It’s trend report season, but nobody cares. Let’s face it: we’ve already been hearing about how the Internet of Things is going to revolutionize healthcare, reverse global warming and reinvent domesticity all year. We know what’s coming. Faster broadband wifi, longer battery life, mass adoption of wearable technology, smart automation and data will all enable new behavior. What matters now is getting ahead of it all. To take advantage of these changes, we need to start planning differently.
How do we seize new opportunities when they arrive? We asked the strategists, technologists, user experience designers, creatives, writers and analysts at Huge what brands really need to prioritize to win in 2015.
As we covered the expected topics (analytics, privacy, that ubiquitous watch) and some less expected ones (Minecraft influencers, What Ali Wore, Taylor Swift’s Instagram), enthusiasm for new trends met with uncertainty about their trajectories. When it comes to emerging technologies like smart watches and geotagging, we’re as curious as anyone else about the best way to use them.
“What I think about most lately isn’t the next trend. We all know that bandwidth is increasing, that battery is getting better, that we’ll have a truly persistent smart internet. What I think about is how to be ready when innovations are widely adopted. It’s not about making predictions.” – Aaron Shapiro, CEO
Anyone who claims to know the future of connected devices, the Apple Watch or anything else is missing the point. The roles that new technologies will play in our lives have yet to be defined. The future belongs to the companies ambitious enough to experiment with them and brave enough to evolve their business models around them.
“No matter how much people tell you that they’re ready to harness this technology, the truth is that no one really knows what kind of experiences it will enable. We’re all figuring it out together.” – Jon Gibs, VP, Analytics
Here’s what we’re sure of, what we’re not, what we changed our minds about this year, and what gets us excited – now and for the next twelve months.
Brands are being defined by the experiences they enable and the value they create for their users. The next generation of these experiences will be fueled by data, creating immense value for every individual.
In 2015, consumers will begin to gravitate toward customized experiences that are truly useful. It’s no longer enough to make your brand available across the web, mobile, gaming consoles and connected TVs. Find ways to provide value to consumers online, in-store, on the streets and at home, and put your users’ own data to work making their interactions and lives better.
Wearable devices, iBeacons, and cheaper smart screens are finally making it easier to mesh digital and physical interaction. But brands can’t create a truly personalized, smart future if their users don’t trust them. Every business needs to be ensuring their user data is truly secure, and working to strike the right balance between concierge and creepy.
What will matter next year according to people at Huge?
Some things were easy to agree on. But when it came to the innovations that may change the way we use digital products and services, like connected devices, the Apple Watch, and voice-enabled technology, the answers were far from unanimous. We all know they’re happening – but we’re still not sure when, how and to what effect.
So okay. Sometimes, it is about predictions (and a little wishful thinking). Here's what we hope to see more (and less) of in 2015.
The brands that win in 2015 will lead the conversations that matter most to their users.
And we’re not talking tweets, Likes or any kind of “spray and pray” approach to branded content (which is never okay). Consumers want customized experiences that make it easy for them to find, share and create great content themselves – so brands need to produce and host media that lives up to users’ standards. The good news? It's never been easier to create things people care about.
Companies have as many resources for creating great content as publishers do – so why aren’t they doing better? And as the public radio renaissance and the rise of YouTube stars have shown, users are always up for free, quality entertainment, no matter where it comes from. If your content is truly exceptional, they’ll give you their time and attention, and then share your story themselves. This year, brands need to find ways to patronize and distribute the content that users want most.
The age of mass communications is over. Let’s all stop trying to be everything for everyone; it’s boring. Start using data and AI to reach individual users in a personal way. Send smart, curated content to small groups of users – that’s how you facilitate new conversations and build real relationships between individual users and a brand.
Look at British Airways’s Magic Billboards. They leverage their own data (flight information and GPS coordinates) to create a new kind of interaction that delights the person on the street. Sure, there's little value provided in this particular exchange, but it points to incredibly exciting opportunities. Don’t jump on the bandwagon of the next meme. Tell a story that no one else can replicate.