Marketing Predictions for 2020.

Here at Big Cat we like to keep our finger on the pulse of new trends within the industry, and this year is no different. Our CEO and Founder Anthony Tattum shares his marketing communications predictions for 2020 with us.

Following 2019’s predictions piece, let’s see how well he does with his marketing predictions for 2020…

More Human Advertising

With the dreaded B-word (more on that later) hanging over us for the last few years, people have felt more divided than ever. With this in mind, the first of our marketing predictions for 2020 is an increase in ads showing humanity, emotion, togetherness and humour, which are all elements that make ads more effective, and that’s set to continue in 2020. Brands grow by increasing mental availability and mental structures when linked to human emotions and experiences. Branding will continue to focus on experience because people want meaningful experiences and the truth from brands.

Video Views

Video will become ever more important in marketing throughout 2020, with Gen Z leading the way in watching video for longer. Both Facebook Live and IGTV engage brands’ followers and beat the newsfeed algorithm, with other social videos such as boomerangs, stories and animated gifs generating 1200% more shares than text and images combined. If a brand’s site includes video, it’s fifty times more likely to drive organic search results compared to text, and in 2019 87% of businesses were using video as a marketing tool.

Variable Typefaces

Instead of image led campaigns, typographic led ones began to grow in popularity at the end of last year, such as Spotify’s ‘Listen Like You Used To’. Designers have been playing with typography more and more recently with simple bold typography used to help brands deliver strong and clear messages.

The Rise of Motion

Motion and animation are becoming increasingly popular elements in design, with moving images becoming more popular than stills. Our attention nowadays is directed more and more to screens. With the introduction of new digital platforms such as virtual and augmented reality, all brands will need to start embracing the digital age and adapting their identities to the ever-evolving technological world or risk falling behind. Check out our blog post for more on this topic here.

More Trustworthy Influencers

After a number of negative stories surrounding influencer marketing in 2019, such as influencers not labelling ads, this year they need to focus on rebuilding trust with consumers. Micro-influencers with smaller but more committed followings are gaining popularity with advertisers because they’re seen as more authentic and trustworthy, which may push advertisers away from vanity metrics associated with macro-influencers.

The Greta Effect

2019 saw the emergence of Greta Thunberg and more and more politically active consumers. In the past 12 months, we’ve seen a wave of brands embracing activism and wading into political and social debates, introducing campaigns with purpose and using their voice to champion a cause that goes beyond their own business. The power of creativity has never been more important in brands reaching this large politically active audience, whilst still remaining authentic to their brand message. Check out our blog post for more on this topic here.

The Dreaded B Word… Still

This was in our predictions list for 2019 and it still is… After months of uncertainty and political turmoil, advertising spend had stalled for most of 2019. With a clear majority in the last election, ‘Boris Bounce’ has kicked in and client confidence has increased, which has meant that advertising budgets are starting to rise again. We predict this will continue to be the case throughout 2020.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence will continue to be a slow burn with lots of hype and scare stories but slow adoption in most areas. We believe that AI will be assistive in marketing communication, enabling and providing competitive advantage, will make your human resources more efficient and effective, and will help resolve customer issues – AI solves 60 million customer disputes every year.