Amazon, the new challenger, says Ogilvy Digital

Fifth edition of Trends points voice & visual as the future
Armed with rich data and insight, the fifth edition of Ogilvy Red Digital Trends has once again put together a detailed report on where our world is heading to as far as digital life is concerned.

For the past 5 years, Marshall Manson and James Whatley of Ogilvy have collaborated on an annual trend report outlining where they believe the social and digital landscape is moving next and how will the brands be impacted therein.

Some of the key trends that will mark the year 2018 and beyond are:
1. Audience will move away from typing onto a space that encourages the visual and the audio modes.

The report states, “Every form of technology, user interfaces, are evolving away from fingers and thumbs and towards the less tactile forms of interaction like voice and images.”

2. The modern-day consumer wants everything now, and they expect on-demand customer service too. This, paired with the rise of messaging apps such as WhatsApp, has seen a gradual move towards networks offering automated chatbot solutions.

The chatbots are on the rise; there are about 33,000 chatbots on Facebook Messenger. 80% of marketing leaders said they have been planning chatbot AI solutions by 2020.

Bot-building platforms are becoming increasingly commonplace. The likes of Chatfuel, ManyChat, Botsify and The Chatbot Factory all offer free or cheap options. The report suggests they’re ideal for testing chatbot waters.

3. Augmented Reality will continue to penetrate. Augmented Reality is not a new thing. “It has been a very, very slow burn,” quotes the report.

From BlippAR- integrated magazines to interactive head-tracking promotions for movies, creative technologists, brands with more money than sense, and agency innovation leads – have been trying to make AR happen.

The proliferation of good mobile tech and vastly improved AR platforms have now enabled mass-user penetration of said platforms.

Facebook has been one such brand promoting AR-user interaction, the extension of this will continue to be seen in the coming year as well.

4. The authors say. “Where Snap goes, others follow…” The last two years have shown that if Snap makes something Facebook copies it. Facebook then makes it successful. Others copy Facebook. And that’s where “we are right now: Snap: AR at street level. Facebook: introducing AR to the masses. Google: AR stickers rolling out to Pixels. Apple: bringing AR to its latest iOS,” Marshall and James said.

5. The report asks marketers to get serious about this one Facebook developer kit for AR. ARkit for Apple. AR stickers for Pixel. AR in 2018 is going to be everywhere. It may be as simple as creating a custom bitmoji for one’s brand character or it may be speaking to your FB or Google rep about how you get on the AR train early.

6. Amazon will emerge as the dominant digital advertiser, the trends indicate. Amazon “might soon rival Google and Facebook” when it comes to digital advertising. “This is not about product pages. It’s about thinking of Amazon as a useful platform for advertising in every part of the sales funnel,” said the release.

7. Influencer marketing remains a challenge. Influencer marketing is predicted to grow in the following year as well, however, cracks might begin to show, “especially at the high-end where digital influencers straddle the line between influencer and celebrity,” as mentioned by Ogilvy.

The complete list of Ogilvy’s trends for 2018 is exhaustive and includes over 90 predictions some of which, apart from the one mentioned above, are mentioned below:
– The emergence & domination of video content.
– Search is moving towards voice ComScore – 50% of searches will be done by voice by 2020.
– Search will get more visual.
– More serious measures for digital privacy, data security.
For the detailed report click here: https://www.slideshare.net/socialogilvy/key-digital-trends-for-2018-83920269

The Malaysian Media Conference 2018 is INTERACTIVE
The Malaysian Media Conference is about Conversations.
Conversations before, during and after the Conference.
The best way to learn is when someone answers what you want to know.
With 15 speakers and moderators, the event will cover everything that is important for Media, Marketing and Digital moving forward.
Date: 8 February, 2018
Time: 8.30am – 6.00pm
Venue: The Grand Ballroom, Sime Darby Convention Centre, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.
PDF: http://marketingmagazine.com.my/pdf/MMC2018-Prog.pdf
www.marketingmagazine.com/mmc2018