Top 5 Marketing Trends for 2024

As 2023 comes to a close, we look ahead to forecast what can be expected within the modern marketing landscape this coming year.

AI-Driven Content

‘AI’ was nominated as the Collins dictionary word of the year, which comes as no surprise considering AI has arguably been the hot topic of 2023. According to Smart Insights research, 48% of marketers are now using AI to assist with content generation and a further 10% plan to use it in the future. As it stands, the greatest uses of AI in marketing are:

1. For website content to support SEO

2. Subject lines and copy to improve email response

3. Content for social media ads and posts.

Public release of Google Search Generative Experience in 2024 will undoubtedly further impact the way in which we use AI to assist with content creation. Kantar’s Media Reactions of 2023 research found that the majority of marketers globally feel positively towards AI, with 54%of marketers globally believing that generative AI is a good tool for testing creative that isn’t otherwise measured. However, Pallavi Naresh, product lead at Google Ads, warns we should ‘recognise that AI doesn’t replace human ingenuity; it simply enhances their creative toolkit.’ Through the coming year, marketers will wrestle with how to best use AI tools, finding the balance between AI assisted content and AI generated content.

Hyper-Personalisation

Personalisation is now the norm. Data from McKinsey shows that 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalised interactions and a further 76% feel frustrated when this doesn’t happen. Personalisation has been shown to deliver real returns. According to Twillo’s 2023 State of Personalisation report, 56% of consumers state they will make a repeat purchase after a personalised experience, a 7% increase year-on-year.

In 2024 the focus will be on hyper-personalisation, going beyond traditional personalisation strategies to leverage advanced data analytics, machine learning and of course AI. This allows for enhanced customer journey mapping, tailoring the experience at each touchpoint. As chat interfaces become more prevalent, hyper-personalisation may be used to better understand user’s language patterns and preferences, tailoring conversational interactions. Whilst consumers expect personalised experiences, 23% feel less comfortable about their personal data being used for personalisation purposes compared to last year. This is where the importance of transparent communication comes in, and those who can provide a clear understanding of how customer data is being used will likely fare better with hyper-personalisation strategies.

Ethical Marketing and Transparent Communication

The sustainability movement isn’t set to slow, with 69% of global consumers stating that sustainability is more important to them now than it was two years ago. However, brand trust remains low. Research from Deloitte, shows that when a product is labelled as responsibly sourced or manufactured, only one in three consumers will actually consider it to be sustainable. According to Kantar’s Sustainable Marketing 2030 report, 82% of marketers agree that companies need to be braver in communicating their sustainability efforts, particularly amidst rising awareness of greenwashing. In the coming year we’re set to see greater transparency in communications as consumers demand honesty and authenticity. We’ve already seen the presence of sustainability metrics on marketing dashboards surge this year, with 42% of companies now incorporating these metrics compared with 26% two years prior.

Video Marketing And Short-Form Content

Due to the powerhouse of a social platform that is TikTok, short form video content reigns supreme. The average attention span is around eight seconds, thus short form video offers the most effective means of communicating marketing messages whilst keeping the viewer engaged. According to Wyzol’s State of Video Marketing in 2023 report, 96% of marketers now see video as an important part of their marketing strategy, with 92% stating that video gives them a positive ROI.

Virtual Reality And Augmented Reality

Marketers are already using VR to create immersive product experiences and this application will continue through 2024. We’ll likely see VR employed to build virtual stores, showrooms and within brand activations as a tool for immersive storytelling. According to Statista, the AR and VR market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 12.6% from 2023 to 2028. AR will be employed to further increase user engagement, be it through virtual try-ons, social media filters and gamification tied to loyalty programs.