Page 15 - Adnews Nov-Dec 2022

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Feature
Rose Herceg’s view
The president, WPP, Australia and New Zealand, with her outlook for next year.
The top 5 predictions:
1SOCIAL + LIVE-STREAMING COMMERCE
Great moments to allow customers to buy in real-time is the ballgame. If you’re talking about it, sharing it and building content around it, you’ll also have your best opportunity to sell it. The most creative examples on the planet belong in this social commerce category. A powerful influencer at the right moment to the right audience in the right channel can move its audience to purchase. Whether it’s selling patron tequila or Ipsy glam bags on Instagram, or a livestream fashion canine show for Petco, it’s the most exciting frontier of commerce and it’s also the most fun.
2AI, BUT FOR REAL.
Artificial Intelligence has been discussed, debated seriously (and sometimes utilised exceptionally well) for over a decade now, but 2023 sees marketers finally starting to master its use. AI gives brands a single source of data. It also allows brands to stay up to date with constantly evolving privacy laws. AI is a big winner for customer service and sales, but the smart money is on marketers using it as a tool for more of the clever stuff. Audience targeting, content creation and demand generation can all be delivered by AI. This means that the success of AI will hinge on hiring real experts who can manage your AI platform and train this platform to deliver the best results possible. Seeing what’s possible is the best case for making an investment in your Artificial Intelligence.
3PERSONALISATION - BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT.
The tricky part of personalisation is that people expect brands to know everything about them. When something feels impersonal, it grates on con- sumers and can often do more harm than good. For over a decade now, marketers have worked hard to scale their personalisation efforts. For most brands, it’s patchy at best. The future of personalisation will likely be a streamlined approach of shrewd rationalisation. It might seem counter-in- tuitive, but this new process will allow marketers to apply one approach or methodology to multiple situations. Marketers will be able to create consist- ent experiences at scale and get it right far more often than they get it wrong.
4EXTREME FOCUS
Most companies and brands find it difficult to focus on the one prod- uct or service they build. Rather than deliver this product or service exceptionally well and constantly improve upon it, they get excited by greener pastures. Being outstanding in your chosen space will be rewarded by customers. Being the best, being committed, being focused, and continuously finding ways to improve is an extremely attractive proposition in 2023. As customers continue to be inundated with choice, companies and brands that make themselves the clear winner will win at the point of purchase, too.
5INTEGRITY
It’s an old-fashioned word, but ‘integrity’ is back in style. Companies and brands that live up to the meaning of this word will stand out in a sea of excuses and spin. Much like people, companies and brands always know the difference between right and wrong. Doing the right thing, rather than the lucrative thing, matters more than ever in 2023. Nothing can be perfect one hundred per cent of the time. Sometimes things go wrong. Mistakes are made. Great brands simply stand there and admit that they are wrong. Consumers can forgive a great deal. They will gravitate toward companies and brands that tell the truth, even when it costs them.