65 comments

1. The Art of Marketing Sounds Great!
   2012 Marketing Prediction: Those who can cut through the clutter and deliver relevant, creative and timely messages will continue to thrive as we continue the post industrial journey to “Artisan Web Entrepreneurs” becoming the backbone of the revolution necessitated by the continued economic downturn.

2. I predict that online spending will reach 30% of total ad spending.

3. Twitter will limited new brand pages to advertiser only.

4. Prediction for 2012: even more companies will begin to embrace social media but not only that, they will begin to truly understand it and make it a vital part of their marketing mix and we will see very interesting and more powerful integrated campaigns and brands truly engaging with the consumer in deep ways that will have a more tangible impacts on ROI.

5. Prediction- “Mobile Money” becomes a prominent part of the way consumers shop,, “google wallet” for example. Companies will either adapt and make “mobile money” an accessible option or feel the wrath of convince shoppers who no longer carry money or credit cards.

6. Rarely does the Marketing world leave a footprint significant enough to articulate as “one thing” It lives in a land of iteration and latent discovery. The “one thing” you are looking for won’t be apparent for a while, but its seed will be planted in 2012. A few agencies will take a chance and start to hire a few people who are true innovators, people who don’t live in any of the current agency silos. They will be the “Java” team that Sun Microsystems had to set free from their internal bureaucracy to enable innovation. They will be people who don’t think like traditional marketers and are not afraid to fail. This won’t be just about disruptive innovation, it will be about creating digital properties that will look for new ways to break down boundaries between brands and consumers, in ways that would make most Marketers of 2009 and 2010 shudder. They will be able to understand that the future of marketing is based on enablement. So no we won’t see it in 2012 but in 2013 you’ll be able to write that’s when the revolution began.

7. This is excellent news Mitch, and a little closer than Calgary (although that was a extremely worth while trip).
   This is my prediction for 2012:
   Currently, we’re in the middle of the mass adoption phase of online and social media marketing. Many businesses through 2009, 2010 and 2011 have flooded these markets and are finding some results. However, because the results they are finding are not necessarily what they were predicting, I think the big shift in 2012 for marketing will be this:
   A move to an effective business package, the encompasses marketing, sales, product development and customer service – all in one cool little package.
   {Explanation}
   If you were to build a website in 2012, you would want to insure that it was mobile friendly, and had far greater power than just a brochure. So why not build a site that users could gather information from, but also have it as a powerful tool when you’re sales people are out chatting with prospects. In addition, have a system built in that would allow for a quicker feedback loop to customer service. Hence this becomes a greater overall business system, than breaking it down into different departments – a holistic approach if you were.
   Marketing will become once again be focused more on the natural extension of the business, vs. the pushing agent that it has been for the past 50 years. Although “push” will still have a place, you’ll see a greater integration between marketing and other areas of business. Plus, you’ll see a greater focus on “customer value” such is the case with Skull Candies iPhone and Android app, which is far more focused on surf, snow, and sake vs. selling headphones.

8. Non-profit arts organizations will STILL not see the value of using online (social media) channels.

9. I predict that we will live in a world where newspapers, radio, TV and social media can live together side by side. That none will ‘die’ or be crowned ‘King’ without considering strategic fit and message alignment.
   I predict that we will judge media not by how NEW it is, but by CONTENT. That advertisers will not fall prey to buzzwords and keep client objectives in perspective.
   I predict a world where we go to conferences and apply our learnings to the world…but I am a dreamer.

10. Predictions for 2012:
    1. The Smartphone will become King of content and where you want your messages to be delivered, shared, and nurtured.
    2. We finally understand the power of analysis and harvest our analytics to better service our clients and always hit the bulls-eye with our messaging.
    3. We will be paying with our devices completely revolutionizing the POS!
    Predictions for 2012:
    1. The Smartphone will become King of content and where you want your messages to be delivered, shared, and nurtured.
    2. We finally understand the power of analysis and harvest our analytics to better service our clients and always hit the bulls-eye with our messaging.
    3. We will be paying with our devices completely revolutionizing the POS!
    Predictions for 2012:
    1. The Smartphone will become King of content and where you want your messages to be delivered, shared, and nurtured.
    2. We finally understand the power of analysis and harvest our analytics to better service our clients and always hit the bulls-eye with our messaging.
    3. We will be paying with our devices completely revolutionizing the POS!
    Predictions for 2012:
    1. The Smartphone will become King of content and where you want your messages to be delivered, shared, and nurtured.
    2. We finally understand the power of analysis and harvest our analytics to better service our clients and always hit the bulls-eye with our messaging.
    3. We will be paying with our devices completely revolutionizing the POS!
    Predictions for 2012:
    1. The Smartphone will become King of content and where you want your messages to be delivered, shared, and nurtured.
    2. We finally understand the power of analysis and harvest our analytics to better service our clients and always hit the bulls-eye with our messaging.
    3. We will be paying with our devices completely revolutionizing the POS!

11. I predict that one to one will become the way to do marketing (again). It is still the most effective way to make the sale. One to many marketing sets the stage and builds awareness, but the sale is made one to one.

12. Newspapers will create pay-walls, bringing Yahoo and Google to their knees, and reporters will once again reclaim their crown as rude but critical cogs to the marketing process.

13. There will be an increase in advertising on social media sites.

14. Predictions for 2012:
    1) “Timeline” will be the beginning of the end for Facebook’s domination…customer privacy will trump convenience and people will begin opting-out in greater numbers.
    2) Companies will start to realize that the constant price cutting is alienating good customers ….if I get one more Abercrombie kids email about 40% the day after I have bought something full price I’ll scream! what happened to one-to-one????
    3) I will win tickets to the Art of Marketing

15. My ONE prediction for marketing in 2012 is that brands/ad dollars will not flock to Google+ which will ultimately lead to its failure.

16. My one 2012 Marketing Prediction for 2012:
    Brands will try to open and use Path accounts but will be rebuked by the community. Instead, Path will build relationships with brands that allow users to purchase products via their friends pictures, locations check-in’s and the music they are listening to. I predict that iTunes will be the first Path partner.

17. Privacy will continue to be the #1 issue in the Web 2.0 age. Marketers need to address how to keep private information private PLUS what to do when something goes wrong.

18. My prediction for 2012: you will be able to crowdsource just about anything and that will make a lot of people happy, and a lot of people unhappy. Professionnal designers for example will be unhappy about it because companies will find out that you can pay LESS and have more choice in logo design / web design / programming.

19. I predict mobile marketing will be the way to speak to consumers and brand marketers will have to create a separate strategy for this area.

20. I would venture that corporatations will have finally caught up and have WOVEN Social Media into their main marketing strategies. This will be the year that the mothballs finally get knocked out and social media advertising will have its breakthrough.
    It will be a big year for Apple; especially if they venture into the television market and the speculation of SIRI technology which will allow for voice commands. Now the hoards of lonely hearts clubs who rely on their TV for company (myself included sadly) will truly have a new BFF.
    Timeline will spark and fizzle and facebook will continue to dominate. I don’t forsee a true challenger for facebook in the near future unless sex or weight loss are 100% guaranteed.

21. There will be a backlash to the saturated, misunderstood community we call social media, resulting in a pendulum swing toward more creative, integrative ‘purpose’ driven marketing that aims to resonate with consumers on a personal level.

22. I predict/hope there will be an increase in the number of jobs for Marketing professionals because there’s so many new trends and niches to cater to in the industry.
    Oh I wanted to win this last year too!!

23. Marketing messages will need to be genuine and credible as buyers, who become more sceptical daily, test value propositions and claims for accuracy.
    Brands that overstate their claims will lose business while brands that build trust will gain business.

24. Digital marketing returns will be higher amongst smaller firms and startups than with large established firms.

25. The rise of social crm

26. I honestly feel that the online video industry will undergo some major changes in 2012 that will see it take off successfully and evade the drama and controversy of what happened to the music industry a few years ago. Just as Steve Jobs wanted it.

27. My prediction is simple: continue to watch the evolving media landscape – social, transmedia storytelling, the rise of ad exchanges and networks of all iterations – net-net: people are inherentally social and they’ll communicate accordingly with their community of friends, family, followers, as well as with the media advertising components of being consumers.

28. Today a lot of what we call social media analytics is actually social media metrics, which is a lot of data telling a story of the past using great data visualizations.
    Advanced analytics are already being performed inside large agencies, brands and social networking sites. Data analysts and scientists, many with advanced degrees in statistics and computer science, primarily do the work.
    In 2012, we will see social media analytics companies releasing simplified SaaS (software as a service) tools for smaller agencies and brands to perform similar, less complex analytical functions. The tools will tell a story of not only what happened, but also of why it happened, and to model and predict the future. Watch for Google to flex their muscles in this space.
    http://theideahive.tumblr.com/

29. Gamification will gain some serious mainstream credibility as the “net native” generation comes of age and brands look to engage with them in new and more meaningful ways. If not this year, then next…!

30. 2012 Prediction:
    Companies who invest, will win. Companies who don’t invest, will lose.

31. Instagram will become a key piece of the SoLoMo marketing by appealing to the exhibitionist/voyeur and frustrated-visual-artist segments.

32. I predicate Facebook will be taking shares away from Google on search – yes, people will be doing more social search in 2012.

33. Marketers will need to know how to write, or at least better understand the components of compelling long form copy and PR people will need to understand how to better market content. The need for smart content to fuel online lead generation tactics will power the rise of the MarComm professional.

34. Prediction: YouTube and video clips will play a major role in marketing for small businesses.

35. companies that prioritize customer engagement over traditional advertising will begin to overtake their competitors and start to distance themselves from their competitors. More and more marketing is a two-way conversation and not simply blasting your message in bulk and hoping it resonates

36. RFID technology will have significant decreases in cost. Retailers will adopt the technology to create an improved user experience.
    RFID will be placed on all products. In effect, hassles like store checkout lines will vanish as users will be able to scan all products instantly without ever removing them from the shopping cart.

37. Mobile saw incredible growth in 2011 – just the numbers of iphone/android activations over the holidays are staggering and with no slowing down in sight. 2012 will be the year of the post-PC portable devices for many.
    Perhaps we’ll finally see the “social media expert” buzzword start getting replaced by “mobile expert” by the end of 2012. Everyone and their mom will be one.
    That, and Google is betting the farm on Google+. The naysayers will see G+ integrated into more and more Google products. It’s certainly not going the way of Google Wave.

38. 2012 prediction: Google+ will become a pervasive, essential marketing tool.
    Since I love numbers and have no friends, “+1” beats “Like” 🙂

39. I predict that Social Media will become less of a specialty topic on its own, and that it will become more “mainstream”.

40. 1. There will be the equivalent of an occupy movement backlash against collection of personal data and buying habits and social and online media marketers will have to change how products and services are promoted.
    2. Online purchases will continue to grow to the extent that a major North American retailer will close it’s doors by the end of 2012.
    3. Rather than die, the personal brand will become an important part of how companies market their products and services. The use of celebrity branding will extend to influential ‘everyday peoples’ personal brands, marketers will spend more time trying to win over these brands than waste money on questionable celebrity endorsements.
    Just my toonies worth!

41. My prediction is that in 2012, many marketers will find themselves in a sink or swim situation. This may sound a bit extreme, but I believe this is starting to take shape in some organizations now, and will continue to expand across the industry in the coming year and beyond.
    As you and your readers know: The rate of change in our industry is so astronomical, and old methods for reaching audiences, and measuring the impact of marketing activities, no longer fly.
    Marketers are becoming overwhelmed, and they will either need to:
    * Embrace it, get excited about new opportunities, “get over the lazy” as you’ve said and test new things; or
    * They will ride out doing their jobs the way they have, for as long as they can, until someone higher up in the organization catches on, or someone willing to push themselves takes their place.
    Thanks,
    @laurelmackenzie

42. 2012 will finally see a big trend in the organization of enterprise social media marketing teams. Just look at some of the work Coke is doing now to unify social media process, tools & policy across the globe. Social goals & objectives piped right into larger company goals & objectives will become a lot more common. Google+ will also force themselves into relevance by merging social into their search and we’ll be talking about 3 main players in the social marketing world when it comes to tools. FB, Twitter, & G+

43. My 2012 Prediction: The year of mobile is actually the year of switching to mobile tools that facilitate real interaction and value exchange. (The movement towards widespread mobile optimized experiences and the continued decline of the QR Code)

44. Not really going out on a limb on this one but I do think the big trend in marketing in 2012 will be marketers making better use of the deluge of data and analytics being made available which pundits seem to be lumping under the megatrend “Big Data”. The implications are:
    1. Just as the Art Director / Copywriter pair are the key to great creatives, the strategist / analyst pair will be key to great marketing strategy where the analyst is the number crunching quant and the strategist knows which questions to ask of the analyst.
    2. Social media has dominated the marketing punditry discussion in the past couple years but pay-per-click advertising uses, gives, and optimizes Big Data. Expect a more balanced PPC / social in marketing plans.
    3. Infographics, standard issue in the PR and B2B arsenal, will go consumer and become more dynamic and consumer facing (e.g. more Infogrpahic billboards with real-time updates)
    4. Expect to see greater use of ‘frictionless sharing’ and it’s cousin, something I’m calling ‘private IRL tracking’.
    On the frictionless sharing front, Nike+ got the ball rolling years ago with people sharing their runs straight from their shoe device. Spotify and various news readers (e.g. Washington Post) are making their way into our newsfeeds. But there’s also LowFoot.com broadcasting your electricity use and rewarding savings in an attempt to get households to use less.
    On the IRL tracking, I’m thinking more stuff like motionloft.com that track foot traffic at specific locations, Mongoosemetrics which tracks phone calls, and someone ought to invent a device that sends your car’s trip meter info straight to an expense tracking app.

45. I predict Social Media will overtake “general / mass” media as the number one source of information and entertainment.

46. Very excited and love reading everyone’s predictions!
    My prediction – Social media will become more specialized, exclusive and personal.
    People are going to start getting selective, will start to “unfriend”, “unfollow” and “unsubscribe”
    They will start caring about who they follow, who they become friends with and what they subscribe too.
    I see a downturn in database numbers but a HUGE opportunity for target audiences that hopefully have a REASON to follow you..
    all the best,
    Sarah

47. My marketing prediction for 2012:
    As a marketer in the automotive financial services sector, I predict that we will finally see automotive dealers break out of their traditional sales and marketing molds and use social media channels to promote test drives, dealership events etc., on a dealership level.
    The shift has started but I think things will move into full swing in 2012.
    *Fingers crossed*
    -Sandy Avvari @savvari on Twitter

48. I predict that business-to-consumer companies will start in-house brand ambassador teams, inviting savvy employees to share articles/links (provided by the marketing department) via social media in exchange for incentives. Who better to assist marketing/PR to get a few perks than proud employees?

49. My prediction is timid brands who have been too afraid to connect directly with consumers via social media will be so jealous at all the success enjoyed by their competitors that they will tip toe into the world of Twitter, Facebook and Online Magazines. The power of a personal brand connection to a consumer and making them an ambassador is relatively inexpensive, yet remarkably deep. Cost effective and with strong emotional impact – that’s why I believe social media will be, and should be, everywhere.

50. I think marketers will start cutting buzzwords and focus more on product education for the consumer, laying out features and benefits in a clearly defined (yet adjective laden) way, to make consumers feel confident in spending their money. It’s all about how your product will make my life better in a tangible way. This tells a better story, builds cohesive content with purpose, and translates across all media and social landscapes.

51. Cat videos.
    I predict we’ll see a whole lot more cat videos on the interwebs, on the mobiles, and on the facebooks.

52. 2012 is the year of senior (non-digital) marketers start taking responsibility for digital marketing. Sure, tools, networks, and resources will come and go. Will we be using Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ by the end of the year? Who knows, but 2012 is the year when senior marketers begin to stop throwing their hands up and saying, “I don’t get this digital stuff. Ask the twenty-something.” This is the year they start to realize that the 4 Ps still apply and that marketing best practices and years of offline experience can still guide and set strategy for online efforts.
    This is the year that many of us (not all of us of course) stop hiring new college grads, expecting them to work digital magic, and giving them zero marketing mentorship. We’ve gone through enough years of non-digital marketers shirking responsibility for their whole marketing programs, and a lot of people have been burned as a result: hiring people due to hype, not putting benchmarks and milestones in digital projects, pretending they think it’s magic and mystery. And, this is the year many in Marketing stop doing so.

53. I predict that I will be picked to attend this event which will help me gain a new perspective on the art of marketing.

54. Predictions for 2012:
    1. A wave of companies who have been so far conservative/slow to incorporate new media tools will begin using them to reach users/customers. This will also increase the need for social media education/training.
    2. A significant increase in the number of jobs in social media/online marketing.
    3. Mobile ad space will reach new heights

55. The majority of the marketing in 2012 will be done by the consumer – not the company. Consumers are looking to each other to tell them what they need to know about businesses and their products and/or services. Businesses need to ensure that their products and customer service are top knotch so that positive messages are being spread. Companies can participate in these conversations and should even provide the platform for these conversations, but the messages they put into the marketplace will not be seen as being as relevant as one from another customer.

56. RIM will slowly bow out and HTML5 will erode the revenues of App Marketplaces.

57. ?My prediction for 2012: The marketing innovators who will get our attention in 2012 are those who will find ways to make us feel that we (not they) are insightful, connected, prescient, whimsical, and authentic.

58. My prediction for 2012:
    Mobile will rule the space. Mobile websites, mobile payments (Google Wallet, NFC, etc.), SMS marketing, apps, and the list goes on and on. Mobile will be our go-to for communication and connection.

59. I predict that marketing, like fashion and design in 2012, more artisanal, more about the conversations & trust-building – more of a push towards tradition. As in 2011, this will be demonstrated through conversation/experience building techniques online (social media, open-dialogues, wiki-ing) but also through a change in the look of marketing tactics: a more homey/comfortable feel, a more hand-made look, more recycled material, more personalized scripts (think; Lait campaign), more images and inspirations from nature and traditional art forms.

60. I think 2012 will be a big year for curation… Businesses and apps built on curation… I’m thinking about things like DJ’s providing new music picks and context that cuts through all the clutter and allows their followers to really connect with the music and with curator, instead of being overwhelmed by the barrage of new music coming out every day… And services that help curate the curators by matching users up with curators who share similar tastes, views, interests, etc.

61. 2012 Prediction: Unfortunately SOPA will pass, without the knowledge of most Americans; changing subtly (to most Americans) how things are viewed online. Business will have to shift the way they do business online to accommodate. Will that stop Online Piracy? No, but it will be a fundamental shift in the fabric of the internet that we have not seen controlled yet..
    First time commenter – Great work Mitch! Love the podcast + blog. Keep it up!

62. 2012 Prediction:
    With the ever increasing adoption of social media and companies starting the conversation, I think (hope) the conversation will continue and develop in more personal ways. Connecting the community with each other and the company beyond that of customer service or “deals of the day.” Marketers will explore different tactics to leverage the opportunity of more personal connectiveness.

63. Apple ‘s domination of the tablet market will wane, as a result of their limiting “companion devic­e” product strategy; Apple will allow Flash, as a peace offer­ing; it will be too little too late. Mitch Joel’s next book will out-sell Six Pixels. I will short Facebook and make a fortune.

64. Thanks for all of the great entries! Stay tuned for the winners to be announced!

65. The moment you have all been waiting for…
    ** WINNERS ANNOUNCED**
    1. Philip Powell plus guest
    2. Laurel Miltner plus guest
    Thanks to all who entered! Philip and Laurel, please watch your inboxes for details!

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