The only constant in life is change – or so the saying goes, and the marketing world has certainly seen plenty of that over the past 12 months.
From the rise of AI and successes of retail media to the focus on purpose and the drive to understand audiences, the past year has been marked by an undeniable feeling that things are about to change. And that’s where 2024 comes into play.
The marketing and advertising world is undergoing a rapid transformation, with businesses and agencies looking to move fast and embrace new technologies and trends. But, faced with an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, money is still an issue; and so with a heightened focus on budgets over the coming year, we can expect to see many marketers approaching things more cautiously.
We will also see marketers doubling down on creativity and connection to build brand equity and trust as they look to balance the art and science of marketing for 2024.
Whether it’s the rise of AI, the demise of X, dwindling attention spans, budget cuts from the boardroom or the impact of writers’ strikes there’s plenty to weigh up…
Being brave and shaping the new
“It’s been a year where it’s often felt easier to contract and huddle down in the context of inflation, unpredictability, and instability,” begins Havas London deputy head of strategy, Clare Phayer.
“But my hope is that the whole sector is going to start to become braver. Braver ideas, braver routes to market, braver use of budget…
“We’ve experienced unpredicted times collectively, but brands have a unique power to give everyone their mojo back. Whether it’s pushing forward, putting two fingers up to the world or shaking people out of their day-to-day inertia.
“If 2019 was all about purpose, 2022 was all about support, how about 2024 being all about shaping the new? Marketing that gives us a big, unapologetic, empowering lift. To expect better and to enjoy better. I’d like to be a part of that.”
The unavoidable rise of AI
AI will be a crucial discussion point in 2024, especially with the ever-increasing power of Chat GPT. Able to perform tasks such as gathering data more efficiently, as well as helping with generating ideas, there’s a lot it could offer the marketing world.
“As soon as the starting gun for the year was fired, AI was seemingly everywhere. By late March, a letter co-signed by Elon Musk, was demanding a pause in artificial intelligence research, just in time for the technology to capture the attention – and the overwhelming narrative – of the marketing community at the annual Cannes Lions Festival,” says Leagas Delaney CEO Gareth Davies.
“Those that grapple with it the fastest, and respect the likely significance of its impact, will have the most to gain. The rest will be spending next year, and perhaps many more to come, playing catch-up,” he adds.
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Mediaocean chief marketing officer Aaron Goldman agrees, pointing out that: “If 2023 was the year AI hit the mainstream, 2024 will be the year we actually figure out how to use it.
“To an extent, that will mean that pragmatism retakes the reins from optimism in our thinking about AI. Rather than rely on broad apps like Chat GPT and Bard, we’ll leverage the large language models (LLMs) behind them to create bespoke applications.”
For those that remain unsure, Goldman suggests thinking of AI as like when Apple first enabled apps on the iPhone, adding that the coming year will bring “dramatic innovation and adoption for niche applications of AI in our business and personal lives”.
Greener pastures and creative branding
A drive to go beyond greenwashing has seen brands looking to create products and campaigns that actively help the planet over the past 12 months. WMH&I creative director Mark Nichols highlights the
HackMarket campaign for BackMarket which went “balls to the wall” to promote the sustainability benefits of refurbished tech.
“Essentially hijacking, vandalising and trespassing on the Apple journey to make consumers switch to refurbished – brilliant and brave in every way,” he said.
For 2024, Nichols says brands must continue to use their distinctive brand assets in ever more inventive and engaging ways while remaining authentic to the brand.
“Barbie needed nothing more than the brand pink and a small date in the iconic typeface to promote the movie, stripping down its iconic elements in a way that only big brands like Coke are able to do. The task for the rest of us is set to find new creative ways of using brands assets to engage audiences, not just imprint them.”
Your attention please!
The marketing sector has been talking about the rise of short form for eons, with larger broadcasters such as Channel 4 and ITV citing the trend for shorter, more easily consumable content as a reason for economic challenges this year.
Talon head of effectiveness Emily Alcorn says “2024 will see a further increased focus on attention as an effectiveness measure in advertising, especially on what attention means.”
Yonder Media senior digital media executive, Abdirahman Mahdi adds that: “In 2024, my prediction is first party data is going to even more important than in recent years – and you’ll be hearing a lot from data managers and digital media buyers about how to leverage it.”
Could politics be any more tense in 2024?
With both sides of the Atlantic are gearing up for elections, politics will be inescapable in the new year and The News Movement CMO Lotte Jones feels politics is set to be “firmly on the agenda”.
“This is a great opportunity for brands to step up and show their value to Gen Z, positioning themselves as allies who don’t take sides but provide useful and engaging content that helps them make the most of the election year,” she says.
“The good news is the groundwork is already done: 71% of Gen Z already trust brands over politicians.”
Iconic founder James Kirkham highlights that the downtime caused by last year’s writers strike in Hollywood meant streaming sites like Netflix were more reliant “on highly expensive US assets and resources”.
“In 2024 we’ll see a host of new shows on Netflix from around the world, more global and international products, think Asia, India, South America in origin,” he adds.
“We’ll see a glut of animé, or animated features of mixed media and multi-media creations done differently,” he continues.
“When the likes of Netflix do originate new productions, they’ll ensure they are equipped with viral hooks and viral props which can become meme moments. The mad mullets of Tiger King, the bizarre blindfolded Bird Box, the emo haircut nostalgia revival of Wednesday.”
The importance of creativity in a turbulent world
For marketers turbulent times will highlight the value of creativity and flexibility in the new year. Fuse strategy director Nicholas Anderson feels establishing a “solid brand image” will be the key to success in 2024.
He also feels that brands can capitalise on large scale events to do this: “With the Paris Olympics and UEFA Euros set to dominate the 2024 sporting calendar, marketers have an excellent opportunity to breathe life into long-standing brand cues in more modern and exciting ways.”
Amplify strategy director, Simon Richardson also highlights the importance of “cutting through” the noise: “It’s no wonder that whenever a new media innovation or channel shows up, brands want to be the first to put them through their paces in a bid to stand out.”
