Spearhead’s Outlook for 2019

You don’t need us to tell you what the marketing trends for 2019 are, you can easily find multiple articles online. However, we would like to tell you what our outlook is and what we are aiming for.

1. Continue to humanize brands

In a multi-channel communications era, where the client can choose to disconnect at any moment, it is imperative that brands ‘converse’ less like brands and more like humans (the cool and nice ones at least ). This is what will make them rise through all the noise and forge not only an incomparable identity but also a resilient fan loyalty.

2. Personalization

Consumers today invest a lot of their time, energy and share of wallet online and accordingly, the expectations of what they get online is increasing by the day. They want information and messages that resonate with them and they want them NOW. Broken down targets, focused messages and surgeon-like precision in online marketing and re- marketing have never been more crucial.

3. Experience

According to John Keats “nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.” We couldn’t agree more. So we need to concentrate efforts on driving engagement online and inspiring consumers to continue their journey offline, by not only interacting with brands but (hopefully) by sharing their experiences online. Nothing resonates as strongly as real consumers being genuine brand ambassadors. Speaking of which...

4. Not-so ‘influenceable’ marketing

Influencers are not going anywhere and that’s ok. However, with the increasing scandals over the years (Fyre event, Payless, etc.) and the declining trust in influencer endorsement, influencer marketing cannot be a “go-to” strategy to be delved in blindly. Influencer selection and post-monitoring of consumer sentiment need to be done with the utmost attention.

5. Let data inspire creativity

Creatives often work for months to break out a ground-breaking campaign once or twice a year. Times have changed. With the rise of social media and the multitude of conversations happening with consumers across multiple platforms and channels, the need for creativity has multiplied, hence the need for data driven creativity. So, let’s join together the analysists and the purveyors of insights with the creatives, to really hone in on that inspiration that consumers are unknowingly waiting for.

So there you have it, our hopes, dreams and most importantly missions for 2019.

Cheers to a fruitful year!