Trends and Technology

Quick Response (QR) codes were all the rage in the early 2000s but soon fell out of a favor among most brands. But they have come back to life, spurred by the pandemic and the growing imperative among marketers to thread their message between the physical and digital worlds. And, unlike the first time around, QR codes now seem to have much more staying power when it comes to engaging consumers and driving revenue.

A recent survey paints an ominous picture of the level of confidence chief executives have in their CMOs, with most thinking that CMOs put their own interest above that of the organization. At the same time, about a third of CEOs have great confidence in their CMOs. That presents an opportunity for chief marketers to change the dynamic and demonstrate their business acumen.

With the pandemic starting to fade, this summer is expected to be quite different from the past two. Consumer-facing marketers will need to shift gears somewhat, from supplying an accelerating amount of digital content to ramping up efforts to reach people who will be clamoring for live events and spending a lot more time outdoors.

How brands have responded to the war in Ukraine provides valuable lessons for marketers navigating an increasingly unpredictable world. The crisis has reinforced the need to be nimble and responsive and ensure that every single part of a company’s operation is aligned on the brand’s values.

With their lives turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are leaning toward brands that can deliver simple experiences and talk about their products and services in a straightforward manner. But making things easier for people and explaining brand value in everyday terms does not mean companies have to dumb down the message.

When consumers shame and/or boycott companies and organizations due to actions or statements they deem offensive or harmful, marketers at the center of the cancel-culture storm may want to wait until things blow over, a recent study says. At the same time, a brand could risk irrelevancy if it goes too long before responding to public concerns. How best, then, to respond?

Corona Island is taking brand extension to another level. The island, which opens this summer, will offer visitors a slew of environmental lessons that they can apply at home. Felipe Ambra, global VP for Corona at Anheuser-Busch InBev, hopes the destination will also serve as a beacon for other brands eager to accelerate their sustainability efforts.

With the economy growing at a rapid pace and rates of COVID-19 declining, companies that had sent workers home to work remotely are reopening their offices and people who left their jobs in the so-called “Great Resignation” are beginning to return. But both are bringing with them a different perspective on how the workplace should, well, work. Organizations will have to be much more accommodating compared to before the pandemic.

Influencer marketing is expected to grow to more than $4 billion this year, according to a recent study, with micro influencers leading the charge. Finding micro influencers begins with identifying creators whose audiences align with a brand's target audience and who have a strong affinity for a company's product and services.

Podcast advertising still needs to catch up with the explosion in programming in the past few years, with plenty of marketers taking a wait-and-see approach. But with consumers increasingly burned out by screens, podcasts may grab both mind- and wallet-share a lot sooner than marketers anticipated.

Many American consumers may be reluctant to buy stuff from Twitter, Facebook, and other social platforms. However, younger generations are among the biggest social shoppers, suggesting that adoption rates are poised to surge. Job one for marketers to join the fray is to meld their catalogs with their social media accounts and tag their products in posts and videos.

Even before the surge in the COVID-19 Omicron variant, there was ample data chronicling the huge toll the pandemic has taken on people's mental health. Brands in the health care sector are responding proactively, offering new counseling services at or near their retail outlets. The efforts have led marketers to reevaluate how they talk about the highly sensitive subject of mental health and reduce the stigma people have about asking for help.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion is top of mind among a growing number of CMOs. In this interview, Esther Franklin, president of global strategy and cultural fluency at Spark Foundry, offers brand managers a roadmap.

Consumers may think of augmented reality and similar platforms as just more digital accessories, but marketers who develop ad campaigns that combine the online and physical worlds must take care to not get carried away by the technology.

The traits associated with empathy have been part of the marketing mix for years. But COVID-19 has dramatically, and perhaps permanently, altered the framework when it comes to how brands communicate with their audiences.

Retail media advertising is helping major brands keep pace with consumers who have shifted a lot of their spending to e-commerce amid the pandemic. But the market may be in danger from oversaturation and issues with data privacy.

Deepfake technologies, or synthetic media, have advanced rapidly in the past few years, spawning a range of applications that could have profound implications for marketers. For all its potential, however, synthetic media presents thorny ethical and legal questions for brands and organizations.

With awards season around the corner, consumer brands have to make sure their real-time marketing operations are up to speed and not in any danger of missing something that suddenly goes viral.

A growing number of consumers are looking for an escape from the familiar as they start to venture out and the pandemic starts to wane. Some niche brands are responding to the call by touting the unique experiences they have to offer while encouraging consumers to unplug from their digital devices.

To push back against the tide of the “Great Resignation,” agencies and brand-side marketers need to focus on building a people-first workplace. They have to be flexible when it comes to where people want to work and reassure current and prospective employees that their time is valued — inside and outside of the office. Companies demanding that people constantly be in the office are going to lose.