Insights shared by Google leaders on top marketing trends expected to shape the year 2023 have revealed that the new year will be led by more inclusive media planning, privacy and peace of mind, GenZ trends, and highly engaging short-form video contents amongst others.
Privacy and peace of mind
Matt Brittin, Google President of EMEA notes that Businesses will need to differentiate themselves in 2023 as they compete in an uncertain market.
He shared: “They’ll need to prove their values to keep and gain customers. And with people managing more of their day-to-day lives online than ever before, online privacy has never been more important.”
According to Brittin, consumers view bad privacy experiences as almost as damaging as a theft of their data.
“It’s enough to make 43% of them switch to another brand. Online experiences need to be delivered with the privacy people deserve, by brands they can trust. In 2023, ensure you’re providing customers with everything they need to be — and feel — in control of their data. When people lack control over their data, they become skeptical of digital marketing. Provide accessible and understandable tools that customers can use to manage their privacy, whenever they want,” he added.
Short-form Videos
As attention-span shortens and viewing habits diversify, Dyana Najdi, Google Managing Director of Video and Display for EMEA expects that many creators will innovate with shorter form, ‘snackable’ content to meet the needs of these viewers.
She said: “Learn from the creators leading the way. These individuals are blazing the trail, creating fresh ways to approach each video format to authentically connect with their audiences. It’s important to leverage storytelling best practices to create highly engaging short-form video content.”
“In fact, YouTube Shorts now has 1.5 billion monthly active users and sees more than 30 billion daily views,2 making it a big area of opportunity for advertisers.”
Inclusive media planning
On her part, Nishma Robb, Senior Director of Marketing, Brand, and Reputation, Google U.K, believes that for marketers to truly engage and connect with diverse audiences, they need to address this bias and embrace the breadth of content their audiences consume.
According to Robb, the advertising industry has had a lot of focus on more inclusive representation in creative over the past few years, and this work now needs to extend to media planning too.
She shared in a submission: “In 2023, brands should carry out an audit of their media plan. Assess whether the mix of channels and publishers reaches the breadth of intended audience and review for potential biases in keyword and topic exclusions. Additionally, consider what affirmative action can be taken to authentically support underrepresented voices and communities.”
Gen Z audiences
For Julia Hoffmann, Director of Creative Lab for EMEA Google, “in 2023, do not try to bring Gen Z audiences into your world, but meet them in theirs, understand their unmet needs, prioritize relevance and authenticity over homogenous singularity, and embrace the diverse, visual worlds they inhabit.”
She pointed: “Gen Z expresses where — and how — they want to engage by showing up where it matters to them most. Gen Z is the first generation to have fully grown up with the internet — and the way they navigate and interact online keeps evolving. The most relevant platforms for this generation today are those that are dynamic and highly visual, meeting their ever-changing needs in new and innovative ways.”
