Top marketing trends to watch out for in 2022

In the year gone by, India saw many ups and downs with majorly all industries coming to another startling standstill as a deadlier second wave beleaguered the country. Fortunately, India has shown social and economic resilience in its fight against the pandemic that has cast its shadow on the global economy. As per International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Indian economy, which contracted by 7.3% due to the pandemic, is now likely to grow by 9.5% in 2021 and then by 8.5% in 2022. Riding high on hopes, industry veterans are now taking full opportunity to align their businesses to make headway towards betterment in near future.

If we look at the marketing industry, it witnessed its own set of overhauls as the country fought the COVID-19 pandemic in innumerable ways. Marketers were forced toadapt to the new reality and come up withinnovative methods to do more within fewer budgets. Be it running from an emotional standpoint or catching the moment, industry leaders have leveraged various ways to adapt to new-age marketing skills.

Moving forward, the industry will find newer ways and enhance existing ways to run its marketing strategies. Some of the trends that will rule the industry in year 2022 are:

Conscious and mindful marketing will remain on the top

As brands have become more careful with what they’re endorsing and publicising, a more conscious way of marketing has evolved in a post-pandemic world. Brands are now wary of the fact that they cannot go all out in an outrageous manner to endorse their brand or its products. Majority of consumers are now inclined towards brands that are responsibly undertaking their marketing campaigns, keeping in mind the sensitivity of the moment. Being subtly malicious towards a competitor or being verbose about a subject, brands are no more irrationally following the nuances of outdated marketing strategies. As per a survey by Deloitte, one in four peoplestrongly agreed that they walked away from brandsthey believe acted in sheer self-interest.

Moment marketing to rule the marketers’ mind

Recently we all became aware of an existing yet not much-explored marketing tactic, which is moment marketing. This is expected to spur further as consumers are now well-aware of what’s happening around them, now more than ever. Yes, thanks to the digital world. When Olympics 2020 took place in Tokyo after a long wait, brands went all out to make the best use of the moment by offering discounts, rewards, etc., to almost every player who won a medal for India. While some brands announced major rewards, others took to their social media pages to acknowledge the wins in their quirky ways. Moment marketing well captured.

Influencer marketing – the new age tool

Human-to-human connect has always played the most pivotal role in making a difference for the brands. With almost every big name or start-up collaborating with influencers, this new marketing gimmick is certainly going to be the new fashion. Be it Instagram, Facebook, YouTube,or even LinkedIn, brands are now trying to create an impact on consumers’ minds by asking their celebrity vlogger/ blogger to promote their products and services. The strategy has rapidly evolved since its fast-to-reach, simple, yet not exceptionally heavy on pockets. It portrays the products or services in good light and reaches a large number of users and yields remarkable results.

Sustainable marketing to achieve new heights

Who would have thought that a conscious consumer will evolve and question the brands that serve him/her? How responsible the brand is towards the environment? As the pandemic across the world continues, there has been an advent of a new buyer who is conscious and has also created a great impact on marketers. As per a survey by Accenture, shoppers “have dramatically evolved” as 60% of respondents reported making more environmentally sound, sustainable, or ethical purchases since the start of the pandemic. This has made brands even more conscious and made them rather focus and promote environmental and socially responsible products, practices, and brand values.

In a nutshell, brands have always found newer ways to market themselves while marketers have evolved over time to attune their marketing strategies in line with current conditions. In a post-pandemic world what will work best for brands is how responsibly they portray themselves towards their target consumers.

Authored by Meghna Varma, Director, Marketing, IPM India Wholesale Trading Pvt Ltd (country affiliate of Philip Morris International, Inc.)