Today’s consumers are more powerful than ever, and they are telling us what they want: implicitly through behavior and data—and explicitly through direct communication—consumers are telling us what they want. Read the full forecast for actionable advice to implement and execute against the major digital trends of 2016.

1. Digital in 2016:
Executive Summary
Find the full trends forecast at edelman.com
The year of consumer-led
communications marketing
JANUARY 2016

2. What’s Next in Digital Marketing?
2
We looked at consumer insights to predict the biggest trends for 2016.
Behavior
How are they behaving
on and offline?
Engagement
What content and
experiences engage them?
Communication
What are
they saying?
Influence: What inspires them?

3. Consumers Want More From Brands
3
want brands to
communicate openly about
their products**
of consumers expect brands to
innovate with societal
impact in mind*
90% 70%
*Edelman. Innovation and the Earned Brand. 2015.
**Edelman. Brandshare. 2015

4. Today’s consumers are more powerful than ever.
Implicitly through behavior and data —
and explicitly through direct communication —
consumers are telling us what they want.
2016 is…
THE YEAR OF THE
CONSUMER
MARKETING
DIRECTOR

5. Key Learnings for
Marketers in 2016
5
Evolve to meet consumers’ high expectations for
brands—from responsiveness to social action
Engage influencers to address consumers’ rising
skepticism of media and advertising
Leverage emerging technology to better listen to and
engage with consumers
Deliver real, contextual value when and where
consumers demand it most

6. Key Digital Trends Put Consumers at the
Center of Brand Marketing
6
And, we’re keeping an eye on virtual & augmented reality, beacons, esports
1VIDEO, VIDEO,
VIDEO
INFLUENCERS
AS CREATIVES
SOCIAL LISTENING AS
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE
CROSS-DEVICE CONSUMER
JOURNEY MAPPING
2 3
4 5
THE BUY NOW
REVOLUTION

7. VIDEO, VIDEO,
VIDEO1

8. Video Engagement Dominates Digital Platforms
8
of all consumer
internet traffic will be
dedicated to video
consumption by 2019*
80%Estimated
10-20 Billion
8 Billion
6 Billion
4 Billion
Views Per Day
*Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and
Methodology, 2014-2019 White Paper. May 27, 2015.

9. Trending Formats Engage Consumers
9
Livestreaming 360-video Crowdsourcing Video
Influencers
Short Form Bits
& GIFs

10. Make the most of your
investment with a
multi-platform approach
Build a holistic,
storytelling strategy with
your consumer in mind
Drive discoverability via
organic optimization
and paid media
How can brands keep up?
10

11. INFLUENCERS
AS CREATIVES2

12. Influencer
Popularity Is
On The Rise
12

13. Influencer Engagement Supports Business Objectives
13
*Augure. State of Influencer Engagement 2015, conducted by Schlesinger Associates. June 18, 2015. Via eMarketer, Inc.
**Tomoson. Influencer Marketing Study. 2015.
Marketers are making
$6.50 for each $1 spent on
influencer marketing**
5x
ROI
of marketers believe
influencer marketing is
effective in raising
brand awareness*
of marketers believe
influencer marketing
generates sales leads*
93% 75%

14. The Influencer Should Be an Extension
of Your Creative Team
Petco* Comedy Series
with YouTube Star Toby Turner
• 2.2 million views
• 98% positive sentiment
• +65% subscriber growth
• 300% increase in views of
catalog content
14
*Edelman client

15. How can brands keep up?
15
Choose influencers
who will resonate
with your
consumers through
strategic data
analysis
Put storytelling at
the heart of it
Grant the
influencer creative
license
Get a good deal by
partnering with
experts

16. THE BUY NOW
REVOLUTION3

17. Nearly Every Major Platform Supports
“Buy Now” Functionality
17
Projected 2015 income
from social commerce*$30BN
*Statista. Worldwide social commerce revenue from 2011 to 2015. 2015.

18. Consumers Want Exclusive and Limited-Time
Shopping Incentives
18
Factors that Would
Encourage US Digital Buyers
to Make a Purchase via
Social Media When Holiday
Shopping, Sept 2015
(% of Respondents)
33
35
37
52
52
55
55
56
63
Free Shipping Offer
Exclusive Discount (Only Members Of Social Network)
Daily Deals
Seeing A Unique Product
Rewards/Loyalty Points
Seeing A Product I Had Recently Viewed When Shopping Online
A Product Has Received Numerous “Likes”
Ability To Vote On Which Promotion Company Offers To Social Network
A Friend Has “Liked” A ProductMarketLive. 7th Annual Holiday Research Study.
Oct 14, 2015. Via eMarketer, Inc.

19. How can brands keep up?
19
Understand your
consumers’ shopping
behaviors
DRIVE
DISCOVERABILITY
VIA ORGANIC
OPTIMIZATION AND
PAID MEDIA
Build a seamless
omnichannel experience
online and offline
Create contextual
“buy now” opportunities
that improve the
shopping experience,
not detract from it

20. SOCIAL
LISTENING
BECOMES
SOCIAL
INTELLIGENCE
4

21. Consumers Want Brands to Listen
21
Of consumers think it’s
important for brands to
listen and respond
thoughtfully
78% 17%
Feel that brands are
truly listening*
BUT
ONLY
*Edelman. Brandshare. 2015

22. Social Listening Should Guide Your Business
22
Customer
Service
Product
Development
Product
Improvement
Cause &
Social Purpose

23. TECHNOLOGY Visual Listening uses
computer vision to recognize
brand presence in photos.
Facebook Customer Service
tools award a “Very
Responsive to Messages”
badge to brands who maintain
a 90% response rate within
5 minutes.
Social Listening tools provide
insight into conversations,
perception, competition,
influencer identification
and more.
OUTPUT Broader Contextual
Insights
Better Consumer
Experience
Stronger Business
Intelligence
TOOLS
Technology Enables Better Business Practices
23

24. How can brands keep up?
24
Operationalize social
listening with the right
technology
DRIVE
DISCOVERABILITY
VIA ORGANIC
OPTIMIZATION AND
PAID MEDIA
Be open to consumer
insights that may disrupt
your business for the
better
Pair social listening with
traditional market
research

25. CROSS-DEVICE
CONSUMER
JOURNEY
MAPPING
5

26. Cross-Device Consumer Behavior Has Been
the Norm for Several Years
26
of users start an
activity on one device
and finish on another*
90%
*Google. The New Multiscreen World. August, 2012.

27. Emerging Technologies Enable Cross-Device
Consumer Tracking Like Never Before
27
SAMPLE QUESTIONS TO UNDERSTAND
THE CONSUMER JOURNEY:
How does a consumer find out about my product?
Do they conduct research on their phones, tablets
or desktop?
What ads do they see?
What motivates them to make that final
purchase?
Do they purchase on a desktop or in-store?
TOOLS:

28. How can brands keep up?
28
Keep an eye on emerging
tracking technologies as
this trend becomes more
sophisticated
DRIVE
DISCOVERABILITY
VIA ORGANIC
OPTIMIZATION AND
PAID MEDIA
Be authentic and
transparent to address
consumer privacy
concerns
Test and learn with
targeted messaging as
you start to build an
attribution model

29. 29
VR and AR
Changing the Future of
Storytelling
eSports
Amassing Huge, Captive
Consumer Audiences
Beacons
Adding Value in Context
while Yielding Behavioral
Insights
WATCH THIS SPACE

30. Read our full digital trends forecast at edelman.com