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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

3. Brand Curation, Not Building But unlike humans in our individual silos, computers
can plug into a “neural” network that’s wider and more
In 2018, the idea that building a brand is a marketer’s expansive than anything we can conceive of.
job will begin to fade. Already, for customers, their Connecting human skills with big data is incredibly
journey doesn’t consist of observing the brand from afar powerful for marketers. Advances in AI and machine
and interacting at defined touchpoints. Customers want learning will allow marketers to take vast amounts of
to become involved with their favorite brands and build data to create authentic interactions on a massive
them by creating and sharing experiences. scale.

Smart marketers will increasingly become brand 6. People-Based Power
stewards, curating experiences and creating guard rails
for the customer. This is especially critical for retail Each year, technology helps us reach out better than
marketers who need to dissuade “showrooming” we ever could before. As we gain greater capabilities,
customers, who visit stores to physically experience a companies will fully embrace people-based marketing
product, then buy online. Retail brands need to build as a way to help consumers create their journey.
loyalty to motivate consumers to transact with them, not People-based marketing allows us to curate marketing
just touch and feel their merchandise. The retail efforts around groups of individuals that share
marketing effort will become a curation effort from the characteristics and is the future of marketing.
moment someone walks in the store.
But people-based marketing can’t work if we can’t de-
4. Authentic Audience Connections silo the technology that drives the marketing
ecosystem. When we break down the silos of data and
The bad news for marketers is that people don’t believe technology, we can follow people through their
marketing anymore. The good news is that they crave experiences online, offline, and across devices,
authentic experiences. The world is a chaotic and blending into the background of their lives.
sometimes scary place these days. More of us are
seeking meaning and experiences that will help us Already, audience and performance data from
make sense of things. People are looking for their own disparate systems can be integrated to provide a single
version of the truth. source of truth about marketing performance, and a
people-based understanding of what content, offers,
Companies that have an authentic human voice are the creative and other tactics work best for whom.
future of marketing. They will create opportunities for
consumers to literally live their brands via a mix of Marketers need this type of marketing intelligence to
digital, traditional, and experiential approaches. These curate more authentic experiences that foster real
are the brands that consumers will adopt, share, and connections with their customers and prospects. When
introduce to their friends, spouses and children. we can do this, we’re able to make important, strategic
investments for our companies that optimize consumer
Curating experiences demands a better understanding experiences and business results. In 2018, we will
of consumer behaviors and preferences, which means continue to gain more perspective and break down
connecting audience and attribution data in new ways. silos to fulfill the promise of people-based marketing. ◊
In 2018 and beyond, companies that have a better
ability to market in a highly curated way will be able to
create more authentic experiences and thrive.

5. Art Meets Science

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning By Wayne St. Amand, CMO,
represent the future of every industry, not just Visual IQ
marketing. But there’s no question that marketing will
reap great benefits from AI. While marketing thrives on
a heavy dose of art and science, the “art” side is our
uniquely human capacity for nuance. AI’s goal is a
blend of artistic and scientific capabilities to enable a
computer to respond as a human would.

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