New approaches in marketing are definitely shaped by technology. Consumers demand increasingly more interactive, personal and interesting experiences, and that is the charm of technology. It is therefore not unusual that the year 2020 brings exponential growth of new technologies, even greater importance of interactivity, growth of artificial intelligence use and, as a result, even more personalised communication.

At the end of each year, it is time to think about the coming year, which is also the case in marketing, where new trends appear on a daily basis. The following blog offers you a guide to the trends on which it makes sense to focus in 2020.

Exponential growth of new technologies

The rise of 5G technology, the advancement of virtual and augmented reality and the development of smart speaker technology will completely alter the consumers’ interaction with advertisements.

5G technology will change the way users access and use content. The use of mobile devices and internet access will increase dramatically on the global level, which consequently means more digital markets that will be the potential focus of marketing experts.

The maximum speed of the 5G network is more than 10-times faster than the 4G network, which will substantially increase the device response time. What does this mean for advertising? A faster network opens the door to new technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, and perhaps to completely new formats we do not yet know.

In addition to the progress of 5G technology, experts promise the exponential development of smart assistants that will continue to penetrate into our homes. In addition to rapid access to information, smart speakers offer the opportunity to use them as an independent channels for communication about brands. They already offer opportunities to explore details on individual products and in the future it will be particularly interesting to see what happens to »audio advertising«.

With interactive content to interactivity

99 % of consumers desire digital content that is more interactive. In 2020, content marketing will be combined with the latest technological approaches and offer consumers what they want most — a fun interactive experience.

Virtual and augumented reality, 360-degree videos, quizzes and surveys are only a few examples of interactive content. A simple example of an interactive content that attracts users is the tagging of products on the Instagram social network. With a simple click, a user can see the product and its price without having to visit the store. Interactive experiences thus simplify processes and ensure a higher involvement of consumers.

Artificial intelligence continues the way to the top

Artificial intelligence has been at the forefront of the digital marketing trends and beyond for some time. The coming year will be no different.

To use artificial intelligence to its full potential, it is sensible to combine it with other technologies. Vehicles could not function without a connection between the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. The Internet of Things activates and manages the receptors in a car which collect data in real time, while artificial intelligence models are necessary for the vehicle to make a decision. Similarly, the application of artificial intelligence in the blockchain technology ensures greater safety and transparency.

In transitioning to 2020, more marketing activities will be guided by the real-time component. With artificial intelligence, organisations will manage relations with consumers in real time via several channels. An additional advantage of using artificial intelligence is to retain consumers, since artificial intelligence allows a greater familiarity with the consumers. Yet consumers can be retained only if the seller knows them well enough and offers them the expected experience.

Safety comes first

44 per second, 2645 per minute and 158,727 per hour. What stands behind these figures? It is the number of cases of “stolen data”. Cyber security will be a topic in the coming year that will affect the marketing experts’ decisions. There is only one way to resolve cybercrime — with cyber security, which can be achieved by taking a holistic view and creating solutions to ensure safety in the digital ecosystem. Precisely due to the great significance of security it is expected that companies will channel a portion of their budgets in technology that allows the company to operate safely.

Additionally, security will be a hot topic at the level of brands as well. Brand security, visibility of advertisements, fraud prevention and transparency are the main priorities of brands that can only be reached on a safe internet. The new feature in this area is the organisation of GARM, which brings together a number of advertisers, brands, technology companies, publishers and the social media platforms that are joint by single goal – ensuring a secure internet, safe brands and most importantly – consumer safety.

The right message to the right consumer – personalisation

The year 2020 will be the year of personalised marketing. Personalisation is based on a simple principle: “If the consumer does not like something or if they are not interested in it, they will walk away from the offer”.

The simple principle stems from a time when digital technology did not even exist. Why would a seller offer apples to a consumer who does not like apples? Because he did not know the consumer’s preference at that time. However, digital technology and the enormous amount of data enable marketing experts to understand the wishes and preferences of consumers, on the basis of which communications messages can be adapted.

So how do marketing experts avoid selling apples to a pear lover? Simple – technology using artificial intelligence offers the possibility of collecting and interpreting information that consumers leave on their shopping journey. By interpreting and considering the context, marketing experts thus translate numbers into meaningful insights into the consumers. Artificial intelligence represents one of the cornerstones of hyper-personalisation which generates a specific message or offer for each consumer on the basis of data processed in real-time. Technology must be designed in such a way that it actively learns while receiving data from actions and preferences. It is the only way to upgrade the knowledge on a specific consumer on the basis of which the marketing technology companies provide personalised messages consistent with the specific contexts.

It therefore makes sense to enter the new year with new trends. However, the main presumption of marketing remains unchanged: The consumer is the king and marketing needs to adapt to their wishes. The marketing sense thus remains the same; what changes are only the technology and tools that experts use to more effectively address the consumer.