…but they will soon will be!
At Mumbrella360 this morning, “adland’s favorite social media truth-teller,” Rob Mayhew opened the conference with his traditonal “takedown of brands desperately trying to hijack culture.”
After a satirical ‘credentials pitch’ for his company, he got to his forword looking analysis of advertising and marketing trends for the coming year.
“I fell out of love with social media… there were so many signoffs, it just became so boring… The playbook was to hijack trends and culture.”
‘Grand Theft Culture’ is no longer the best way to advertise and influence on social media, according to Mayhew.
Critiquing the self interested practices of social media, Mayhew said: “Social media companies became very greedy. You do all this work to build creative and then you post it, but you only reach 5% of people because of the algorithm, unless of course you pay.”
One of the top trends Mayhew sees for marketers in the coming year are podcasts. “Anyting that is direct to consumer will be used by brands to reach them.”
Asked if there are some social platforms that are too toxic for brands. “Yes,” he said, naming X as the biggest example of one platform that has become toxic.
His top tips for marketing trends in the coming year are:
- Original Content Only – In recent years, brands have tried to jump on to popular culture trends, but Mayhew says this is a tired trend. “Create your own story, your own brand world.”
- Remove the sign off process – “You need to move fast, trust your team, a sign off process is not right for social media. By the time you are working on a trend it is dead already if you have a long sign off process.”
- Initiate weekly ‘writers rooms’ – Some of your team meet weekly to track trends and pool upcoming ideas for creating content. “Have a diverse culture squad to come up with new ideas fast.”
- Build a Content Universe – “Don’t have just one place to put your content, have satellite accounts with their own Point of View and purpose. Have more than one channel.”
- Double Down on Craft – “With the rise of AI, creative is becoming easy to do, but also becoming very average. People are beginning to notice that things that have some craft seem special.”
- Hello 16×9 – Mayhew says that horizontal video formats are marjing a resurgence. “I love Tiktok, but I’m now also obsessed with Youtube. Gen Z are craving long form. They are watching on laptops and smart TVs, so the 16 x 9 screen orientation is back. Youtube will be a huge push for brands this year.”
- Merch – “Gen Z want merchandising, get creative,” he said giving the example of the Ritz Carlton hotel brand that has partnered with clothing brand LateCheckout.
- The end of Dorp Culture – Gen Z want access. “If it is a good idea, make it available immediately don’t drop it later.”
- Don’t sleep in Linkdin. “That platform has such untapped potential. Creativity stands out on linkedin.”
- Creators are not just for content – Use your creative team for pitching, planning, client meetings and other parts of your agency work
- Start planning for Vine -Its coming back.
- Be your own social media platform – People are craving community, they want to be linked with people who ahve similar interests. Take back control, create niche direct communities. Don’t rely on the algorithms of other platforms.
- Customers are the new influencers – Invest in your own customers, involve them in events and brand building.
- Branded Podcasts – “Podcasts haven’t been ruined by brands yet, but they will soon be, so get in early.”
- Over 50s influencers – They have stories to tell. “Brands are working with older creators and Gen Z are also interested in them. Over 50s will be the new influencers in the coming year.”
- Audio Logos – Create original music or FX that that you can own.
- Branded Substacks – Direct to consumer newsletters.
- Gen Alphas. The new Gen Alpha is about to flood your FYPs.
Reporting: Steve Ahern