6 Top marketing trends for the 2nd half of 2024

Marketers are hung up on chasing internet trends – but what’s trending in marketing?

There are many factors that influence our industry. And fortunately, they're not all driven by memes or AI.

However, we as marketers face relentless pressure to stay on top of what’s happening in our ever-changing world, including what tech rules us and what our clients want.

Trust me, I know this can sometimes feel like someone's always moving the goalposts.

Well, let me unpack some of the latest trends I’ve noticed in marketing (with a bit of help from our friendly neighbourhood Forbes).

1. There's no tolerance for friction.

Any delay in page load time? Forget it. Confusion at the checkout? Goodbye. Bad product recommendations? See ya! According to Salesforce, 80% of consumers report abandoning retailers after three bad experiences.

You heard it here first y’all. Three strikes and you’re out! There’s money to be made in removing friction (just look at what Tesla did to the car-buying experience.)

What’s a brand to do? Revise your customer experience, ironing out any kinks.

2. We're living in the Age of Paranoia.

A saga of public data storms (Snowden, Cambridge Analytica, leaks) and deep dives (The New York Times: Privacy Project), have consumers freaked out. Google searches for 'tracking' are up 25x in the past 20 years.

What’s a brand to do? Overshare what you’re doing with data and why so your customers know they can trust you.

3. Personalisation is extending to brands.

Think of arguably one of the most valuable brands on the planet: Taylor Swift. Why is her brand so valuable? Because she’s a master of personalisation.

A shape shifter, she’s all things to all people. How? By delivering a path to inclusion and offering different parts of herself to different fans (think, her Eras tour.)

What’s a brand to do? Make your brand flexible enough to extend to all 'tribes,' but not so much that you lose authenticity.

4. The rise of the post-verbal consumer.

Consumers have moved their 'like' button from text to images to video. Bloggers are trending toward video; logos are going text-free. Now, less is more, particularly with words.

What’s a brand to do? Master short form video. Learn how to simplify your message while still making an impact.

5. All business is now show business.

Toys have always been in the film business. Now restaurants are game platforms, cereal brands are social activists, accommodation apps are providers of fantasy.

Why? To capture and keep consumers' fragmented attention, you’ve got to use markets outside your own.

What’s a brand to do? Think of ways to expand and capture multiple audiences.

6. We're seeing the value of perspective.

Marketers and consumers see the world very differently. We have a tendency to assume our clients see and feel what we see, or that our customers are like us.

This is often not the case! For example, some consumers find personalisation creepy, while we assume it makes them feel seen. Who’s right?

What’s a brand to do? Do your due diligence. Don’t assume anything about your audience without asking.

The main takeaway here? This sh*t stays changing. If you want your brand to make it over the long haul, keep your eyes wide open to changes in consumer behaviour and technology.

Stay savvy, friends.

-Sophie, Writer