Digital Trends in 2011 Key trends in 2011 will include smarter advertising that is tailored to individual preferences and behaviors, cross-channel marketing journeys that integrate experiences across devices and media, and interactive digital experiences in physical retail spaces that blend online and offline. Movement recognition and augmented reality will allow for deeper product interactions. Sharing and social influences will continue to drive participation and recommendations will be a key marketing strategy.

1. Digital Trends
A Brief Forecast 2011

2. How will we remember 2010?
The smartphone wars, the consolidation of location services, the
fight for our devices, Apple vs Adobe, Google web domination,
HTML5 to the limelight ... or the birth of the iPad?
A year goes fast in our busy digital world.
The word digital is starting to lose its face value and being taken
out of an isolated context, it is becoming an integral part of what
we produce and interact with.
As the perception of audiences between the two worlds of
physical and digital become blended into a single one, so are
campaigns and ways to communicate with consummers.
The language used by us on behalf of brands, is becoming more
of a friendly whisper, rather than an agressive shout.
This document, brings some thoughts and trends that have been
going on and are certain to make an impact in 2011.

3. News don’t break anymore,
they tweet
Brian Solis - Media Expert

4. Power of Facebook
Established to be Social Platform of choice,
virtually every single brand online has a
Facebook page. The world’s biggest gaming Public speaking on Twitter
platform and currently has over 500m users. Twitter has become the place for immediate, as it
happens, news. It is a place for self broadcasting,
from celebrities to bedroom geeks, if you say,
others listen - including laywers who may sue for it.
This is HTML5
With the Flash/ Non-Flash debate instigated by
Apple on its devices, HTML5 became for many, the
solution to a new way to create dynamic content
using open-source methods and it’s on the rise.
Laptop becomes handheld
We saw the iPad make a huge impact in the way
we access media, a fundamental change that will
affect forever the way we interact with newspapers
Year of infographics and magazines. Tablets are back to stay.
Virtually every single piece of data and stats
were converted into an infographic - from
how many people are consuming social
media, to the evolution of the Apple mouse.
Smarter Apps
I am here: Geo-Location Apps have evolved. From gimmick to utility,
It turns out that not only we want to tell people to shopping basket. Apps are to become the
what we are doing, but also where we are doing spring board to which we access mobile
it. Geo-location is the fastest growing trend and content, the next phase will be your TV.
represents ideal grounds for brands to
captivate audiences.

5. 640K ought to be
enough for anybody
Bill Gates -
Microsoft Chairman, 1981

6. Consolidation of platforms
Defragmentation
2010 has been a year when technology manufactures and providers
have aimed to develop ubiquitous platforms: Apple, with its devices,
operating system and services, Google and its host of online solutions,
Microsoft’s windows platform and Sony, banking big on gaming.
These brands want to own all touchpoints of user experience and are
creating multiple entry eco-systems to allow people to keep up to date with
their digital life.
What in 2011
We will see technology providers creating platforms where our liked items, videos, bookmarks
and all our digital life preferences saved in the cloud: Creating real ‘branded’ hubs.
Google will expand further online and perhaps even offline, with Facebook increasing its reach
by partnering up with other solutions to reafirm its firm grip on the web.

7. Give people exactly
what they need
when they ask for it
Larry Page - Google

8. Brands as Media Owners
The niche content providers
Associating a brand with content has always been the age old marketing
strategy: think of those early tv commercials back in the 50's and 60's.
In an ever increasing mobile world, where devices and laptop computers
are at one with people, brands are now using proprietary physical spaces to
tap into people's media consumption habits.
What in 2011
We will see retailers and real state owners tie in partnerships with content providers to deliver
to their customers a richer visit and hence increase dwell time. People want their digital life with
them, and by creating closed content delivery, suddenly that shop trip will become a far more
rewarding and engaging experience.

9. It's kind of the oldest form of
marketing -word of mouth-
with the newest form
of technology
Jim Stengel - Marketing Chief
Procter and Gamble

10. The Geo-Reward
Right place at the right time
Check in for rewards is taking off in a major way. Geo-commerce is here
now, location based promotions are springing up all over the place.
FourSquare pioneered the trend, but the uptake of the technology by
Facebook, tapped into an already captive audience: being somewhere and
tell the world about it.
What in 2011
We will see a large number of campaigns and promotions around locations, tied to events,
festivals, promotional initiatives and geo-targeted elements as mobile phones will know
physical conditions around users. It will also allow for convenience led purchases as well as
the accumulation of visits and points with relevance built in.

11. The 'Net is a waste of time,
and that's exactly what's
right about it
William Gibson - writer

12. Mobile Device & Mcommerce
Pocket shopping
Devices have made a huge impact in people’s shopping habits, the store has
come to customers and is with them whereever they are. Social commerce is
enpowering that trend via recommendation marketing and branded apps,
facilitating methods in which we can complete transactions. The physical
shopping basket has become engaging interactive tools.
What in 2011
Experiential marketing targeted at social mobile shoppers with personalised content will be the
killer strategy for retailers. Shops will enable couponing, product tagging, save for later and
point collection on the go. Near Field Communication on mobile will allow for easy payment and
habits driven shopping, geo-targeting will set shoppers and retailers free, creating a new era in
loyalty schemes and rewarding frequency.

13. TV is most primitive
screen we have;
this will change in
next 2-3 years.
Mike Bloxham -
Director of Insight and Research
Ball State University

14. TV & Video set free
Interactive video
Apple has been trying, but the launch of Google TV seems to finally be the
first step towards the inevitable merger between PC and TV. An app based
system allowing us to extend our digital lifestyle to our favourite box. Video
will take a pivotal role in the way we interact with content - people will make
decisions whilst watching.
What in 2011
Shop the show: The new frontier of advertising, enabling us to tag and shop as we get
entertained. Video content will be created for cross channel broadcast with user experience
based on intuitive decisions on audio visual stimuli. Integration with social media and content
sharing tools will create whole interactive audiences with custom TV schedules.
Suddenly, the living room is a much bigger place.

15. Ask not what your twitter
can do for you,
ask what you can do
for your twitter.
- John F. Kennedy

16. Sharing Explosion
Everyone knows
Everything we like we tell our friends about. Like and Share are the biggest
drivers in participation marketing: social media is the new market place with
influencers and recommendations pushing sales. Facebook and Twitter are
the game changers are the current dominant forces: It is said that by 2012
every campaign will have to have a Facebook presence, whereas it has been
claiming news don’t break anymore, they tweet.
What in 2011
Sharing will go beyond digital: people will be able to associate 'likes' and 'tips' to places,
services, and anything they come in contact with - people will be able to tag and know what they
want to know. It will be a real virtual forum based on multi-media that can be associated with
particular elements. Hotpot by Google is already here and this trend will sky rocket - it will be
the time to leave a digital footprint.

17. Innovation distinguishes
between
a leader and a follower
Steve Jobs -
Apple CEO

18. Digital Retail-tainment
From rack to click
As the boundaries of physical and digital get blurred, shoppers expect similar
retail experiences through devices and visits. Digitisation of retail spaces has
already begun to create a platform for engagement: trying products virtually,
sharing with friends via social media, experiencing the brand through audio
visual stimuli and getting rewarded for interacting.
What in 2011
Shop windows and displays will be motion sensor driven, dynamic, interactive and allow people
to synch up devices, get info and set their preferences for personalised browsing. Mobile
engagement in retail will see the settling of brands in their mobiles, with the evolution of the app
model, devices will be the conduit and enabler: elevating retail to a level which fits around
people’s spending and media consumption habits.

19. No matter how much you spend on it,
a web site is invisible until
somebody links to it
Eric Ward -
Marketing Consultant

20. Smarter Advertising
I know you, I am your ad
The banner ad made a major resurgence, thanks to Apple's successful
introduction of innovative devices, advertisers had to get back to basics if
they were to reach a very niche, but crucially influential audience. Platforms
consolidation and accurate attribution is evolving to maximise users dwell
time and optimise expenditure - enhancing advertising association with
consumer purchase behaviour and media consumption habits.
What in 2011
Online ads will break out of the banner formats and be an Intrinsic element in advertising,
transcending the digital physical divide to create one narrative - taking on the new platform and
trend of merging TV and PC with the advances of video. With the boom of mobile devices,
advertising will be self adapting and optimisable to people’s tastes and preferences,
considering geo-temporal conditions - enabling the art of whisper selling.

21. When you look at art
made by other people,
you see what you need
to see in it.
Alberto Giacometti -
Sculptor

22. Movement Recognition
Beyond Augmented Reality
With the Augmented Reality for eye candy sake days behind us, marketeers
and advertisers are now using of this tool to deliver engaging content.
Cameras can now read complex objects and even decipher emotions in
people’s faces to trigger interactivity - this has changed how retail deliver
experiences either in-store or online, making a connection with devices.
What in 2011
People will be able to visualise products and have deeper interaction before they buy - in-store
or at online. Content will be self-adaptable and optimisable according to individuals viewing and
behavioural responses. Devices will be used to extend shopping experiences via visual cues,
wherever people are. People’s features will be the linking factor, increasing participation by
recognising the user, offering relevant services and products.

23. Google actually relies on our users to
help with our marketing.
We have a very high percentage of
our users who often tell others
about our search engine
Sergey Brin -
Google Co-Founder

24. Cross channel journeys
I interact, therefore I am
Deep integration between channels: It is not A to B: It is A, to B, C, D, E all the
way to Z and back again, campaign and promotional bursts need to have a
long term engagement - once the dialogue with people is open, brands will
have to keep talking - levels of engagement have to be kept high across
preferred channels of communication chosen by consummers.
What in 2011
Isolated single channel activites will finally start their long waited graceful decline, and the
integration of a multi-part campaign will be the norm. In the coming months we will see a
great emphasis being placed on user journeys and narratives and how each piece or ‘episodes’
of a larger campaign takes the user through a storyline being told by the brand.
Brand engagement is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

25. December 2010
Written by Chris De Abreu
@chrisdeabreu © 2010