Can’t Pick A Digital Trend From A Digital Fad? Here’s How…

Can’t Pick A Digital Trend From A Digital Fad? Here’s How…

In this guest post, Travis Bernard (pictured below), head of audience development from TechCrunch, shows you how to pick digital trends that won’t all have gone the way of the dodo in six months’ time…

Every smart marketer wants to pick the trends from the fads. They want to know where to direct their investment, what technology to develop on, where to spend limited time and how to avoid investing in the next flash in the pan which is short lived and has no long term strategic value.
But there is no magic formula to distinguish a trend from a fad. In fact, it could be argued that all fast growing new ideas, whether they be products, features, user behaviour or an app, start as a fad and only when they reach critical mass, do they become a viable trend.
a5y74r53inysrgmpym93

The Role of fads

Importantly, fads can play a critical role, acting as a spring board for a future trend and being a stepping stone in the creation of the trend. As the technology gets tightened, usage increases and the price decreases. But fads are wrought with technical hiccups so although they can give a company short-lived publicity, they are generally a costly and temporary option.

Three ways to identify a trend

  1. Go with your gut: Does it feel right, will it clearly add value and does it make sense?
  1. Look at the information around the trend: Look at the data, usage and how technology is evolving. Also consider the relationship with other trends.
  1. Research and Test: Consider what has worked in the past and why and learn from failures. The trend needs to be a good fit for your product and audience and come along at the right time.

Case in Point

Using the method above, we can look at the increasing numbers of social video views, the uptake of live video and couple it with mobile usage stats to see that neither vertical or horizontal video are ticking all the boxes. Add to this the small percentage of videos watched with sound on and the success of trials with square video sharability and this trend ticks all the boxes and has important implications for digital marketers both for how videos are created, but also produced and published.

If you identify a new technology that you think will become a trend, you don’t need to sit back and wait. You need to  “Start experimenting”.

Virtual reality is a great example of a technology that won’t completely take off this year, but other things like interactive ads will be a springboard for VR and companies that are playing in the space now will be leading the way.

But being first isn’t always the best. In the same way that being first with a startup doesn’t guarantee that you will succeed. There are a number of factors at play and ultimately the timing has to be right for a trend to take off.

We also know that a new trend won’t be the same as something else, it needs to be significantly better than what already exists.

Livel.ly is a good example of a popular app that looks to be turning into a trend amongst teenagers. It builds on other trend elements such as user generated content, live streaming and video sharing, whilst incorporating potential for other popular functionality to be added like selfie lenses and stickers.

The bottom line is that trends are not only hard to predict, they are hard to come by. Chances are that only once in a blue moon could you adopt a fad and ride it through to transition into a trend. More often, it’s not until a technology driven trend has hit critical mass that most businesses get involved. Business leaders need to be flexible and open to new opportunities that are a good fit for their business, and ultimately stay focused on what’s best for their customers.

Bernard will be presenting the opening keynote at the upcoming Interactive Minds Digital Summit event in Brisbane and Melbourne this July. Find out more at www.thedigitalsummit.com.au




Please login with linkedin to comment

einsights

Latest News

Amazon Prime Secures Rights To Next Cricket World Cup
  • Media

Amazon Prime Secures Rights To Next Cricket World Cup

In a massive shift in the broadcasting landscape, Amazon Prime has secured the Australian rights to the next cricket World Cup alongside a range of other tournaments run by the International Cricket Council (ICC) until 2027. The deal means that Australian Cricket fans can only access the tournaments if they have a paid subscription to […]

Limited Tickets Still Available For First Ever Industry Pantomime
  • Advertising

Limited Tickets Still Available For First Ever Industry Pantomime

With just over 24 hours to go until the world premiere of Addy Lala and the Mood Tea Thieves, limited tickets are still available for the pantomime, which will run for one night only at the Everest Theatre in Sydney’s Seymour Centre on December 5th. All in the industry are encouraged to come along to […]

Palin Communications joins GlobalCom PR Network
  • Marketing

Palin Communications joins GlobalCom PR Network

Specialist Australian health PR agency, Palin Communications, has joined GlobalCom PR Network with a view to delivering meaningful, consistent, impactful, global health campaigns across a range of countries and regions.

2045: A New Melbourne-Based Creative Agency Founded by Tim Evans and Nick Auditore
  • Marketing

2045: A New Melbourne-Based Creative Agency Founded by Tim Evans and Nick Auditore

2045, a Melbourne-based creative agency founded by Tim Evans and Nick Auditore has just launched. The agency takes its name from the year futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted organic and artificial intelligence would converge. Lead Image: 2045 Team Evans was formerly a Partner and Executive Strategy Director at DT (now AKQA), before co-founding B.B.E in 2015. […]

New Years Eve fireworks
  • Marketing

National Breast Cancer Foundation Announced as Charity Partner For NYE Sydney

The National Breast Cancer Foundation has been announced as the Charity Partner for Sydney New Year’s Eve. The Australian not-for-profit organisation is represented by the pink ribbon and raises money to fund world-class research towards its vision of zero deaths from breast cancer. Research that saves lives through a better understanding of how to prevent […]

Emporium Unveils Unique Christmas Campaign: “Every Tradition Starts Somewhere”
  • Campaigns

Emporium Unveils Unique Christmas Campaign: “Every Tradition Starts Somewhere”

This holiday season, Emporium Melbourne has announced its festive creative campaign that celebrates and encourages the Melbourne community to embrace their personal ‘untraditional traditions’ – the unique traditions that make Christmas truly special for them, and their family. The campaign’s tagline, “Every tradition starts somewhere”, reflects Emporium’s commitment to embracing, inspiring and applauding diverse traditions […]

Reddit Updates Conversation Placement Ads Formats
  • Technology

Reddit Updates Conversation Placement Ads Formats

Reddit has announced updates to its new ads placement with Carousel Ads and Product Ads. These new units, placed in the heart of Reddit discussions, provide an even more dynamic and compelling way for advertisers to scale to relevant audiences, deliver deeper value to users, and drive stronger, full-funnel performance among the hundreds of thousands […]

Full Throttle Into 2024: Drive.com.au Announces 12 New Products In 2024 Upfronts
  • Media

Full Throttle Into 2024: Drive.com.au Announces 12 New Products In 2024 Upfronts

Automotive Network Drive has announced its 2024 upfronts, its biggest in more than a decade, with a suite of more than 12 new products that underpin its vision to be the number one automotive network in Australia. Now in its 27th year and with a monthly audience of 2.45 million, Drive is leveraging its reputation […]

oOh!media Unveils 51 New Large Format Sites This Year
  • Advertising

oOh!media Unveils 51 New Large Format Sites This Year

oOh!media continues to rapidly expand its large format digital network, launching seven new sites at premium locations across major arterials in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The latest large format digitals include another premium site in the exclusive Sydney suburb of Mosman. Positioned at the gateway of the lower north shore on Military Road, the high-impact […]

Seven Uses Gen AI to Push Tech Boundaries With Ignite
  • Media

Seven Uses Gen AI to Push Tech Boundaries With Ignite

The Seven Network revealed the results of the second round of its flagship innovation initiative – Ignite – which saw seven employee-led generative AI concepts selected for prototype development. An inspiring three-week event, Ignite brings together internal cross-functional teams of engineers, data scientists, product managers and staff from across the business to collaborate and develop […]

Australian Agency Engaging.io Slam Dunks With Texas NBA Team
  • Marketing

Australian Agency Engaging.io Slam Dunks With Texas NBA Team

Australian tech consultancy Engaging.io has scored a major business win with the appointment by a leading Texas-based US National Basketball Association (NBA) team to revolutionise its marketing and communication strategies. The powerhouse NBA franchise turned to Sydney-headquartered Engaging to spearhead a major HubSpot implementation, driving greater efficiencies, personalisation and a more seamless experience for fans. […]

Dentsu QLD Partners With DeadlyScience & UnLtd To Drive STEM Programs With First Nations Youth
  • Media

Dentsu QLD Partners With DeadlyScience & UnLtd To Drive STEM Programs With First Nations Youth

Dentsu Queensland has formed a strategic partnership with DeadlyScience, an organisation that provides science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) resources to Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students across Australia. The partnership is in collaboration with UnLtd, which helps connect the media and marketing industries with charities helping children and young people at risk. This is […]

Revolution360 Parent Venetian Media Group Acquires Digital Native
  • Technology

Revolution360 Parent Venetian Media Group Acquires Digital Native

Victoria-based Venetian Media Group (VMG) has acquired web and digital strategy shop Digital Native. Lead image L-R: VMG CEO, Michael Fishwick; Digital Native big chief, Matt Gardan.  Digital Native specialises in digital strategy, branding, UX and web design it has deep experience in renewables, emerging technology and not-for-profit. Its web design process and collaborative approach […]

Murmur Group Launches High-Octane Campaign For Rare Spares Rockynats
  • Campaigns

Murmur Group Launches High-Octane Campaign For Rare Spares Rockynats

One of Australia’s biggest off-street car and motorbike festivals, Rare Spares Rockynats, is returning to Rockhampton for Easter 2024 and has kicked off its promotional calendar with a high-octane media campaign. The two-phase campaign, via award-winning marketing agency Murmur-Group, will launch across large format out-of-home and retail placements and will be supported by local radio, […]