Trends to look out for in 2014 and how best can we leverage them for brands. Digital trends for 2014

1. Trends to look out for in 2014 and how best can we
leverage them for brands
TOP DIGITAL TRENDS: 2014

2. KEY TRENDS IN 2014
• Storyfication through visuals & videos
• Topical Content through the Brand Lens
• Mobile gets Smarter, more Social
• Digitally wired on-ground experiences
top digital trends: 2014
• Get Social with Celebs
• Blogging: Visual & List-based
• Influencers to Brand Advocates

3. KEY TRENDS IN 2014
• ‘Visual Social’ will take center stage in 2014
• Increased smartphone penetration has fueled the success
of visual based platforms
• 350 Million + photos uploaded everyday
storifycation through
visuals & videos…
• Visual platforms like tumblr, pinterest, instagram etc have
witnessed unprecedented growth
• With video consumption at an all time high; story telling
through videos is becoming a popular trend
• Snack size video content creation & consumption will be
bigger in 2014
• Introduction of FB video ads will change the dynamics of
video advertising

4. KEY TRENDS IN 2014
• With content overload over the last few years; content
will start skewing towards being relevant than just
interesting
• With FB changing the dynamics of news feed & platforms
like Storify; most platforms are filtering out content on
the basis of relevance
topical content
through the brand
lens…
• Localized content will drive higher levels of engagement
EXAMPLES OF GLOBAL BRANDS UPDATING REAL TIME ON SOCIAL IN 2013
OREO TWITTER / FB UPDATE
DURING SUPERBOWL BLACKOUT
TIDE TWITTER / FB UPDATE
DURING SUPERBOWL BLACKOUT
COCA-COLA TWITTER / FB UPDATE
AFTER BIRTH OF ROYAL BABY

5. KEY TRENDS IN 2014
Smartphone + Social Media Platforms
mobile gets smarter,
more social
• Most smartphones are integrating social media platforms
with their core
• Smartphones have fueled mobile lead social platforms
such as Vine, Instagram etc.
• UGC is largely driven through mobile
• Most brands are driving mobile based content &
endeavoring to engage the mobile user
• IM App usage is growing with Watsapp, WeChat,
Rocketalk Snapchat & BBM leading the way

6. KEY TRENDS IN 2014
• Concerts, events and even political rallies are getting increasingly
digitally wired
• Digital extends before, during and after the event to maximize
impact
• Digital intervention opportunities:
•
•
digitally wired onground experiences…
•
At the pre-event stage, FB event invites, Twitter contests for passes as
gratification (Sunburn), popularizing Twitter #tags
During event, tweet wall, Facebook RFID, blufi, AR interaction, Instagram
activities, on-demand music via Twitter, collective rewards on Tweeting/
sharing in real-time
Post event coverage- images, text, videos, cross-pollinating blog content (in
case of bloggers)
• Purely digital events
•
•
•
Hologram-based events (NaMo, Tupac)
Social/ online streaming (Pepsi’s Music Abhi Concert)
AR-only event unlocking (Doritos’ late night Blink 182 concert)
Hashtag-centered
blogger meets
NaMo’s hologram-based
speech
Pepsi’s virtual concert with Raghu Dixit live-streamed
online + on-demand setlist based on votes

7. KEY TRENDS IN 2014
•
•
•
•
Social Networks have been bridging the gap between celebrities & fans
Brands with celeb associations are leveraging this trend using Google
Hangouts, Tweet Chats etc.
G+ has 2.2 mn Indian users, up by 58%. Hangouts will become a key
source of interaction in 2014
Brands using G+ hangouts by leveraging celeb associations better:
• Garnier Men’s hangout with Dravid & Sangakkara (pre IPL) preceded by Twitter contests to
promote the hangout. 20k interactions, 350+ people at the hangout.
• Myntra plans to sell products through Shoppable G+ Hangouts and are partnering with
Hrithik (with his line of apparel & casual wear, HRX)
•
get social with celebs…
•
Tweet chat with celebs continues to be popular. Typically, an influencer
or brand hosts the chat.
Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) is picking up in India too. ISRO scientists
organized an AMA after the Mars Mission

8. KEY TRENDS IN 2014
•
•
Reach of blogs in India is at 49% while the average time spent is 10 mins
•
Blogging will become more evolved both in the form of content & visual
representation using gifs/ memes
•
blogging: visual & listbased…
Blogs continue to grow as a key part of the digital eco system
• 36 million blog readers
• Up by 48%
Sites that aggregate & feature interesting content from around the web
have gained loyalists e.g. BuzzFeed, Upworthy & closer home,
ScoopWhoop
• Trend in Action: Partner with ScoopWhoop to create sponsored
content to popularize “Clear Speak” with topical context &
content. BuzzFeed uses this model with brands like Microsoft,
Levi’s etc.

9. KEY TRENDS IN 2014
• Shraddha Sharma & Miss Malini are two stories that have
changed the way social celebs/influencers are perceived
• From influencers to now being advocates; they have started a
trend which will allows brands to leverage non-celeb influencers
• As word of mouth becomes critical for brands day by day; these
influencers will have more power than ever
influencers to brand
advocates…
• With increased following & power to these influencers; brands
can turn them to digital ambassadors & drive positive, branded
word of mouth