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For digital trends in 2015 Bell Pottinger Digital has revealed its 15 predictions. Throughout the year they looked at the increase in mentions and the most discussed trends and so as to predict for the next year what will be the greatest trends in marketing.

Near field communication

NFC is a low-power short-range wireless link that allows two devices to transfer data between each other while held close. The most useful form of it is to identify your bank account to a computer thus allowing contactless payment through your mobile phone.

 

Internet of things

It will allow a deeper level of automation of our most routine daily tasks, both for the society and individual at large. This will connect a wide range of devices from city-wide transport networks, household products and health monitors.

 

Wearables

Their most common use is to allow fitness or health monitoring with information transferred to an online database. Some of the other applications include Google Glass which in the media you have probably seen it, which allows you to navigate, send a message, search online and much of the other activities that the internet facilitates.

 

Internal communications

Within an organization, for effective communication, the function responsible for that is the internal communications. Technological changes have transformed the progress as a discipline, including social media, video and mobile. The change is driven by concepts such as the inbox revolution and treating employees like consumers.

 

Storytelling

There’s no need for complex or long histories, because fast-moving social platforms want you to use video, more pictures and fewer words, more pictures.  This is the core of transmedia storytelling where across multiple formats and platforms a single story is presented in unique fragments.

 

Branded content

The conventional distinctions between editorial and advertising content is blurred by branded content. The combination of the two develops one product intended to be distributed as editorial content. Usually, the brand itself curates or develops branded content in order to provide added consumer value like education or entertainment instead of selling a service or product.

 

Beacons

Beacons are sensors that communicate wirelessly through Bluetooth Low Energy technology with mobile devices. In a physical space, they allow two-way communication with the mobile device of a consumer. When a customer walks into a store, a typical use is to trigger the sensor so that he can be given targeted marketing messages through apps on his phone.

 

Personalization

With choice of channels and accurate targeting marketing messages become a valued service rather than an unwanted intrusion. Now the companies have the big data to design every aspect of the consumer journey. This includes the emotional desire for each one of us to be viewed as unique, and thanks to services across the web this is growingly turning into an expectation.

 

Big data

Using traditional techniques, it is difficult to process extreme volume of data known as big data. It has the potential to help companies make faster, more intelligent decisions and improve operations.

 

Content Marketing

According to the Content Marketing Institute the definition of content marketing is ‘a marketing technique of distributing and creating consistent relevant and valuable content to acquire and attract a clearly targeted audience with the goal of driving beneficial customer action.’

 

Augmented reality

Augmented reality takes an existing picture like real environment or live video and into it blends new digital information. You might know the concept of video games where digital elements are blended into the environment of the user. Other practical uses include audio guides and visual displays for complex tasks, while online shopping trying on clothes or product information displayed over products in-store.

 

3D printing

For rapid prototyping, 3D printers have been used in traditional research and manufacturing because of the test designs’ quick turnaround. They are also used for prompt manufacturing, especially in short runs for personally customized products.

 

Real-time

Real Time Marketing is focused on up-to-date events. It focuses on creating a broader strategy on immediate feedback from customers and current trends instead of making a marketing plan and perform it according to a fixed schedule. The purpose is to connect costumers with the resolution they need at that moment.

 

Mobile

Even though the industry has discussed mobile optimization since 2002, there are still top-brand sites that are not optimized for mobile. The devices that allow online access to information are changing quickly. According to Google, the search rankings would be reduced for sites which aren’t optimized for mobile.

 

Gamification

In order to develop wider experience that taps into intrinsic motivators, gamification is built into the system. In order to relate actions to stronger and different motivators, it doesn’t aim to develop a game but to utilize gaming techniques.

We work across domains like banking, education, retail, health care and media at Fjord and the work always includes an element of “new.” New target users, a new business proposition, a new technology or platform. At the front edge of mainstream the innovation meets the appeal of mass-market and that is where we work. In our work, the constant presence of “new” makes exploration a necessity and feeds our curiosity.

Here, we present you five of our predictions for 2013 and share our thoughts on what designers should be doing in order to stay ahead of the curve.

Dawn of the Personal Ecosystem

The increasing number of sensors and devices that we use in our lives will be the main reason for what we at Fjord prefer to call it “living services”—in order to form a support network for their owner, individual smart objects interconnect.

During the past 18 months we have witnessed the mass-market adoption’s beginnings for a chosen few connected objects, making them meaningful driven by the services. The Nest, Jawbone UP, and Nike+ FuelBand self-learning thermostat are early innovators. In 2013, the “battle for the wrist” will flood the mainstream with a wide range of approaches coming to market focused on everything from entertainment and information to wellness and health.

 

I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid)

The digital progress marches on along with the complexity. The ever-increasing volumes of data and an increasing number of personal devices constantly hamper the efforts of service designers to make simple, focused and elegant solutions.

Simplicity has a long and storied history of disruption and success. From the physical world, Zipcar and Ikea are good examples. In the digital world, with a very simple proposition, Skype managed to get global market share, and with its singular excellence and focus, Google disrupted the search-and-portal world. Other instances include Apple’s touch-focused iOS, and Amazon’s one-click shopping.

 

Access will supplant ownership

We have witnessed huge changes in the area of digital distribution of movies, music and any other form of media. Now users have certain expectations that their purchases will be consumable and portable on multiple platforms. We desire flexibility and accordingly, our way of owning and buying is changing.

 

I belong to me

The use of personal data and the argument regarding it got heated in 2012. Users are starting to demand real value and access in return for their data, as they have become more aware of what can be achieved with their information. Because of the many alternatives out there for practically any service, users are growingly stepping away from experiences that they find uncomfortable or creepy, and relocating their business somewhere else.

 

A personal shopper for everybody

In the digital world, personalization is nothing new yet in the world of retail users frequently find that just few services really meet their needs. In 2013 this is likely to change because of the offline and online retail environments merge, establishing a more immersive and holistic customer experience.

Here’s a statistic that will definitely strike fear into any retailer’s heart: Nearly half of smartphone users in the USA have used their devices only in-store, and over half of those have gone on to leave behind their in-store purchase. The distinction between in-store and online shopping has faded away for smartphone users.

So with this article, we sincerely hope we’ve provided not only a list of predictions but also actionable insights that will be of assistance to both business leaders and designers understand how to use the current opportunities that lie ahead in 2013.