2024’s winning brands must master these participation trends

And more than ever, we’re interested in how people and brands participate at the intersection of culture and technology.

This is increasingly important. Savvy brands must adapt to shrinking budgets by prioritizing an earned-first approach over a paid-first strategy. And rightly so, as today’s success hinges on transforming marketing to become more socially driven and participation-first to overcome the prevailing ‘cost of media crisis’ facing brands.

Here are some of the mega-trends we see as especially influential in driving participation this year.

Trust and authenticity under fire

In 2024, the battle for consumer trust is intensifying, with AI-driven misinformation flourishing online and social network traffic declining as users seek refuge from inauthentic content. The retreat from public platforms has bolstered the growth of 'dark social,’ private, trusted spaces where engagement is more personal and authentic.

This year, a staggering 70% of the global population faces election cycles, and the threat of AI-enabled misinformation looms large, testing trust in government and media. Despite this, business trust remains robust, presenting a unique opportunity for brands.

In this climate of skepticism, the onus falls on brands to navigate participation with integrity. Missteps in aligning with social issues can backfire, emphasizing the need for authentic, sensitive brand positioning. A clearly defined and genuine brand purpose is becoming the cornerstone for navigating these turbulent times.

The decline in traffic to major social networks signals a consumer pushback against perceived inauthenticity. Meanwhile, research shows a strong preference for user-generated content (UGC), with 86% of consumers placing their trust in brands that leverage UGC over influencer promotions.

The takeaway for brands is clear: enabling consumers to share content through their private channels and exploring innovative advertising approaches like click-to-message ads can be key strategies in the quest for authenticity and consumer trust in the year ahead.

Searching beyond the search bar

In the rapidly evolving quest for online discoverability, Google’s longstanding dominance is being challenged by social media and AI.

Gen Z’s growing preference for TikTok and Instagram’s discovery algorithms over Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) is reshaping the landscape. Additionally, 39% of young adults are excited by the prospect of conversational interactions offered by large language AI models (LLMs), diverging from traditional search queries.

The reliance on SEO is no longer sufficient; the future lies in mastering algorithm optimization for organic (long-tail) social to ensure content discoverability and participation with your audience.

No one is yet sure how to optimize for LLMs or even what it means for the web and for the idea of crawling links themselves if an LLM can just read the whole internet and synthesize an answer for you, rather than sending you to the answer or content you desire.

But we are already beginning to see early divergence in approach here: while the NYT is suing OpenAI for using its content as part of the training data for ChatGPT, Axel Springer is negotiating with the firm. Apple is negotiating payments with publishers to allow access to content to train its LLM model.

Although a complete playbook for LLM optimization remains elusive, the imperative for brands is to start strategizing and experimenting to stay ahead in the game of discoverability and audience participation.

Smartphone declines and new modes of interaction

The smartphone market has hit a saturation point, leading to a notable shift towards innovative interactions that cater to consumers’ needs for connection, entertainment, and utility.

Acknowledging the smartphone plateau, Apple has reported a market slowdown. In the UK, the refurbished phone market is booming, with a third of smartphones now pre-owned, as users opt for functionality over the latest models.

This pivot is partly driven by ‘tech fatigue,’ with a growing unease about technology’s pervasiveness – surging 10% in three years in the UK. Despite this, global screen time has increased, suggesting a complex relationship with technology.

The trend is steering innovation from smartphones to wearables, evidenced by the 18% CAGR in wearable technology. The Apple Vision Pro could revitalize the VR/AR/XR market and Snapchat's integration of ChatGPT points to a new direction. Even emerging technologies like the Humane.AI pin and Rabbit R1 indicate a market ripe for experimentation.

In essence, participation in 2024 is going to evolve beyond smartphone-first to encompass a wider array of technologies and form factors, this will require brands to think about new ways to interact with – and value to – customers.

From customer experience to customer entertainment

As customer experience (CX) suffers from underinvestment, CMOs are pinning their hopes on generative AI for true personalization while consumers increasingly seek identity and entertainment beyond brands.

The 2010s marketing mantra of customer-centricity has been eroded by the 2020s’ cost of living challenges, leading to price hikes, ‘shrink-flation,’ reduced services, and less rewarding loyalty programs.

The result? A customer base feeling the pinch, with 40% unable to differentiate between brands' app designs and 20% abandoning downsized products, culminating in the lowest American Customer Satisfaction Index since 2006.

In response, 80% of CMOs are poised to escalate AI spend in martech, with a keen eye on generative AI for enhanced personalization and predictive analytics. it’s uncertain if brands can deploy AI effectively enough to significantly impact most consumers this year, risking continued poor CX.

As brand experiences regress, consumers are investing more in fun. Live entertainment (7.5%), cinema (6.3%), in-home entertainment (7.3%) and travel (30.8%) are all growing, while furniture, clothing and grocery spend is all down.

The key takeout is that consumers want to participate with culture much more than they do brands, so brands who want to participate with consumers need to look and feel much more like culture.

In summary

In a year that challenges brand relevance, 2024 calls for a transformative approach to marketing — where participation, authenticity, and cultural resonance become the pillars of success. Brands must now innovate beyond traditional strategies, embrace the potential of AI, and embody the cultural fabric that customers value.

You can dig through Matt's findings here for more detail.