Last week, my N6A colleagues and I had the chance to attend DigiMarCon East, a summit of industry leaders to discuss the latest in digital marketing, media and advertising. As communications partners for some of the fastest-growing martech, adtech and ecommerce companies, it’s important for us to keep a finger on the pulse of the biggest trends impacting our clients’ businesses, especially during a time of massive upheaval and transformation across all sectors. 

Based on everything we learned, these are the top trends impacting this space. 

AI will usher in a new era of marketing innovation—if implemented properly.

Over the last few months, generative AI—especially ChatGPT—has unleashed a flood of discussion and experimentation. Its rapid advancement has marketers pacing to catch up and unlock its potential. 

If executed properly, AI helps marketers analyze massive amounts of data in real-time and make faster decisions to optimize campaigns. With the ever-dwindling sources of third-party data, it’s important for marketers to harness the power of first-party data in order to increase targeting efficiency and campaign ROI. AI has the potential to execute these robust functions in order to deliver exponential success. 

By freeing up the manpower required to analyze data effectively, AI gives time back to marketers to focus on the creative aspects of their craft. These include developing stronger visuals, drafting compelling copy and building strategies that flex their creative thinking. Most importantly, they’ll be able to do this with a data-backed process, as they will have access to more in-depth and accurate recommendations that will help them fully refine their work. 

Despite the rapid advancements, AI still has a long way to go before it can fully automate core marketing and advertising processes. That means communications professionals will continue to provide core creative and strategic value. 

Brands can’t afford to ignore the creator economy.

Over the past few years, TikTok has brought creators and influencers to the forefront of the industry conversation. While social media platforms and the dominant voices on them have been a mainstay in marketing strategies for quite some time, success looks quite different in the TikTok era. Instead of glossy, idealized Instagram posts featuring carefully curated aesthetics, more consumers are responding to the chaotic authenticity of short-form content on TikTok—which has had social media incumbents like Meta and YouTube snapping at its heels. Short-form video content is expected to generate billions in revenue for all these platforms in the coming years.

In addition to TikTok, brands should be looking toward other companies that are attracting more influencers and heavily investing in infrastructure to utilize them. Amazon, Spotify and Roblox are among the few that are leaning toward this strategy and are expected to compete heavily with the mainstay platforms in the coming years. 

Most importantly, brands need to invest thoughtfully in creative strategies that fit the format of these platforms instead of applying the same formats and calling it a day. Consumers expect brands to cater to their content consumption preferences and will write off those that miss the mark. 

Data mastery is more critical than ever.

The marketing and advertising industry has been roiled with setbacks and budget cuts due to the unavoidable influences of the economy and have shifted focus to smaller, targeted initiatives. This has increased the reliance on martech solutions that offer robust analytics capabilities to optimize campaign performance. Companies in this space are seeing a sharp rise in demand despite the economic headwinds and have the opportunity to capitalize on this unique situation. 

In addition to analytics, technologies like Web3, metaverse and blockchain should also be looked at closely by marketers as immersion, attribution security and privacy are becoming key to engaging consumers. While financials may not allow for much experimentation right now, marketers should still be paying close attention to what’s working with these technologies in preparation for when budgets return to normal. 

The road ahead won’t be any less bumpy for companies in the marketing and advertising space. In fact, it’s likely that new trends will have pros playing defense and chasing the next great opportunity. However, with the right strategic thinking and hypersensitivity to ongoing shifts, growth and innovation will always be achievable.

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The LGBTQ+ community, while vibrant and thriving, is faced with the resurgence of discriminatory practices, legislation, lack of representation and fear of violence. This is especially true for transgendered people and persons of color within each subcommunity. 

This is why it’s essential for companies to go beyond generalized messages of support and take more care in developing their Pride Month communications strategies. Below are important guidelines for crafting a strategy that connects with the community authentically and, more importantly, validates their existence and experiences.

1. LGBTQ+ audiences are not a monolith 

Many companies make the mistake of using generalized language about equality and pride to speak to the entire LGBTQ+ audience, which falls short of validating the wide spectrum of experiences of each subgroup within the community. Men, women, transgender people, persons of color and other identities experience discrimination in specific ways and desire to have their journeys represented as part of the larger Pride narrative. 

When developing communications towards LGBTQ+ audiences, companies should go beyond the standard “Love is Love” narrative and create multiple pieces of content that speak directly to each audience with authenticity, empathy and deep understanding of their community’s struggles and vibrancy.

2. Inclusive language goes beyond pronouns 

Companies have made significant strides over the last few years in addressing employees and customers by their chosen pronouns, empowering them to embrace their identity. However, there are still vestiges of gendered language in standard communications that uphold the heteronormative framework as the standard. 

Titles such as “Mr.”, “Ms.” or “Mrs.” are generally used in formal settings without input from the designated persons. Familial roles, such as husband and wife, are also assumed unless otherwise stated. Job titles, such as “chairman”, “salesman”, and “businessman” serve to uphold patriarchal views of certain professions. 

In order to adopt a true culture of inclusivity in internal and external communications, companies should avoid using gendered language to ensure no one feels excluded from the conversation or the audience.

3. Involve your LGBTQ+ employees in the process

There are no people better suited to help develop your Pride Month communications strategies than your LGBTQ+ employees. Messaging drawn from lived experiences will resonate far better than catch-all messages of support. 

Most importantly, you must be open to being corrected when the proposed strategy doesn’t pass the smell-test. Target audiences will appreciate being spoken to by one of their own and this will help foster good will and increase confidence among them.

4. Focus on the issues

The corporatization of pride has become a point of criticism within the LGBTQ+ community, with some arguing that Pride’s history as a protest and advocacy movement is diluted by general sentiments focused on equality. This is especially poignant during a time when homophobia and associated legislation are being brought back to the forefront across the sociopolitical landscape. 

For your Pride Month messaging to really showcase support, it must discuss the issues and challenges that the community is facing specifically, such as the eradication of LGBTQ+ education in schools, trans athlete exclusion from sports teams or the lack of quality representation in media. To earn the community’s support, you must demonstrate thorough understanding of and advocacy for the issues that matter to them. 

5. Avoid “pinkwashing” and take meaningful action 

Companies that take a surface-level approach to their Pride Month communications strategy by offering generalized messages of support without enacting any major initiatives or policy changes run the risk of being called out for “pinkwashing” and losing credibility among LGBTQ+ audiences. In order to show true support from the community, companies should take meaningful action, such as donating to charity, implementing new DEI policies and protections or amplifying LGBTQ+ voices to demonstrate authenticity and solidarity. 

6. Make it a regular part of your ongoing strategy 

Queer people don’t stop wanting recognition and validation after Pride Month. Their identities impact every moment personally and professionally, and there is an increasing expectation for companies to make consistent efforts in acknowledging and supporting their community to earn their goodwill or business. 

Companies should incorporate outreach and advocacy towards the LGBTQ+ community into their standard communications efforts in order to truly foster a connection with them and proliferate the message of equality and acceptance year round.

The post The 6 Tenets of an Effective Pride Month Communications Strategy appeared first on N6 Powered by KRMA | Fully Integrated Digital Marketing.

In addition to the personal challenges and fears that the onset of the pandemic made us reckon with, we as PR professionals had to quickly update our clients’ communication strategies to not only address the issues the coronavirus was forcing all industries to face, but to also find their place in the conversation. 

So how did we do it? I can tell you it wasn’t easy. In fact, I have never felt more challenged and afraid professionally. With marketing budgets on the chopping block, it was more critical than ever to drive business outcomes for our clients. 

To put it succinctly, we adapted. We had to move away from the traditional methods of promoting our clients’ successes and instead laser-focus our efforts on providing much needed strategy and insight to our media partners, who were under incredible stress. Because of the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, we had to be hypersensitive to the ever-changing news cycle and help our clients quickly serve up knowledge that peers within their industry could use. We had to build a new way of doing PR, founded on the concept of strategic elasticity. 

Here’s how strategic elasticity can redefine your communications strategy.

Be hypersensitive to the news cycle.

The world is undergoing one of the most transformative periods in recent history, and it isn’t slowing down. The way people live and companies do business is changing daily. Things that were thought to be true yesterday might be proven wrong today, and everyone is constantly playing catch up. If you want to ensure your business stays relevant, follow the news constantly for relevant micro moments and secure your place in the narrative. 

Become an educator, not a promoter.

Uncertainty is the “new normal” as the pandemic continues to complicate business forecasting across all industries. The media and their audiences are in dire need of experts who can shed light on what’s happening on the ground and who can provide advice on how to tackle the challenges presented. Smaller news items or overt self-promotion is valued less and less, and the best way to generate media coverage is to provide actionable insight that educates and provides value to readers.

Know when to step in or step back.

In the world of strategic communications, every word is supposed to matter. But in the current landscape, there are entirely too many words being thrown around, and many of them don’t actually matter to the issues at hand. This prevents the voices that need to be heard from getting the platform they deserve, especially when it comes to disenfranchised communities of POC and minorities. It’s important to understand which conversations you need to step into, and when you should take a step back and let the most critical perspectives rise to the top. 

Anticipate outcomes but be prepared to pivot at a moment’s notice.

While accepting uncertainty is part of the new normal, it’s still important to forecast potential outcomes from every major event within your industry. Your communications strategy should always include some predictions about what to expect in order to help your peers, leadership, and customers plan accordingly. However, new information is always unfolding, and it’s important to make sure your messaging is updated in real time to reflect the changing landscape, especially when the changes don’t line up with your previous expectations. This will ensure that your target audiences know that you’re constantly monitoring the situation and making proactive decisions to improve.

Acknowledge mistakes and commit to learning and improving.

With many of us making quick decisions to address new problems, it’s inevitable that some of those decisions will be wrong. While it may be easier to stick to your guns and go on the defense, audiences will hold you in much higher regard if you acknowledge your mistakes and show humility. A good communications strategy involves learning from your mistakes and outlining steps to continue building trust and driving improvement. 

We’re not out of the woods yet, and the last two years have taught us that anything can and will happen. If you keep the concept of strategic elasticity at the core of your communications strategy, you’ll ensure that your brand stays ahead of the curve and is seen as a valued thought leader within your industry and beyond.

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The pandemic has certainly been a reckoning in all spheres of society, especially in business. For brands and customers, it seems like everything has been in a state of decline over the last few months, whether it be revenue, sales, new business or customer acquisitions. It’s often a joke that marketing and PR are the first line items to be cut in times of budget crunch, but not everyone was laughing this year. 

Our professional services team — which includes consulting, financial, HR, recruiting, legal, marketing, and advertising clients — has a proven track record of delivering industry-leading outcomes and are ranked consistently among the top-10 leading agencies in the United States in the professional services specialty category. We know many companies have stumbled in terms of communicating by sending out messages that have been received as obtuse, out of touch, and in some cases, harmful. In a world where every person is glued to a screen at any given time — and more than ever before — a company’s reputation should be one of its most protected assets in maintaining its bottom line. 

Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels

If there is any value that should remain top of mind in PR today, it must be empathy. The media industry in particular has been reckoning with budget cuts, layoffs and keeping up with a neverending news cycle, bearing a heavy burden with increasingly limited resources. A good PR strategy must rely on ideas and content that make their jobs easier and alleviates the need to conduct extensive research. This means providing insight on the most important trends being discussed in the news and unique perspectives on what specific industries are grappling with. 

While the pandemic has been the nexus of much of the cultural discourse in the media, the subject of intersectionality has been another moment of great upheaval. In the wake of instances of police brutality and protests against racial injustice, businesses have been forced to reevaluate their company culture, policies and messaging to ensure that their constituents feel represented and valued no matter which demographic they fall under. 

Any PR strategy should involve doing due diligence in ensuring that all external communications do not exclude any demographic from any initiative, and proactively find ways to promote inclusivity and diversity. More importantly, it must be clear that these initiatives are intended to contribute to the collective social good and not simply for a more favorable reputation, or getting “fake woke points.” 

With more eyeballs on digital and social channels, PR strategies need to adapt their efforts to match the real estate. In addition to computer screens, audiences are increasingly consuming content on mobile devices. But it’s not as simple as adapting content to fit a smaller screen. The style and syntax should also change fundamentally. Millennials, and Gen-Z in particular, show an increasing preference for shorter, digestible content, so companies need to adjust communications efforts to match

It’s unlikely that the world will return to what it once was before 2020, but that shouldn’t be a source of anxiety. In fact, engaging in self-reflection from a communications perspective can set a business up for success while the business world recovers. Companies that are in-tune with the media landscape and that provide value beyond general news will stand out as the winners in the new normal. PR strategies should always adapt, with or without a pandemic, and this year has presented a wealth of opportunities to do so. 

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