1.
2014 TRENDS DIGEST FOR DIGITAL LEADERS
MARKETING FOR A
CONNECTED WORLD
Ian Crocombe – 15th January 2014

2.
EXEC SUMMARY: 2014 OPPORTUNITY FOR DIGITAL LEADERS
MARKETING FOR A
CONNECTED WORLD!
BY UNDERSTANDING HOW
CONNECTED BUSINESSES
CAN HARNESS THE NEW
ECONOMIC DISRUPTORS,
PRIVACY GOING
MAINSTREAM AND VIRTUAL
CURRENCIES LIKE BITCOIN.
BY CREATING
CONNECTED PRODUCTS
THAT PUT MOBILE AT THE
CENTRE OF EXPERIENCES,
USING SENSORS AND DATA
TO ENTER THE AGE OF
CONTEXT.
BY COMMUNICATING AS
CONNECTED BRANDS
WITH A PURPOSE THAT
SHOWS SOCIAL IMPACT,
USING THE SOCIAL WEB
BEYOND FACEBOOK AND
GETTING NATIVE WITH THE
NEW MEDIA NETWORKS.
2!

3.
CONNECTED BUSINESS
BY UNDERSTANDING HOW CONNECTED BUSINESSES CAN HARNESS THE NEW ECONOMIC
DISRUPTORS, PRIVACY GOING MAINSTREAM AND VIRTUAL CURRENCIES LIKE BITCOIN.
3!

4.
NEW ECONOMIC DISRUPTORS
As internet technologies become cheaper and more
pervasive, business model disruption is moving across
new industries. This creates new opportunities and
threats for established companies.
UNBUNDLING
“It used to be expensive to package up & deliver
things to market so products got bundled; tech is
changing that” @FredWilson via Launch.co
LeWeb Interview www.youtube.com/watch?v=R43OKYmGbhU!!
UBERFICATION OF SERVICES
2014 will see UBER’s “on-demand” model extend
across other personal services, from home
maintenance to dog walking. @frogdesign
http://t.co/t2yxARZNCD
CROWD COMPANIES DEC 2013
“What role do corporations play when people get
what they need from each other?” @jowyang launches
“Crowd Companies” http://crowdcompanies.com/
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5.
PRIVACY GOES MAINSTREAM
In 2013 the news was dominated by NSA surveillance,
hacked data from retailers and concerns about privacy
from social networks. This has forced mainstream
consumers to start changing their behavior to maintain
some degree of digital privacy.
Anonymous search tool DuckDuckGo answered 1bn
queries in 2013. When the Guardian broke the NSA Prism
allegations, the search engine’s traffic increased from
1.3m to 3m daily queries within 2 weeks.
http://buff.ly/1iT1lkM
“if the industrial revolution created pollution, the
information revolution created data” @FredWilson
“The age of indiscriminate sharing on social networks is
rapidly changing… In 2014 we’ll see an influx of platforms
catering to a digital experience grounded in anonymity.”
@Frogdesign
“Millenials… don’t want the selfies of today messing up
the job interviews of tomorrow.” @Whatleydude
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6.
BITCOIN : FINDING THE KILLER OPPORTUNITY
Bitcoin is a virtual currency that’s been in the headlines
for it’s wildly volatile valuations and association with
online black markets like Silk Road.
Beyond the currency speculation, it’s believed that
digital currencies like Bitcoin could be the infrastructure
behind IoT based “pay as you go” charging models and
online identities.
“I’m particularly interested in seeing applications that
simply use bitcoin rails to move value.” @GeoPeabody
http://paymentsviews.com/2014/01/08/bitcoin-in-2014/
“I’m bullish on the technology and the direction it going
is driving costs down” @howardlindzon
Good Introduction: The Bitcoin Show (TWiST)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mEjPW27ZFE
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7.
CONNECTED PRODUCTS
BY CREATING CONNECTED PRODUCTS THAT PUT MOBILE AT THE CENTRE OF EXPERIENCES,
USING SENSORS AND DATA TO ENTER THE AGE OF CONTEXT.
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8.
MOBILE AT THE CENTRE OF THE ECOSYTEM
Accepted wisdom was that as more tablets and phones
were being sold than personal computers, mobile needed
to be at the center of our future facing strategies. For
2014, mobile web is trumping unused apps, touch is the
dominant interface, while retailers are using Wi-Fi and
your device mac address as a UID for in-store analytics.
"The trend has been that mobile was winning. It's now
won” Eric Schmidt's 2014 Predictions
http://buff.ly/L0TV3B
Shifts in the devices people use to access the internet
should come as no surprise, but the pace of change
might. @tomskitomski GDS http://buff.ly/1d08SIx
“we are now all personally a node on the network
because of the smartphone; 80% of the audience
chooses having a smartphone over a desktop”
@FredWilson
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9.
CONNECTED EXPERIENCES
2014 at CES looked to be the year that connected products
will form into the “Internet of Things” to create a
mainstream ecosystem.
CONNECTED PEOPLE
At CES there were more wearable products launched than
there were people to buy them. These products fall broadly
into categories we’ve seen before: fitness monitors,
connected glasses and Smartwatches.
CONNECTED HOME
At CES home automation start-up Smart Things rigged a
house full of connected devices, other home ware included
smart lighting systems, Skype-connected baby monitors, a
Bluetooth enabled meat thermometer and intels charging
bowl. On January 13th, Google acquired smart-thermostatmaker Nest for $3.2bn
CONNECTED CAR
The advent of 4G means that connected cars can make
better use of realtime traffic, video and telematic data. Audi
was the standout manufacturer demonstrating all digital
smart dashboards running on Android OS.
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10.
THE AGE OF CONTEXT
Since 2010 we’ve been living in the social age. Authors
Scoble and Israel, believe that from 2015 the next
dominant age of the internet will be the “Age of
context”.
Driven by connected experiences, the “Age of
Context” refers to technologies starting to
“understand” things about you and your environment.
By using a range of data points – things like your
schedule, your location, and your heart rate, the
internet will become more contextual.
The shift is that rather than a one to many social
broadcast, the age of context delivers personalized
data and services back to the individual.
“20 years from now it will be bizarre if you walk into a
store and the store doesn’t know who you are.”
Robert Scoble
Robert Scoble on "Age of Context" at LeWeb 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNDIBFlYlMM
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11.
CONNECTED BRANDS
BY COMMUNICATING AS CONNECTED BRANDS WITH A PURPOSE THAT SHOWS SOCIAL IMPACT, USING
THE SOCIAL WEB BEYOND FACEBOOK AND GETTING NATIVE WITH THE NEW MEDIA NETWORKS.
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12.
BRANDS WITH A PURPOSE
Millward Brown refers to a brand’s “purpose” as one of
the ways of making it meaningfully different for
consumers. Contagious magazine highlighted “Social
Impact” as a higher form of purpose that helps brands
create a deeper connection with consumers.
Unilever is on a journey to embed social impact into its
brands, hoping to replicate the success of Dove’s
“Campaign for Real Beauty”.
“A brand is a lot like a person – if it doesn’t have a point
of view, it’s not very interesting.” Marc Mathieu,
Unilever’s SvP of marketing
http://www.slideshare.net/contagiousmag/mostcontagious-2013
“Meals per Hour”
Toyota teamed up with the Food Bank of New York to
deliver hundreds of thousands of meals to hungry people
affected by the storm, using the “Lean” TPS to optimize
the deliveries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EedMmMedj3M
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13.
SOCIAL WEB BEYOND FACEBOOK
When Facebook changed it’s newsfeed algorithm late in
2013, many brands saw a dramatic drop off in organic
reach. For 2014, brands have had to adapt their approach
to Facebook as a paid platform, the free ride is over.
Social marketers have been creating more visual content
and ensuring that there was a slick end to end
experience for mobile users. Smarter brands have already
been working on a more diversified social strategy that
used nuanced content in more niche networks and gave
them direct connections to fans.
“The breakout place for progressive audiences to spend
their time are OTT (Over The Top) messaging solutions
like Snapchat, WeChat, WhatsApp and Line … In 2014,
expect lots of experimentation and trials from marketers
trying to infiltrate these more closed communities.”
@clive_baker
“Focus on proprietary audience development… While
audiences cannot be owned, they can be proprietary in
that you, and you alone, have the ability to communicate
with them.” @jkrohrs
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GETTING NATIVE WITH THE NETWORKS
2103 was the year that media networks like VICE,
Buzzfeed and even National Geographic made a heavy
impact on the branded communication landscape.
For 2014 their access to creative talent, production
capabilities and reach (wrapped up as a native
advertising package) will see them continue to
challenge traditional agency and media offerings.
YouTube’s focus on content creators and channels is
being rewarded as progressive brands place it at the
center of their digital eco-systems. As most people
watch YouTube in full screen, tight content integration
is required for maximum impact.
The sweet spot for 2014 seems to be mixing native
content creation with influence & reach. This even
extends to NPD with L'Oreal creating a brand called
EM around YouTube cosmetics creator Michelle Phan.
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15.
TRENDS SUMMARY: FOR CONSUMER FACING BRANDS IN 2014
MARKETING FOR A
CONNECTED WORLD!
15!

16.
SUMMARY 2014 OPPORTUNITY FOR DIGITAL LEADERS
MARKETING FOR A
CONNECTED WORLD!
BY UNDERSTANDING HOW
CONNECTED BUSINESSES
CAN HARNESS THE NEW
ECONOMIC DISRUPTORS,
PRIVACY GOING
MAINSTREAM AND VIRTUAL
CURRENCIES LIKE BITCOIN.
BY CREATING
CONNECTED PRODUCTS
THAT PUT MOBILE AT THE
CENTRE OF EXPERIENCES,
USING SENSORS AND DATA
TO ENTER THE AGE OF
CONTEXT.
BY COMMUNICATING AS
CONNECTED BRANDS
WITH A PURPOSE THAT
SHOWS SOCIAL IMPACT,
USING THE SOCIAL WEB
BEYOND FACEBOOK AND
GETTING NATIVE WITH THE
NEW MEDIA NETWORKS.
16!

17.
IAN CROCOMBE
@iancrocombe icrocombe@gmail.com
00 44 7932 00 41 01
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18.
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
•
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024464/15-tech-trends-that-will-define-2014-selected-by-frog#!
•
http://blog.digital.telefonica.com/2013/12/19/trends-predictions-2014/#!
•
http://www.slideshare.net/HenryCTaylor/journalism-media-and-technology-predictions-2014
•
http://www.slideshare.net/eMarketerInc/emarketer-webinar-key-digital-trends-for-2014
•
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/12/30/predictions-2014-tubemogul-tagman-turn-adjust-your-set-movement
•
http://www.slideshare.net/NextGenerationMedia/10-trends-for-2014
•
http://www.slideshare.net/contagiousmag/most-contagious-2013
•
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2013/11/25/forrester-top-technology-trends-for-2014-and-beyond/#!
•
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/disruptions-coming-in-2014-extremely-smart-watches-and-wearable-tvs/?_r=0
•
http://whatleydude.com/2013/12/how-to-write-a-trend-document/
•
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2014/01/04/2014-collaborative-economy-predictions-on-nbc/
•
http://www.mmaglobal.com/mma-emea-advisory-board-2014-mobile-predictions
•
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R43OKYmGbhU!!
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