Marketing predictions for 2022 (and beyond)

This year Google announced plans to block third-party cookies on the Chrome browser in 2023, following the rise of more security-focused browsers such as Brave. With over 70% of the internet using Chrome on desktop, this will be a big deal for advertising. 

To be clear, Google will still collect some data about the categories you visit to be able to deliver relevant ads, but it will only hold this data for a short period of time. It will limit the potential for advertisers to aggressively target consumers with buying signals. 

This change largely impacts desktop users, with mobile devices more centered around apps. 

Gartner have discovered some interesting facts about sharing personal information on mobile apps too though, showing that users are far more likely to accept tracking from companies they know and like. 

So how does this impact marketing? Well it may mean that companies need to consider a world beyond cookies, looking at how they may be able to track behaviour on their website to enhance user experience and spot issues. Companies need to also consider how their brand conveys trust and make decisions about privacy across their platforms.

Sometimes, companies embellish how good their product or service is. Shocking, we know! 

This has led to subtle but important consumer distrust in marketing more generally. More recently, this has always been well understood and is the reason for things like customer testimonials,  influencer marketing and affiliate marketing. These are voices which are not coming directly from the marketing, but instead through an external source and therefore carry more weight. 

A recent Linkedin survey showed that employees may be another solid route to marketing through their social media channels such as Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram. Their data showed that users were 200% more likely to click a link posted by an employee as opposed to a brand.

Of course this isn’t something a company can (or should) necessarily have control over, and instead should focus on ensuring they make it easy and rewarding for employees to share content about their employer. Employee awards, social events and team activities are great opportunities for employees to share content with their communities and get strong engagement. 

Platforms where they can share benefits, such as discounts, are also particularly powerful tools which have been used to great effect by companies such as Ford (who have the Ambassador program).

It seems like only yesterday that influencers didn’t exist, and yet already the world is moving onto virtual influencers – graphical representations and computer-animated characters which are advocates for brands created and run by PR companies. They often have their own personalities and quirks, some even have talents like singing or make-up tutorials and yet they are not prone to the scandals which have been seen by their all too human counterparts. 

The future looks set to give rise to more virtual influencers, especially given the potential of metaverses and what marketing might look like in those environments. 

Here are some of the world’s biggest virtual influencers right now: