So, Christmas sees off a busy yet choppy year with so many ups, downs, lumps and bumps it was sometimes more akin guiding a canoe along the rapids of the Amazon. At least we picked up a couple of new accounts along the way and launched T3, a ping pong related company. We wish for even better sailing in 2014.
In the wider world of marketing the twitter hashtag occupied the top spot; by the end of the year there was barely a TV, press or banner advert that didn’t include the # sign off. (I don’t think there’s anyone alive in the UK who hasn’t heard of # the bear and the hare for John Lewis this Christmas.)
Linked to this is the unstoppable rise of ‘mobile’ as research suggests the average website is being viewed on up to 60% of mobile devices. And this will only grow dramatically over the coming year.
So with great excitement we look at some of the upcoming trends of 2014 and how we might play our part in it.
1 Socially mobile
When politicians first bandied about this saying they were hardly thinking of this. People can, shop, travel, date and most importantly vote with their phones.
The old advertising adage ‘the brother in law test’ has never been truer. No one likes to think they’ve made a dud choice, so you must give your audience the reasons and information to become your most enthusiastic sales people, so next time at a party or dinner, everyone including the brother in law will want one.
Thanks to ‘Like this’ and ‘Review this’ your customers can become your most avid fans and biggest critics without the expense of the dinner party.
We will resolutely continue to develop the way our clients’ brands interact with their customers in what has essentially become a symbiotic relationship.
This year look out for the first app enabled credit cards and a prolific growth of crowd-funded product development.
2 Altruistic endeavors
The global credit and housing crash and general planet-warming induced world disasters has caused many to rethink their goal and values and is set to continue.
People are keen to support any endeavour that will add meaning and value to their lives.
After all The New Year’s resolution is proof everyone wants to enjoy the sense of pleasure and accomplishment of bettering ones self even when failing so miserably the year before.
Here’s two very good ideas from a couple of young Einsteins worth backing
Fifteen-year-old Jack Andraka wins the top award at Intel ISEF 2012 for his creation of a new, non-invasive method to detect early-stage pancreatic cancer.
19-year-old Boyan Slat has unveiled plans to create an Ocean Cleanup Array that could remove 7,250,000 tons of plastic waste from the world’s oceans.
We ourselves will continue with and build on our charitable work with the likes of ChildHope.
3 Reorganizing the organization
Any solutions to help you navigate through the endless tide of emails and meetings in a typical office day without suffering information and technological overload will be a winner in 2014.
Jason Fried, Why work doesn’t happen at work
Fried helps you get the most out of your time at your job.
Through the use of work enabling strategies like glide time to the many apps available to help you work remotely, we will see a huge rise in people working 2-4 days in the office in the next 12 months.
The rapid expansion of all things mobile will also seriously explode on our work life. Forget hotdesking, for most sales reps and front-line staff there probably won’t be a desk at all but an i-pad and a sturdy pair of shoes.
There could be a serious glut of office space to come.
4 Prepare for 3D printer mania.
The unbelievable range of things that can be printed, combined with the more affordable next generation machines means anything from flower vases, heart valves, new skin and chocolate cakes could be popping out of your neighbors printer soon.
We’ve placed an order with office manager, but unless someone comes along with an order for a hundred individualized 3D mugs soon…
Let’s leave the list here for now and just say every New Years Day people all around the planet pledge to be stronger, healthier and better versions of themselves and to play a bigger part in the world.
And as a company so do we.
A Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all.
