Written by As we enter the new year and brands finalise their marketing and PR plans, we have reviewed our observations from the last 12 months to share our three top marketing & PR trends for 2022.
The comeback of experiential marketing
As attendee numbers at events continue to rise, confidence slowly returns and virtual networking platforms cement their place in annual strategies, brands now have multiple opportunities to immerse their audiences and engage them through physical and digital experiences.
According to research by HubSpot, 58% of marketers who currently leverage experiential marketing call it an effective strategy, while 48% of this group plans to increase experiential investments in 2022.
Meetings, conferences and events, virtual or physical, provide brands with the ideal platform to test, engage and receive vital feedback, so marketers that are not considering or don’t understand how they can implement experiential marketing in 2022 are likely to lose out on market share compared to those are experimenting.
Soft community engagement > hard sell
If we have learnt anything from the pandemic, it’s the importance of community-focused marketing. At a time when industries couldn’t connect face-to-face, professionals became reliant on forums, webinars, social media groups and WhatsApp broadcasts to receive news, discuss insight and network.
After two years of limited travel, being able to log in and out of virtual events with no consequences and working just as productively at home, professionals are more stringent on where they invest their time. While events and meetings can take place in a physical capacity again, marketing approaches to handle the ‘soft’ touchpoints will be just or even more important than over the last two years.
Social responsibility communication is no longer a ‘nice to have’
Communicating your brand’s social responsibility and sustainability efforts is now in high demand from both consumers and B2B buyers.
Following the worldwide coverage of COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, consumers and businesses are more aware than ever of the impact they are making on their environment and want to make positive changes.
A 2021 CSR article published by the Harvard Business School stated, 77% of consumers are motivated to purchase from companies committed to making the world a better place, while 73% of investors state that efforts to improve the environment and society contribute to their investment decisions.
It’s no longer a ‘trend’ to operate sustainably, so businesses need to update their marketing approaches to fit with their audiences needs and new buying decision process.
To find out how we can support you utilise these practices in your marketing efforts, get in touch.