TREND 3
An era of breakthrough creativity and connected experience
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When COVID-19 hit, the world went completely online, and businesses had to swiftly change the way they operate and create digital solutions to better serve their customers. Now more than ever, the words of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs ring true, “you’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology – not the other way around.”
In today’s digital economy, getting customers’ attention is challenging. Customers are time poor – they want what they want in a fast and seamless way. The window to give customers what they’re looking for is around a few seconds, if your marketing doesn’t match their expectations they will move onto the next option. According to a recent PWC research, 73% of all people point to customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions.
“Expectations of a seamless customer experience is not set by the brand conducting it, it’s set by the customers. And customers don’t just want connectivity, they also expect engaging and immersive experiences across every brand touchpoint. This year, we’ve seen an increase in marketing and technology experts in a company coming together to make sure that they are using data, technology and creativity with a single focus across the entire customer journey.”
Azlan Raj, Merkle EMEA CMO
According to Isobar’s annual Creative Experience Survey, innovation and new experience technologies are now critical in creating differentiation and growth moving forward:
- 83% marketers agree that there can no longer be any disconnect between what a brand promises and what it delivers for its customers, communities, and employees.
- 86% marketers agree that every touchpoint can and should tell the brand story, from comms to commerce.
- Innovation, integration of the brand promise & delightful interactions enhanced by technology named as the top three key ingredients needed in the creation of brand experiences.
- 82% marketers are investing or have already invested in creativity and digital technologies to create brand differentiation
"What stands out is that experience has become an even bigger focus for how consumers are making choices around the brands they invite into their lives. The more you meet a brand at its interface the more important that interface becomes. Innovation, creativity and new experience technologies are now critical in creating differentiation for brands and businesses.”
Sven Huberts, Head of Innovation and Design, dentsu and Managing Partner, Isobar
What should brands do in 2022?
Personalisation isn’t enough anymore – brands not only need to pinpoint the right moment to engage with their customers, but they need to make these touchpoints meaningful. For brands to create personalized, seamless and impactful experience, they need to unify all business functions under one rigorous customer experience strategy.
The integration of data, technology and creativity should be at the core of brands’ marketing strategy in 2022. Brands should use data to make informed decisions on creatives and leverage technology to enable meaningful and immersive experiences that drive business growth.
You can also read about our 2022 Creative Trends where we explore how virtual worlds and a climate in crisis are redefining culture, commerce and community from the ground up. The “New Worlds Order” theme reflects a profound shift away from traditional models of community, work and ownership towards new, decentralised and democratised models. It represents a shift towards networks of choice, passion and mutual reward powered by gaming engines, crypto-currency, distributed workforces and personal autonomy.
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