In today’s business and communication world, the ability to adapt quickly is one of the key competitive advantages. Customers want more, they are faster, and, if you like, more fickle than ever. They turn in a different direction quickly, find a competitor or another product. How can companies, together with marketing professionals, prepare for the next acceleration in business and at the same time use know-how and technology as a competitive edge?
The big global platforms continuously analyse user behaviour, technology development and trends in advertising, and predict where communication is moving. This time we draw the predictions from a piece by Google’s specialists, from heads of advertising measurement to experts in sustainability and advanced AI solutions.
Here are 5 trends the experts believe are key in marketing today. To each, we add a question: what should you do first to weave the trend successfully into your story?
1. Artificial intelligence is becoming a central part of marketing
Artificial intelligence in marketing is no longer in an experimental phase. It is becoming the infrastructure on which modern strategies rest. AI is used to predict user behaviour, automate campaigns, generate personalised content, and optimise ads in real time. Its key advantages are speed and precision. AI can analyse thousands of data points before you can say ‘target group’.
Concretely, this means that brands which know how to use AI better understand when, how, and to whom to communicate a message. Watch out: not everything labelled AI is gold, and even the best AI doesn’t help if you don’t direct it correctly. It is a tool, not an all-knowing guru that fires off solutions at speed without needing any information about your goals, capabilities and constraints.
If you want this to work… first ensure orderly and consistent data collection and a clearly defined goal for using AI. For example, for segmentation, prediction, content automation, or campaign budget optimisation. AI works best when it has good data and a clear purpose.
2. The marketing funnel is dead. Long live the omnipresent buyer’s journey
The path from first contact with a product or brand to a purchase used to look fairly simple. Awareness, interest, decision, purchase. These were the four basic stages of the sales funnel along which you could guide the customer toward the goal. Today consumers move much more chaotically. They explore, compare, come back, forget, and on top of that switch platforms several times. This Google data point is telling: more than 50% of users start exploring a product on one platform and buy it on a completely different one.
That means your strategy should be less focused on ‘phase planning’ and more on a fluid presence wherever the consumer happens to be at any given moment. The goal is for them to find you everywhere they consider messages credible and relevant, and for you to address them everywhere with an aligned, clear, consistent message.
If you want this to work… review your customers’ existing buying journey. Where do they decide most often? Align your presence at every relevant touchpoint, even those that aren’t directly sales-driven. And don’t forget: retargeting still works, if it is done with sensitivity (don’t overdo it) and care.
3. Sustainability is one of the key values, not just decoration
Sustainability is no longer just a friendly add-on you pin to a campaign. It is a decision criterion. Consumers demand transparency, authenticity, and real proof of what brands are doing for the environment and for society. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking only about ‘green scenarios’. Often, the most sustainable step is a close link with the local community or proven sensitivity to the cultural environment in which you address an audience. Google’s research shows that 82% of respondents are willing to switch brand if another offers a more sustainable solution. That means any insincere or superficial communication (read: greenwashing) will be quickly exposed, and the public will punish it without mercy. At the same time, it is also a huge opportunity for those who act thoughtfully and honestly.
If you want this to work… don’t start with the ad, start with the business model. Find the real points where you can improve your impact (e.g. more sustainable packaging, better logistics, more local partners) and then weave that into your communication with facts, numbers, and stories.
4. Inclusion and diversity as the new standard
Brands that are inclusive (or, in the foreign term, ‘inkluzivne’) are no longer the exception either. They are becoming the new norm. That doesn’t only mean including different demographic groups in your visual materials. It also means a deeper understanding of how diverse target groups live, think and communicate. The point is that everyone can recognise themselves in your communication, not only visually, but also in language, tone, and values.
We aren’t talking only about the age or race of your models in ads, but about a deep understanding of what kind of language the audience sometimes literally speaks. Younger generations in particular are very sensitive to being addressed in language that is, to them, ‘outdated’, and to the effort to give the impression that someone understands them.
If you want this to work… with professional support, carry out an internal review of your past campaigns. Who do they include, and who don’t they? Bring people with different opinions and perspectives onto the team. That is the first step if you want your content to be more genuine, empathetic, and connecting.
5. Advanced measurement for smarter decisions
The era of relying solely on clicks, impressions and CTR is over. More complex indicators are coming to the fore. Get ready for terms like ‘attention time, engagement depth, brand lift, attributed value…’. Why? Because complex decisions call for more complex metrics. Google’s experts highlight that companies investing more in advanced measurement (e.g. A/B test experimentation or data modelling) are as much as 35% more successful in budget allocation and achieving ROI.
If you want this to work… start with the question: ‘What is our actual goal?’ Then choose metrics that will give you relevant answers, not just nice numbers that satisfy an internal audience or decision-makers in the company, but won’t be worth much where they should be: with the audience. Also include tools that enable integration of data from multiple channels, since that is the only way to see the whole picture.
What’s next?
Although we still can’t predict the future with a crystal ball, with more professional approaches we can assess trends fairly well. Technology and consumer behaviour are changing together. They are demanding more flexibility, transparency, and real value for the end user from brands.
At Pakt, we believe every company can find the right balance between strategy, creativity and technology. We also have an answer to the question of where to start: in a conversation with our team.
Get in touch and let’s review the trends together.
