The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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M&C Saatchi Havas Interpublic Group

Statements of Intent: Interpublic Group, Havas Media, Lowe Profero UK, M&C Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, M&C Saatchi Mobile

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By Stephen Lepitak, -

January 1, 2015 | 6 min read

Happy 2015 everyone. With an eye looking towards the next 12 months, The Drum approached some network agency chiefs to ask them, not what they predict will happen in the year ahead, but what they know for certain to expect. Here we share what they believe will definitely take place within the marketing industry in the months to come.

Michael Roth, CEO of Interpublic Group

The line between technology and traditional creative recedes and great content shines through wherever you are, whatever you're trying to do. Expect to see our clients tell memorable stories, even on a fitness band. Agencies will collaborate more and more to deliver integrated marketing across channels and geographies.

Paul Frampton, CEO, Havas Media

First off, being a CEO, doesn’t make you any better at crystal ball gazing. The only real certainty is that the speed of change will quicken.

But, as I’ve been asked here are my banker bets for 2015:

1. Customer “experience” will be front and centre; ‘omni-channel’ will be on everyone’s lips.

2. Media spends in video, mobile, location targeting & DOOH will grow.

3. There will be more focus on data, DMP’s & their relationship with DSP’s.

4. The quality of micro content for social platforms will improve.

5. Programmatic platforms will become more open & data driven.

6. Wearable tech innovation will be the new battleground.

Cheryl Giovannoni, CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising London

Change will come at us ever more swiftly – mobile’s relentless march on our wallets will take an ever greater share, personalisation and data privacy will reach fever pitch levels of debate and controversy, whilst we will quietly enjoy and reward with our loyalty those brands that understand us best.

How brands create purpose and meaning will grow ever more important as the internet of things fills our Christmas stockings with new ways of living and being, and the battle for consumers’ attention becomes even more keenly fought. It will be a helter-skelter ride – only for the curious, the courageous and those who thrive on failing fast and going again.

Tom Bazeley CEO at M&C Saatchi

The only thing I can say with absolute certainty is that people won’t change. The means of selling them stuff will, but the people we’re selling to won’t. People will still hate taxes, love the smell of bacon, well-up at the end of ET, get dispirited by terrorism, privately favour the brave and practice schadenfreude even though they don’t know it. People will still envy their neighbours, save up for holidays, get sleepy after lunch, love the Queen, ignore the gas bill and shout at technology. People will continue to be people in 2015, which I find kind of reassuring.

Dale Gall, CEO of Lowe Profero UK

Wearable tech will appear way bigger than it actually is. Why? Because wearable tech will be the new black in 2015 and even if it is a technology whose potential is only barely realised - watches in particular will appear to be a mainstream fashion item through the sheer impact of at least one person you know showing it off with all the pride of someone who confuses buying something with actually inventing it.

James Hilton, founder & CEO, M&C Saatchi Mobile

There are several trends that point to certainties in 2015 - changes that will be integral to the shape of the mobile, and indeed, digital landscape.

The convergence and consolidation of companies in the technology space - we expect there will be considerable consolidation of technology providers in mobile. This will be a continuation of a theme seen this year, and we expect that there will be more ‘full stack’ players next year. Google and Facebook have consolidated their competencies into clear solutions. The full stack providers will also enable campaigns to reach ever greater scale, delivered through programmatic buying, which we also expect to expand considerably on mobile.

Cross-channel Attribution will finally become a realistic proposition - Cross channel attribution, whilst it has been full of promise for some time, will finally be realised in 2015. Cross channel attribution is more essential than ever, with the average consumer using multiple devices on a daily basis. With development of full stack solutions, technology providers will be able confidently attribute users to a device or a screen.

Change in ad metrics from CTR to views and attention - we are also confident that there will be a fundamental change in attitude towards digital advertising with the advent of viewability metrics. These metrics have begun to be formalised this year, but we expect their widespread adoption in 2015. In November, comScore’s Validated Campaign Essential received certification from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Data-driven creativity: data means greater personalisation -with the previous trends enabling marketers to see what audiences are enjoying, data-driven creativity will be important in delivering the sort of experiences that will resonate with audiences, and deliver deeper brand engagement. Through programmatic, it will be possible to deliver personalised messaging at massive scale.

Fragmentation of social attention: proliferation of dark social - another certainty for next year will be the continued fragmentation of the social landscape. The growth of dedicated messaging apps has been substantial, leading to a development of ‘dark social’. Whilst dark social has been documented this year, 2015 will see the development of analytics around user behaviour on the platforms, and with good reason: according to some estimates, dark social now accounts for 70 per cent of all sharing activity.

Marketers’ skills need to attune to new landscape - with all the trends considered, it is clear that marketing competencies will require updating, yet again. To gather useful insights from the mass of data now generated by consumers, marketers will have to develop and effectively utilise new tools and methods to deliver effective engagement.

M&C Saatchi Havas Interpublic Group

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