Marketing Predictions for 2022

AMA Jan 11, 2022 Event Recap

Host: Kelli Williams

Panelists Neil White, Lana Slygh and Mark Skeba

Any other marketers uneasy about navigating 2022? We’re facing multi-channel content creation and engagement, rising consumer expectations of brands, demanding response times to ensure relevancy, assuring the teams we lead that we’ve got their back, and securing client trust in our expertise. Oh and by the way, we must be sure to make time for self-care.

The originally scheduled in-person event turned virtual (no surprises there!) hosted by Kelli Williams shared so many valuable insights and overall, it felt relatable and a lot like self-care for marketers. First off, it was reassuring to be reminded that they are certain constants in marketing. And while the panelists Neil White, Lana Slygh, and Mark Skeba admittedly had no crystal ball, they were willing to take the knowns, their broad experience, and their human experience to call out some trends and venture some commentary on marketing in 2022 for the audience.

Their perspectives ranged from large creative agency lead (Neil), to a leader of e-commerce for urgent care for a large healthcare company (Lana), to an educator with a background in MN Fortune 500 and daily interaction with Millennial and Gen Z students (Mark). The resulting intersections of insights and individual experiences created a fascinating dynamic for the event’s one-hour duration.

KNOWNS + NEW PROBLEMS TO SOLVE

The foundational elements of business and marketing are more and more true, noted Mark. They are: 

1. That “different” creates distinction, and therefore a separation so consumers can make a choice;

2. That marketing is still about solving consumers problems both tangible and emotional (unpack that!); and

3. That marketers will always have too small of budgets and not enough time. 

Given these known elements, marketers can still make distinctions in many ways for their clients. In 2022 things like selecting specific media channels and doing them well, figuring out where you want to groom and engage with an audience, and allowing budget to test new ideas and experiences, are great places to start. 

Neil suggested that playground for brands will always be in a highly competitive biz environment. Be reminded that as a marketer you:

1. Create products and services;

2. Ensure the messaging has mental availability so your audience will remember and know about your products;

3. Pay attention to the distribution of products and services as different models of retail accelerate.

CONTENT + BRAND RESPONSIBILITY

Around the context of content and consumer, Lana owned up to being customer obsessed. At the onset of the new healthcare role she began just five months ago, she asked her team: When was last time you updated your consumer data? She encouraged the event audience to challenge insights and deeply held beliefs about the customer. If that’s outdated, it can be harmful. It can create a disconnect when you attempt to integrate data, analytics, CRM and how you serve up offers/content. Marketers can benefit by holding ourselves to higher and deeper understanding of our customers. 

Notably, content continues to change due to all new media platforms. Savvy marketers should be following and diving into online audio and video in some way in order to stay relevant. If you’re thinking about starting a TikTok exploration now, you’re probably five years behind. So in 2022, as Neil pointed out, be considering what it will mean in 2025 if the $1T digital market as predicted, belongs to Google, Meta, Amazon.

TRENDS

It’s always enlightening to talk trends and get a marketer’s perspective on them. The trends discussed stemmed from conversation around our home tetheredness (new pandemic lingo), the increase of social platforms as e-commerce avenues, social issues, wellness, social media fatigue, and workplace/work models.

Lana and Neil chimed in to note that more and more social platforms are becoming ecommerce. Not surprising when you consider social media is Gen Z’s top source of shopping inspiration. They also touched on how consumer expectations have risen and what we’ve come to expect of companies, often on a timeline that seems like overnight! All agreed that it’s essential to get good at digital because consumers will be tuning out ads that aren’t tailored and they will expect to interact with brands and that brands will know them and their preferences.

The panel all shared work and workplace views, predicting that the work from home model will be sorted out this year and new products and services appropriate for the home and work will appear. In addition, flexibility is in huge demand from workers (85% of women and 79% of men say they want flexibility in their work) and as Mark pointed out, Gen Z has never really had to work in any specific location. The key here – especially for marketers and creatives – will be for leaders to figure out what activities are essential to do as a team (in-person ideation sessions are a must!) and which tasks can be accomplished alone. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Have we all had a look at Meta by now? It is addictive and immersive and it seems as though we are still seeing the worst of human nature in this space. We have to continue to wonder – what is the true cost? 

Mark reminded the audience that as marketers are in this space for not only our work, but a product/consumer as well. He’s drawing some boundaries (like no social media access on his phone), but is well aware that TikTok is the pre-eminent social platform through his interaction with students. So yes, marketers, you need to dig in because experience on a platform is worth a thousand reports. Lana followed up with great insight on LinkedIn from a B2B perspective. LinkedIn is helping businesses create a deeper relationship with their clients. No longer is the salesperson the sole connection a client has with a brand, which is a significant positive shift given the #GreatResignation. 

TRANSPARENCY + VALUES

As consumers, we have high demands for getting information when and how we want it. Consumers also want transparency and will respond to brands that give them that. Sometimes it’s in the form of appealing to a consumer’s value sensibilities and highlighting how the company or product solves for ESG criteria (environmental, social, governance). 

For example, if you care about sustainable fashion, a Levi’s ad touting their denim with the idea: buy better, wear longer, could have you running to purchase vintage Levi’s. It’s also worth noting that brands that are crushing it are super clear about their offer, says Mark. Note Aldi’s “Like Brands. Only Cheaper” campaign; or they have clarity on what they stand for like veteran-owned Black Rifle Coffee. 

Sue in the audience asked about the group’s take on “groundedness marketing,” she’d read about in a Harvard Business Review article. It circled back to the conversation earlier in the event about emotional marketing and the idea that we buy is based on a connection to the past and perhaps to experience nostalgia. Not shocking to note during these pandemic times as we yearn for belonging among chaos, and definitely something for marketers to consider for positioning and messaging.

SELF-CARE + LEADERSHIP

We wrapped up with some thoughts on self-care – just the basics like eating well, sleeping well, and taking care of your people, advises Neil. It’s a marathon and we need to discern what’s urgent vs important and keep perspective through it all. As leaders, Lana suggested and Kelli echoed that we shouldn’t guess as to what our teams and people want, and we shouldn’t pretend to know it all.

It’s time to allow for more well-being in the workplace and work. Mark’s confident that people can figure out how and when they work best and will be happier taking more ownership of their job. It’s also highly critical to enable us and our employees to navigate stress right now. If we’re not doing that and our personal lives aren’t manageable, there’s no way to show up whole for work. People want to know they’re being cared for. That hasn’t changed. What we value as people is really a consistent thing.

---  Thank you to all of the panelists and attendees who shared in this experience. We look forward to leaning into these predictions, remaining ever flexible, and growing as marketing leaders in 2022!

--- Event recap provided by Jen Gilhoi of Sparktrack, who covers events so event hosts and attendees can continue the event inspiration beyond the event itself. Find her on LinkedIn @jengilhoi or online at sparktrackconsulting.com. The summary captures the spirit of sharing and the themes of the event in a quick, digestible way so that attendees can refer back to it and take action; it also allows the host to archive what was shared and build on that for future events and use in marketing promotions.