As January’s halfway mark approaches, specialists at creative agency technical partner, Cohaesus, outline what they expect to see in the next twelve months of digital marketing.
Stewart Birch, Technical Director: The digital skills gap will continue to widen
It’s no good saying that digital skills simply need to be taught in schools, or that university degrees aren’t the answer. The skills gap is very real – not because there aren’t enough people looking for digital roles, but because there aren’t enough talented people out there to fill the vacancies.
Our approach at Cohaesus – which sees us take on people with great potential and get them trained on the job – is rooted in the idea that we can set them on a career path where they can start learning straight away.
Quentin Ellis, UX Director: Website designers will start to think device-first
I hope we’ll see the end of parallax and the carousel. I want to see designers considering all aspects of their websites rather than simply sticking big images across everything. People are starting to see the effect of filling pages with ‘stuff’. I’d like to see a bigger use of typography and space in design rather than just relying on pulling in images.
Visual trends come and go, but bandwidth and internet usage limits are fixed. Users are paying to download huge images on their phones and it’s just not practical. It’s one to watch, though – the rise of decent and ubiquitous broadband and 4G could change this.
Equally, let’s not forget the rise of wearables. Previously, we consumed our news through the web, then through 140 characters of content on Twitter – but now it’s a simple buzz from our Apple Watch. Website design needs to take into account users’ changing consumption of content.
Stewart Birch, Technical Director: This will be the year that creative and technical come together
I often wonder when clients are going to turn around and ask for performance-based KPIs and ROI, particularly on print collateral like brochures or magazine advertising. You might have spent £90k on a fantastic campaign but how much have you got out of it? It’s got to be more than big, beautiful pieces – ask yourself, where’s the value?
People often assume that ROI is all about figures. But for the creative industries, the challenge is to get the analytics people and the cool kids in design in the same room.
Together, the two sides can come together to create a constant feedback loop where they look at what impact a campaign is having and make changes reactively. But in the past year, the interest in that methodology hasn’t been there. The only thing agencies seem to be interested in is having big numbers on their mail-out lists.
Warren Howard, Technical Director: Let’s get rid of the word ‘disruptive’
The term ‘disruptive’ is still being bandied around an awful lot. 2016 will be the year that we abandon it altogether.
In retail for example, the disconnect between bricks and mortar and online is continuing to narrow with more investment being pushed into e-tail and developing an online presence. This is having an effect on how the big retailers structure their loyalty programmes, with retail apps and incentives like click-and-collect encouraging people into the store.
Contactless has really taken off and will continue to gain momentum with a lot more activity around payment options and wallets. I wouldn’t be surprised if this model starts to seep into different areas. Air travel, for example, could see frequent flyer programmes linked to the technology. There are so many possibilities to earn points, it’s not hard to imagine a future where we’re trading in loyalty.
Matt Meckes, Technical Director: Ad-blocking technology will force digital advertising to change
The last few months of 2015 have been awash with ad-blocking headlines as the industry watches the story unfold. From a consumer perspective, we’re all a bit freaked out – my friends constantly refer to being ‘followed around’ by ads. This has pushed the issue into the spotlight and forced industry experts to sit up and listen.
As we enter a new era, the ad format needs a rethink, with advertising likely to evolve to become more content-based rather than ‘in your face’. And where we’ll place it is likely to change too. We’ll see more opportunities to create engaging content on social channels that haven’t been affected so much by ad-blocking.
Richard Bundock, Managing Director: The role of the agency may be set to change
I can’t see revolution on the horizon in this regard, I’m starting to hear that IT departments and brands are embracing the cloud more, but not at the pace I was expecting. Part of this undoubtedly comes from the fear of data breaches and cyber attacks which have been hugely topical this year.
Some agencies we’ve worked with in the past have had lapses of security. These agencies now risk not being hired if they fail to meet security standards. The usual story is that they just haven’t thought about it.
Often, it’s the fear of the time and the cost involved – so they simply avoid thinking about it. I hope that 2016 will see brands and agencies becoming more serious about their security responsibilities.
By Cohaesus
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