Then and Now - A Glimpse into the Future

Over the past 50 years, marketing and advertising have undergone remarkable transformations. Let’s take a brief journey through the decades and explore what lies ahead for 2024.

1970s: The TV Takeover

The ‘70s saw the rise of television advertising. Catchy jingles, memorable slogans, and captivating commercials captured audiences.

1980s: Direct & Personalized

The ‘80s introduced direct marketing and database marketing. Marketers used customer data for more personalized messaging.

1990s: The Digital Revolution

The ‘90s marked the dawn of digital marketing. Websites, emails, and banner ads opened new avenues to reach diverse audiences.

2000s: Social Media & Mobile 

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter surged in the 2000s. Marketers leveraged these to engage consumers. Mobile marketing rose with smartphone adoption.

2010s: Data-Driven Personalization 

The 2010s brought data-driven marketing, powered by analytics, AI, and machine learning. Personalized experiences and targeted campaigns became standard.

2020s: Omnichannel & Consumer Experiences 

In the current decade, marketers aim for seamless, omnichannel experiences. Customer engagement and personalized interactions take center stage. 

2024: Upcoming Trends

Now, what can we expect in 2024?

• First-Party Data: Privacy concerns make first-party data essential for personalized campaigns. 

• AI-Powered Marketing: AI continues to transform marketing, automating tasks, analyzing data, and enhancing personalized experiences. 

• Video Dominance: Video marketing remains strong, especially live streaming for immersive content. 

• Social commerce: Shopping via social media becomes even more streamlined. 

• Brand Purpose: Consumers seek brands with social responsibility and authenticity. 

• Privacy-Centric: Privacy protection becomes crucial with transparent data practices. 

• Streaming and CTV: The shift to streaming and Connected TV advertising continues offering new opportunities.

The marketing landscape keeps evolving, and staying ahead means adapting to new technologies, strategies, and customer expectations. Embrace these trends to build stronger brand connections, drive growth, and continue to stay competitive in 2024 and beyond!

Thriving in the Evolving Automotive Landscape of 2024

The automotive industry is adapting to new dynamics in 2024, signaling opportunities for change and innovation. With the post-pandemic surge in demand balancing out, customers are now benefiting from a broader range of options, thanks to revitalized supply chains. Although higher interest rates are influencing vehicle financing, this has ushered in attractive discounts for customers, invigorating dealership competition and presenting customers with great deals. The current surplus supply hints at potential market adjustments, but also offers room for strategic planning. Amidst global uncertainties, consumers have a rich landscape to navigate. McKinsey & Company highlights that while growth may be moderating to 2.4% from 2019 to 2030, it's still a testament to the resilience and potential of the industry when compared to the 3.6% of the previous decade.

To excel amidst these changes, dealerships can adapt and employ effective strategies: 

Inventory Management: Maintain inventory matching market demand, tracking sales trends, avoiding overstocking on slow moving vehicles, and controlling associated costs such as storage and financing expenses.

Customer Service: Prioritize customer satisfaction, hire knowledgeable staff, and ensure hassle-free buying experiences, fostering loyalty.

Digital Marketing: Build a strong online presence through user-friendly websites, social media engagement, and SEO to reach potential customers.

Efficient Processes: Streamline operations, reduce turnaround times, and establish clear communication channels between departments.

Employee Training: Invest in staff training and development to keep them equipped with necessary skills and knowledge.

In summary, 2024 brings challenges, but dealerships can thrive by focusing on effective inventory management, top-notch customer service, digital marketing, streamlined processes, and employee development.

5 Key Dominating Digital Marketing Trends in 2023 So Far

In the rapidly evolving automotive industry, the landscape of digital marketing is undergoing significant transformations fueled by emerging technologies and shifting consumer behaviors. Just as history has shown, digital marketing in the automotive sector is ever-evolving, and those who can adapt to these changes are the ones who thrive. To craft a successful digital marketing strategy for the future, it becomes crucial for automotive businesses to understand the current trends that have been dominating 2023 so far. Here are five key trends in digital marketing that automotive companies should carefully consider now that we are halfway through the year:

Virtual reality and augmented reality experiences: 

Virtual reality and augmented reality are revolutionizing how automotive companies engage with their customers. Offering captivating and immersive experiences, VR allows potential car buyers to virtually explore various car models, step inside the vehicles, and closely inspect their features. On the other hand, AR seamlessly blends digital content with the real world, enabling customers to see how their desired cars would look in their driveways or garages. By implementing these cutting-edge technologies, automotive businesses can enhance customer engagement, increase interest in their car models, and ultimately boost sales.

Leveraging Generative AI Tools for Personalization:

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought valuable opportunities for automotive marketers to achieve more in less time. Generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, can be utilized to personalize interactions with potential car buyers. AI-powered chatbots can engage in real-time conversations with customers, addressing their queries, providing personalized recommendations, and assisting them throughout their car-buying journey. By incorporating AI-driven personalization, automotive companies can improve customer satisfaction and drive more conversions.

Embracing Social Commerce and Seamless Purchasing: 

Social commerce has become a dynamic approach for automotive businesses to integrate shopping with social interactions. Leveraging user-generated content such as authentic customer reviews and engaging videos showcasing car experiences, companies can create emotional connections with potential buyers directly on social media platforms. This approach allows customers to ask questions, seek advice, and engage with the brand, leading to increased confidence in their purchase decisions and facilitating seamless car sales.

Optimizing for Voice Search and AI Virtual Assistants: 

The rise of voice search, fueled by AI virtual assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, has significantly impacted how consumers search for automotive information. To optimize for voice search, automotive companies must anticipate conversational queries relevant to their car models and provide concise, informative responses. By securing top positions in voice search results, business can increase their visibility and reach potential car buyers who prefer voice-based interactions.

Emphasizing Conversational Marketing for Real-Time Engagement 

Conversational marketing has become a crucial trend in the automotive industry, enabling real-time engagement with potential customers. Leveraging chatbots, live chat, and messaging apps, automotive businesses can actively interact with customers, answer their questions, and provide personalized recommendations. This approach enhances the customer experience, nurtures stronger connections, and generates high-quality leads. Adopting chatbots for conversational marketing proves to be a valuable investment, as routine queries can be promptly addressed, saving time and enhancing customer satisfaction.

As the automotive industry continues to evolve, digital marketing remains a pivotal factor in driving success and growth. By embracing these trends and capitalizing on emerging technologies, automotive companies can elevate their marketing strategies, improve customer engagement, and thrive in the competitive digital landscape.

ChatGPT: The AI Chatbot That’s Changing Conversations and Digital Marketing

ChatGPT is a buzzword that's on everyone's lips these days. If you're not familiar with it, ChatGPT is an AI-driven natural language processing tool that can hold human-like conversations and assist you with various tasks, including composing emails, essays, and code.

But just how big of a deal is ChatGPT? According to Elon Musk, co-founder of OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT), it's "scary good" and could represent a major step towards dangerously strong AI. Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief, has also noted that the chatbot had over a million users within the first five days of its launch.

But perhaps the most significant indication of ChatGPT's impact comes from an analysis done by Swiss bank UBS, which claims that the chatbot is the fastest-growing app of all time. It estimates that ChatGPT had 100 million active users in January, just two months after its launch. To put that into perspective, it took TikTok nine months to reach the same milestone.

So how can you access ChatGPT? It's simple – just visit chat.openai.com and create an OpenAI account. Once you sign in, you can start chatting away with ChatGPT, and because it's still in the research stage, it's currently free to use.

But that's not all. ChatGPT is also making its way into the social media space, starting with a collaboration with Snapchat. The feature, called "My AI," allows Snapchat+ subscribers to chat with the bot within the app. However, ChatGPT's responses are limited – it won't provide answers about politics, violence, swearing, or academic essay writing.

In the spirit of exploring ChatGPT's capabilities, we asked the chatbot to predict the top five digital marketing trends for 2023. Here's what it had to say:

1. AI and Machine Learning: AI and machine learning are set to transform the world of digital marketing. As these technologies become more prevalent, we can expect to see more sophisticated marketing automation, chatbots, and predictive analytics.

2. Voice Search Optimization: Voice search has become increasingly popular over the past few years, and it's set to become even more prevalent in 2023. Marketers will need to optimize their content for voice search queries by creating content that answers questions directly and using natural language in their copy.

3. Influencer Marketing: Influencer marketing has become a key part of many digital marketing campaigns and is set to continue in 2023. Brands will increasingly partner with micro-influencers and nano-influencers who have smaller, highly engaged audiences.

4. Social Media Stories: Social media stories, like those on Instagram and Snapchat, have become an essential part of many digital marketing campaigns. In 2023, we can expect to see more brands embracing social media stories as a way to reach younger audiences.

5. Video Marketing: Video marketing has been growing in popularity over the past few years, and it's set to continue in 2023. As video production becomes more accessible, we can expect to see more brands using video marketing to tell their stories and connect with their audiences.

In conclusion, ChatGPT is a game-changing AI tool that's transforming the way we communicate and interact with technology. And with its predictions for the top digital marketing trends in 2023, it's clear that ChatGPT has its finger on the pulse of the industry. Whether you're a marketer, a business owner, or just someone who loves technology, ChatGPT is definitely a tool to keep an eye on.

Spotify Wrapped: What Marketers can Learn From the Viral Campaign

The end of the year is a time of reflection. The time when people buy planners, get gym memberships, and write holiday letters recapping the year. This is the backdrop that makes Spotify Wrapped so successful. Spotify is able to provide users with the soundtrack that got them through the year. For users, Spotify wrapped is another way to share who they are and what they like with their friends and followers while also giving Spotify global viral marketing in exchange. Every year it gets bigger and bigger with massive engagement online. For instance there were 425,000,000 tweets about Spotify wrapped in the first 3 days after the launch this year. Their unique combination of personalization, share-ability, and seasonality is hitting the right spot with their audience. 

What Marketers Can Learn From Spotify Wrapped:

1. Sharing is caring - Spotify Wrapped is extremely easy to share with friends and on your socials. Creating personalized content that your audience wants to share is a winning strategy. Give your audience a conversation to join and the engagement will follow.

2. Rinse and repeat - Although Spotify wrapped generally stays the same every year. The annual campaign at the end of the year creates a sense of ritual. Everyone looks forward to when it will be coming out and seeing who their top artists and songs were for the year. Give your audience something to look forward to with ritualized content. 

3. Join in on the fun - Creating brand specific versions of popular content is a great way to join the conversation. Guinness Beer built out brand specific content using the Wrapped format to engage with their audience.

IMOS Annual Ritual:

Here at IMOS every year around the holidays we create IMOS themed gift boxes. They have become a big hit and those who have received them in the past have always expressed excitement to see what we come up with for the next year. Looking forward we want to try to emulate Spotify Wrapped and create an end of year stylized report with catchy graphics and music to show our performance from the year!