5 key must know marketing trends to survive 2022

The dynamism of 2021 has taught us one thing, nothing is definite and volatility is infinite. So what does the year ahead offer to all of us? Volatility will still be the key word of 2022.

By embracing volatility, we can drive agility at any stage of our marketing efforts. Dynamism is a fundamental embedded driver in orchestration, and allows disciplines and marketers to thrive in fast changing worlds. The speed with which the market has been changing (as a result of factors ranging from the pandemic to climate change, to Brexit to much more...) also requires marketing and PR teams to go even further, faster.

Here are five trends to help you navigate the ever-changing world of marketing in 2022:

1. Integration is the key to success

Integrated marketing is here to stay and it's becoming more sophisticated every day. That’s why it’s imperative that we continue to integrate activation with creativity, make campaigns more personal and increase innovation. Content is no longer king or the sole determining factor for success. With content being dethroned, integration is the new king in town. Campaign integration now plays the critical role to optimize the success of your campaign and its customer experience - keep them coming back for more by providing them a One brand experience they cannot forget by delivering the full force of the brand across all channels.

2. Purpose is for audiences, not just for the brand image

Purpose, CSR, ESG or just plain ‘doing good’ has been at the front and center of brands’ minds and actions for many years. However, audiences have caught on and now want us to move our purpose from the forefront to the center, and to embed our mission and purpose across everything we think, say and do. Every year, an ever-growing number of people are seeking out brands that have a purpose-driven mission and are willing to give back authentically, in a way that makes a difference to them. It's more than just one thing to be socially responsible - it's about social injustice, privilege, sustainability, accountability - but it's mostly about understanding how our actions will impact and be meaningful for our audience.

3. Velocity as a direct response to Volatility 

With volatility as the key challenge of 2022, it’s critical for brands to understand how to create a process of campaign development that allows stakeholders to be more united, streamlined, and responsive. If your team wants to embrace this challenge, they need to enable velocity as a response. Changing direction, acting fast and adapting quickly will be the best way to succeed in these ever-changing dynamics. If your team is geared with a clear integration approach and constant collaboration mentality, you are set up to achieve a successful approach to velocity excellency. 

4. There is no valuable data without human conversational analysis

While AI empowers marketers to enhance their efforts and drive foundational change for the future success of marketing and PR, it’s not the holy grail to solve all of our data problems. Data is still only as great as the human interpretation and analysis of it. We as humans will always be drawn to creative storytelling and content. Leveraging strong, compelling conversational-driven data insights will always win the hearts and minds of consumers in a way that machines simply cannot. 

5. Stay humble with cultural shifts or avoid it entirely

In a volatile environment where culture shape-shifts at the speed of light, your brand authenticity is vital. Brands need to support this cultural drive through the team, market, but especially in campaigns. Reflecting society’s speed of change is so much more than adding wider cultural and lifestyle references to a campaign or broadening your talent roster - it's about understanding the conversations, gathering opportunities coming from it and injecting yourself when relevant. Tapping into every trend possible doesn’t make you cool, it makes you inauthentic, overly eager, and lacking a core identity.

Volatility can be embraced with some new approaches on how we source and utilize our data, what territories and spaces we tackle, how we integrate and coordinate the efforts of our teams and ultimately develop campaigns. In 2022, the key to success is to be agile & integrated, keep learning and keep developing.