2018 is almost upon us, and with the start of a new year comes a host of new trends and changes – some welcome, some not so welcome – in the marketing world. Whether you are handling your own marketing activities in-house or outsourcing to an agency like us, embracing all that’s shiny and new is the way to go to ensure your campaign resonates with your target audience.

Set to be another exciting year of growth (what Brexit, right?), 2018 will see a bevy of marketing changes, strategies and trends pushed to the forefront. But what can you expect come the New Year and how will changes affect your campaign in the weeks and months that follow?

AI will take over

Not in an I, Robot sort of way, but artificial intelligence (AI) is set to become an integral part of the customer journey on-site. Marketing technology trends have evolved rapidly during the last year, but we didn’t expect trends to become this futuristic. Artificial intelligence powered live chat is what 2018 will be all about.

With a recent eDigital’s Customer Service Benchmark survey revealing that 73% of consumers prefer live chat for customer service, compared to email (61%) and phone (44%), the customer care experience could be upgraded dramatically. AI live chat tools Drift and Intercom are already available and relied on by marketers looking to provide an even better service to their web visitors.

We’ll be jumping on the AR band wagon

The iPhone 8 and iPhone X may be loved by consumers, but with the arrival of 2018, their advanced features will also provide plenty of things for marketers to shout about too. The two latest models have brought augmented reality (AR) into the mainstream and with that AR sponsored and AR branded content will be born.

Quant marketing use will rise

Quantitative-based market research is of course no new thing, but it is expected that reliance will shift radically to this lesser used method come 2018. Marketing will become even more technical and analytics based as a result with data science teams taking charge of proceedings and working with marketers to craft campaigns that are more concise than ever before. Focus is thought to be on brand growth meaning companies will have the data they need to set the strategies that propel them even further within their respective marketplaces.

Personalisation will continue to be important

Personalisation has become integral to success in email marketing with personalised messages improving click through rates by 14% and upping conversions by 10%. In the coming year, content marketing itself will be revolutionised by personalisation, with the use of account based marketing or ABM tailoring strategies to specific accounts or account types. Adobe and Optimizely will become essential tools for content personalisation so best get your subscriptions now!

Ads will make their way into our cars

This prospect may sound rather dangerous, but with the prospect of owning a self-driving car soon to become a reality, in-car ads will be all the rage. Uber is just one of the major companies who have put their order in for a self-driving tech enhanced fleet, with 24,000 advanced Volvo SUVs on their way to the brand. Drivers and passengers will be consumed by content before we know it!

Keeping an eye on the latest developments is what we do at Square Media. Stay up-to-date with all that’s new in the world of marketing by visiting our blog and joining us on social media.