scams are leading to a rise in
wariness among funders. Many have learned the hard way that an
amazing pre-sale bargain can turn into a tremendous waste of money
in the space of a few short months. A staggering 90% of Kickstarter
campaigns fail to reach even 30% of their funding goals. Whether this
is due to lack of trust or lack of interest is a question that all crowd
funding platforms must address in 2015 if they wish to remain
relevant in the future.

11. THE UBIQUITY OF ON-DEMAND
CONTENT PUTS CABLE COMPANIES
UNDER THREAT
The separation of streaming video and broadcast TV will continue to
erode. As streaming devices (Amazon, Roku, Chromecast) get cheaper
and evermore ubiquitous, the threat they pose to cable companies grows.
For this reason, expect pushback from the big providers as the FCC moves
to enact strict net neutrality laws in 2015. All of their sound and fury will
ultimately signify nothing, however, as the days of channel surfing in
search of the least objectionable program are numbered. Consumers will
continue to demand the ability to build the content that fits their needs,
on-demand.

12. HTML5 & JAVASCRIPT-POWERED
EXPERIENCES WILL FORCE MARKETERS
TO QUESTION NATIVE APPS
Robust, app-like experiences will become more popular as an alternative to
actual apps. More and more brands will move towards HTML5 responsive
solutions to deliver better user experiences across the myriad of mobile
browsers that consumers are now using to connect with brands. Adding to
the attractiveness (and increasing the adoption rate) of this strategy is the
low barrier of entry, negating the need to visit an app store. These browser-
based mobile experiences will begin to incorporate more complex elements
like more robust animation, WebGL 3D, and interactions that utilize the
phone's built-in hardware, especially for gyro-driven motion.

13. PERSONALIZATION AND DATA
LAKES WILL EMPOWER SMARTER
RETAIL COMMERCE
Predictive personalization will continue to dominate. Personalized
merchandising strategies for ecommerce have always been difficult to
execute, creating headaches for both brand managers and their teams.
Now, with sophisticated and agile cloud commerce platforms like
Demandware, as well as platforms from Apteryx, Attivio, Lattice, SAS,
etc., these models can easily be fine tuned to drive personalized value.
Additionally, as predictive personalization continues to expand and
improve, expect increased discussion and debate about where to draw
the line when it comes to customer privacy.

14. CUSTOMER HAPPINESS AND
EXPERIENCE METRICS WILL TRUMP
OTHER MEASUREMENTS
Since the dawn of ecommerce, brands have been striving to increase
check-out conversion, decrease cart abandonment, and increase
average lifetime value through user experience and conversion
enhancement. In 2015 we are going to see customer happiness metrics
driving bespoke experiences. Things like sending a custom tailor to
your doorstep via a comped Uber ride or inviting you to a VIP event
that taps into the lifestyle side of commerce will be some of the ways
that quasi pop-up stores and superfan early reveals will help to
increase a brand's net promoter score (NPS) and other experience
metrics.

15. HANSEL AND GRETEL HAD IT RIGHT:
THE RISE OF DIGITAL BREADCRUMBING
Digital "breadcrumbing" will grow in popularity. People will increasingly
utilize apps like Foursquare to keep up with friends and leave their digital
mark on the physical world. Apps like Spayce will bring social networking into
the real world, connecting people like never before. Instagram location tags
and Pinterest Place Pins will drive visual and contextual searches. Brands will
begin to leverage this data to spot trends and develop new products.

16. PREDICTIVE PRICING SOLUTIONS
WILL RESHAPE THE PURCHASE
FUNNEL
Programmatic advertising has become hugely popular with marketers
recently. Soon, algorithm driven pricing will give brand managers the
power to adjust prices based on both the market and the context. Is a
storm prediction in Freeport driving up demand for umbrellas? No
problem! Price elasticity will be controlled automatically in real time
with a customizable trading desk style machine. A tool this powerful
will obviously be expensive, but wise brand managers who adapt early
will realize a handsome return on their investment.