How to Leverage Behavioral Science Insights for Direct Mail Success
Key Digital Trends for 2016
1. Key Digital Trends for 2016
By Marshall Manson & James Whatley
@marshallmanson / @whatleydude
An Ogilvy Public Relations and Ogilvy & Mather Advertising collaboration
2. Introduction
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Over the past few years, two of our Social@Ogilvy global
leaders, Marshall Manson and James Whatley, have
collaborated on a yearly trend report outlining both where
they believe the market is headed and what brands and
agency partners should do about it.!
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This document, their third one in this series, is made up of
two parts: first, a review and assessment of the 2015
predictions from the previous outlook followed by a look
ahead to what the future holds for us all in 2016. !
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Amusingly, both Marshall and James failed to predict their
mutual promotions in 2015. Marshall to CEO of Ogilvy PR
London, and James to Digital Director of Ogilvy & Mather
Advertising London. !
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Congrats guys. !
3. Part 1: 2015 Trend Review
‘Did those two actually get anything right last time?’
4. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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Last year we said: !
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5. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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Last year we said: !
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Source: https://social.ogilvy.com/key-trends-in-social-media-for-2015/!
6. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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Last year we said: !
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Source: https://social.ogilvy.com/key-trends-in-social-media-for-2015/!
7. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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This year we saw:!
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8. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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This year we saw:!
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Source: https://investor.twitterinc.com/results.cfm!
9. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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This year we saw:!
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Source: https://investor.twitterinc.com/results.cfm!
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No new U.S. !
users in 2015!
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10. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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As well as…!
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! Source: https://blog.twitter.com/2015/highlighting-the-best-of-twitter-for-you!
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11. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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As well as…!
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Twitter launched !
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‘While you were away…’!
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Source: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/01/twitter-while-you-were-away-recap-feature!
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12. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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As well as…!
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Source: https://blog.twitter.com/2015/moments-the-best-of-twitter-in-an-instant-0!
16. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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One more thing! !
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Fresh in as we were going to press.!
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! Source: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/twitter-is-testing-timelines-that-arent-in-chronological-order?utm_source=mbtwitter!
17. 2015 Trend 1: Twitter Zero
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One more thing! !
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More algorithmic testing…!
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Source: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/twitter-is-testing-timelines-that-arent-in-chronological-order?utm_source=mbtwitter!
20. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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21. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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Source: https://social.ogilvy.com/key-trends-in-social-media-for-2015/!
22. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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Last year we said: !
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Source: https://social.ogilvy.com/key-trends-in-social-media-for-2015/!
23. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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This year we saw: !
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Source: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/twitter-unleashes-autoplay-video-ads-100-viewability-promise-165366!
24. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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This year we saw: !
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Source: http://www.theverge.com/tech/2015/7/22/9015495/facebook-youtube-video-tools-publishers!
25. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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This year we saw: !
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Source: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/instagram-debuts-30-second-video-ads-its-latest-pitch-big-brands-166767!
26. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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This year we saw: !
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Source: https://medium.com/@hankgreen/theft-lies-and-facebook-video-656b0ffed369!
27. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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This year we saw: !
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Source: https://medium.com/@hankgreen/theft-lies-and-facebook-video-656b0ffed369!
28. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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This year we saw: !
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Source: http://uk.businessinsider.com/facebook-copyright-infringement-facebook-content-id-celebrities-2015-5 !
29. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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This year we saw: !
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Source: http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/27/8124955/power-rangers-short-goes-back-online!
30. 2015 Trend 2: The Video Royale
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This year we saw: !
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Source: http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/27/8124955/power-rangers-short-goes-back-online!
31. 2015 Trend 3: Youth in the Digital Age
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Last year we said: !
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32. 2015 Trend 3: Youth in the Digital Age
Source: https://social.ogilvy.com/key-trends-in-social-media-for-2015/!
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33. 2015 Trend 3: Youth in the Digital Age
Source: https://social.ogilvy.com/key-trends-in-social-media-for-2015/!
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34. 2015 Trend 3: Youth in the Digital Age
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/09/snapchat-reaches-6-billion-daily-videos-views-tripling-from-2-billion-in-may/!
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This year we saw: !
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35. 2015 Trend 3: Youth in the Digital Age
Source: http://www.statsy.co/charts/4!
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This year we saw: !
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36. Part 2: 2016 Trend Predictions
‘How will the plebs be using social in the future, Daddy?’
37. 2016 Trend 1: The Ad Blocker End Game
‘Don’t call it the Adblockalypse’
39. Ad Blocking: To Infinity and Beyond
Source: https://blog.pagefair.com/2015/ad-blocking-report/ !
Ad blocker usage is exploding. !
Up a huge 44% from Q2 2014 to the
same period, 2015!
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+48% yoy in the U.S. and +35% yoy
across Europe (with Germany leading
the way globally)!
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Mostly driven both by public
mindshare of Adblockers generally as
well as the rising market share of
Chrome for PC.!
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(oh, and these measurements were taken before
Apple rolled out ad blocking in iOS9)!
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40. The kids are OWNING this
Source: http://sourcepoint.com/comscore-and-sourcepoint-the-state-of-ad-blocking/!
And not just because they’re more comfortable with the tech. They are also more protective of
their privacy and much more sensitive to ‘ad bloat’ and the subsequent impact on load speeds. !
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‘Our time is precious – don’t you dare waste it!’ !
41. And… wait for it… here comes Apple.
Rolling out towards the end of
2015, iOS9 included support for ad
blockers for the first time. !
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Several ad blocking apps
immediately rose to the top
download spot in the App Store.!
Android has had ad blocker
support via specific browser apps
(but crucially unavailable in
Chrome – the OS default). !
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We expect this last part to
change… !
42. ‘Get out of the way; get out of my life!’
We spoke before about how the primary
drivers are user desire for greater privacy
control and improved speed and efficiency.!
Users increasingly aware of page load
bloat driven by publishers using a range of
ad serving platforms. !
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And as our screen sizes have shrunk – this
problem is only exacerbated further. !
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Individual web pages are now averaging
more than 2mb. And since 2013 load times
have slowed by more than 20%.!
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Source: http://marketingland.com/heres-a-briefer-about-the-top-ad-blockers-146686 !
43. Now it’s time for the ecosystem owners step in…
Building on the success of apps like Flipboard,
Apple and Facebook have both rolled out content
aggregation platforms designed to maximise
publishers’ reach while minimising disruption by
advertising. !
Facebook’s ‘Instant Articles’ has launched on iOS
and Android. With Facebook Notify following shortly
after… and Snapchat Stories and, and, and…!
Apple News launched with iOS9 with users
selecting preferred publishers or topics which are
then algorithmically optimised based on users’
consumption behaviour.!
Crucially: the ad experience is explicitly minimised.!
44. …and Network owners too
In the UK, leading mobile networks EE and
O2 have announced that they are exploring
network-level ad blocking.!
And, if successful, others, both locally and
globally, are sure to follow.!
The implication is clear: !
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Mobile advertising is set to be increasingly
controlled and managed/blocked at every
possible point of intervention.!
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The user (read: money) comes first.!
46. Defining The Ad Blocker End Game
The rise of ad blockers imperils traditional
models of digital marketing. Users are
consuming fewer banner ads. That decline is
likely soon to reach levels that severely
disrupt publishers’ existing advertising
revenue models. !
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At this rate, the business model for content
marketing platforms (such as Outbrain) could
very well be in danger. !
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Meanwhile, ecosystem owners’ efforts to
aggregate content and shape delivery to the
end user only threaten to further reduce
available online advertising space and, by
extension, effectiveness. !
48. Social Media Has Moved On
Digital Influence!
Community!
Building &
Management!
Microtargeting!
2003-2008! 2008-2014! 2014-????!
49. Focus on focused earned – aka: microtargeting content
To succeed, brands have to be present in consumers’ feeds. !
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That’s not merely a Facebook, Twitter, or Apple News feed. It means earning attention -
space and scale wherever audience members choose to consume information. !
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So content must be created and tuned against specific audience interests, preferences or
affiliations. We call this microtargeting, not because the audiences are small, but because
the interests are as focused as possible.!
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Focusing on this type of earned also puts a premium on sharing and, by extension, word of
mouth, recommendations, and advocacy. !
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When marketing efforts focus on the point of conversion, brands must pair content with
consumer intent, and deliver stories with purpose.!
50. Applying new principles for content success
Facebook Focus!
Test and Boost!
Content Optimised for !
“Earned” / Sharing!
Always-On!
Brand Led Content!
Community = Audience!
Multi-Platform!
Multi-Audience!
Selective, Timely, Relevant!
Driven by Audience Behaviour
and Preference!
Balance of Brand Led and
Audience Led Content!
Content Optimised for !
“Earned” / Sharing!
51. Trend 2: The Video R Evolution
‘Video is going to be massive next year’
– everybody, ever.
53. Background: The Video Royale rages on…
Trends don’t come and go
with the seasons. !
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The Video Royale mega-battle
will continue.!
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What’s more: freebooting is
not going away. !
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Source: http://www.slideshare.net/socialogilvy/the-rise-of-multiplatform-video-why-brands-need-a-multiplatform-video-strategy!
Eg: in May 2015, an Ogilvy report found that 725 of the top 1000 Facebook videos were ‘ripped’
from YouTube and accounted for over 52.2m views in just 30 days. !
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Combine that with more and more platforms launched their own video propositions – you can
literally find the same content by the same creators, everywhere. !
54. …which can and will only drive innovation
In a land grab for creating the best and most
innovative original content, the two big guns
have rolled out 360 video views. !
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Facebook launched its offering back in
September with a STAR WARS: THE FORCE
AWAKENS tie-up. !
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The experience allowed users to look around a
the Jakku desert from inside a fast-moving
speeder, passing crashed Empire ships and
observing passers-by – and all from the
comfort of your mobile phone. !
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This example put 360 video viewing on the
map in a BIG way.!
! Source: https://www.facebook.com/StarWars/videos/1030579940326940/!
55. …which can and will only drive innovation
But did you know that YouTube got there first? !
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Launching way back in March 2015 and
available on the most recent YouTube app
update across iOS and Android, YouTube 360
is available to all – and shares exactly the
same kind of interactive experience as the
Facebook one we’ve just discussed. !
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Android users even get a ‘Cardboard this’
button baked into the UI – allowing users to
drop the video into their Google Cardboard VR
unit and watch it that way instead. !
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Incredible. !
Source: https://www.facebook.com/StarWars/videos/1030579940326940/!
57. Defining The Video Evolution
Portrait video screening – or ‘edge to
edge’ viewing – is making a comeback
(you can thank/blame Snapchat for that).!
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The proliferation and democratisation of
everything from drone technology, to 360
camera rigs, VR headsets and more –
will shape the evolution of video content
as we know it. !
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In 2016, the way we not only consume
but also create video content is set to
change forever. !
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In some instances it already has. !
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The future of
video is already
here, it’s just
not very evenly
distributed...
59. There are two things you can do…
1: DON’T PANIC!
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Between Sony’s PlayStationVR, HTC’s Valve,
Facebook’s Oculus Rift, Microsoft’s Hololens,
Samsung’s Gear VR, Google’s Cardboard -
and maybe even Google Glass 2.0…!
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It is unquestionable that 2016 WILL be the
year of VR. !
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But crucially, it will be the year of VR 1.0.!
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And that’s really not something you should be
worried about…!
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More: http://www.wareable.com/headgear/the-best-ar-and-vr-headsets!
60. There are two things you can do…
2: GO FOR THE EARLY PR VALUE !
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If you’re a large media owner or client you
should speak to your agency or your platform
representative to explore what 360 video
options are available to you. !
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360 rigs aren’t that expensive - you could buy
the cameras separately and 3D print the kit
you need – seriously!!
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Check out the GoPro / YouTube partnership –
aka ‘Jump’ for inspiration. Or download the
Google Cardboard photography app for
Android and see what’s possible. !
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! Source: https://www.google.co.uk/get/cardboard/jump/!
62. Background: we are hitting PEAK MILLENNIAL
Source: https://www.google.co.uk/trends/explore#q=millennials!
63. Client or agency: do you even know what you’re asking for?
How many briefs have you written / presented / given / received that, when you’ve got
to the section about ‘Who are we trying to reach?’ you’ve simply seen ‘Millennials’?!
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Be honest – how many? !
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‘Millennial’ is not only a cheap, lazy, and boring way to describe a homogenous group
of around 80 million people globally (seriously – they can’t ALL be into the same
things), but it’s also often predicated by a vast misunderstanding of exactly how old
this group actually is.!
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So let’s be clear - !
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65. Defining Gen Z
Born after 1995. !
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Specifically not a Millennial. !
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Or a sheep. !
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Or yet another cast group of
people you can throw together as
one marketing cohort. !
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If you’re reading this and you were
born during or after 1996 –
congratulations! You’re Gen Z! !
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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/fashion/move-over-millennials-here-comes-generation-z.html!
66. Defining Gen Z
But if we’re going to insist at least giving them
some labels. Gen Z are: !
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- Growing up with uncertainty!
- More socially aware than ever!
- Finding new causes to fight for!
- In the habit of hacking systems!
- Not conforming to subcultures!
- Rejecting traditional routes!
- Not standing for ignorance!
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In short: they’re staring at an uncertain world and
want to make a difference in their own terms. !
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68. Stop homogenising
One brand new cohort does not a new and exciting brand audience make. Neither
does an age range. Find a consumer truth, an insight, and blow that out into audience
research and consumer marketing. !
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Saying ‘Millennial’ or ‘Gen z’ just won’t cut it. !
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If you get (or write) a brief saying ‘We want to speak to Gen Z’ – push back, hard, and
find out what the consumer truth or insight is that makes this ‘audience’ relevant to you.!
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Yes this is an audience that is different – so very different – to the [millennial] group
before it but by its own definition, they will not stand to be bundled together and force-
fed bland marketing messages ‘built for Gen Z’.!
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Consider it a call to arms, if you will. !
72. Content marketers have a lot to learn (from Buzzfeed)
Marketers are obsessed with content but oddly only
measure effectiveness by website statistics.!
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Yet when it comes to [arguably one the world’s best
content marketer] Buzzfeed, of the 18.5b impressions it
receives every month only 2% of those are on its website. !
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The content publishers of this world are no longer
focusing on publishing links back to their homepages. !
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Is web traffic over? Probably not. But the days of linking
every single piece of content back to your website are
coming to an end. !
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Think on that for a while. !
http://www.stickycontent.com/blog/content-culture-in-the-uk-sticky-content-survey-results!
http://recode.net/2015/10/26/for-buzzfeed-five-billion-views-are-worth-more-than-18-billion-impressions/!
74. Twitter usage is declining (probably)
We don’t have quite enough data to be categorical, so we’re admitting that we might be wrong,
BUT what we can see suggests the following:!
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• According to Twitter’s own measurement: Daily Active User (DAU) and Monthly Active User
(MAU) growth has plateaued. !
• One thing Twitter doesn’t report is average daily frequency. That is, the number of times per
day that a user accesses the platform – and we suspect that it’s declining. Precipitously. !
• Anecdotally, in Twitter’s heyday, core users were on the platform constantly. Casual users
checked things out a few times a day. But these days, our observations suggest users are
accessing the platform only once or twice a day. !
If this were true, the DAU and MAU would remain roughly stable, while the number of
impressions delivered per post would decline. !
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– and that’s exactly what we believe is happening.!
75. And Facebook is attacking its Customer Service Value
Additionally, Facebook is aggressively
pushing its Messenger platform as an
effective forum for 1-2-1 customer
service interactions. !
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Early reports are positive. !
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Of course, Twitter is the go-to platform
for customers to escalate complaints,
but what if Facebook undermines this
positioning over time?!
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Twitter’s place in the social media
landscape could begin to erode very
quickly indeed… !
76. Bonus III: Influencer as Media Outlet
Nathan Barley* would be proud.
*Google him, you’ll see.
77. Spot talent, buy talent.
We’ve seen some of this already but…!
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• Connecting brands with content talent ranging from YouTubers to Instagrammers is
the new agency oil – and middle man agencies are popping up all over the place. !
• From the well established (and now Disney-owned) Maker Studios to newly minted
The & Collective from WPP, content talent agencies are appearing all over the place
and while this isn’t new news – expect this to be a fully-fledged and perhaps highly
lucrative part of the marcomms industry come the New Year. !
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79. Thank you.
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Thank you so much for reading and (we hope)
enjoying. Please do share this along and, if you have
any questions, comments, builds, or even vehement
disagreements then please do not hesitate to get in
touch – we’d love to hear from you. !
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Marshall Manson !
@marshallmanson!
marshall.manson@ogilvy.com!
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James Whatley!
@whatleydude!
james.whatley@ogilvy.com !
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