?? Mystic Hev's Predictions For 2021??

It might be hard to feel this right now but the next 12-18 months has the potential to be some of the most exuberant of our lifetimes - the beginning of our very own Roaring 20s. ??

A successful rollout of the Covid vaccine combined with the flush of stimulus and all the pent up demand for travel, connection, and out of home experiences could be the catalyst for our good times. Add the delayed Olympics and other big entertainment events, factor in the wave of new pandemic parents and it isn't difficult to see how 2021 holds a lot of promise.

Of course, there are a host of potential speed bumps and potholes on the road ahead - civil unrest in America around the Presidential transition; a no-deal BREXIT; the potential for the virus to mutate, or mass vaccination to be ineffective; the financial system to meltdown and the perceived asset bubble to pop, but let's 'choose to be optimistic, it feels better.' ??

I'm going to be bold and make some marketing-related predictions for the year ahead. Feel free to add to/debate these in the comments below. I'll pick good ones and invite the author to discuss with me on Clubhouse whilst we all have a bit of free time over the holidays.

As we saw this year once lockdown orders were lifted, the huge influx of stimuli - dining out, live sports, seeing loved ones, etc competed heavily with newly formed habits such as gaming, Netflix and Chill, or watching an endless stream of the perfectly selected TikTok videos. Similarly, in this optimistic outlook for the next 12-18 months, marketers will face STIFF competition for people's attention, so here are some ideas and predictions of how to win in 2021.

?? The Importance of First-Party Data ??

In early March, when Covid-19 was just a news story happening far away in Wuhan, the big story looming over the advertising industry was Google's depreciation of the third party cookie in Chrome, as we move into 2021 this once again returns to the fore.

Whilst some of the efforts around Unified I.D. is promising, I believe that in the near term brands, and publishers should prioritise investments into the collection, management, and activation of first-party data.

• This year, we completed the full vertical integration of our gaming publisher by launching our GameByte shop. Now our audience can buy the consoles/games they read about directly from us.
• On a larger scale, Mr Beast, the YouTube phenomenon launched a direct to consumer venture using 300 ghost kitchens in North America. Shortly after launch, it was the no.1 app on the App Store and Google Play. This move allows him to build a direct relationship with his audience, who have since given him valuable first-party data including credit card details.

?? Email/Conversation becomes a foundational channel for plans

Marketers should focus on shifting their relationships with people from the walled garden platforms to directly owned channels such as email, direct mail, or SMS. This was true before Covid, but the pandemic has accelerated the decline of some channels and elevated others to become foundational and primary channels.

Direct to consumer brands are showcasing the ways that harnessing first-party data, automation, and A.I. can combine to make these channels powerful for direct response.

Challenges with these channels include activating in a non-spammy/nuisance way, attaining and securing a viable database, and adjusting for the shifting privacy landscape especially in Europe, and California.

?? Culture creates winners

As attention becomes more fragmented a handful of events have the ability to capture people's attention en masse such as video games, music events, sporting events, Tiger King, etc.

Marketers need to consider the role their brands have in terms of tapping into cultural phenomenons or developing the culture within key communities by providing resources.

• Travis Scott had a banner year creating smash-hit success for brands such as Fortnite, Nike, and McDonald's.
• FaZe Clan worked with a HUGE list of brands in 2020 including Oculus, Adidas, and G-Shock.
• Calm tapped into both the return of the NBA activating their LeBron James endorsement as the Lakers captured the title and following up shortly afterward with a sponsorship placement and ads during the US Presidential elections.

2021 will be ripe with opportunities for brands to work with rightsholders and talent to create unforgettable experiences for their customers whether that's the Olympics, music events such as Coachella, or the rollout of sports betting in North American states.

?? Audio continues to rise ??

Despite the changes in people's daily habits, audio-only content still played a key part in people's lives. Podcasting continues to experience a meteoric rise, and new platforms such as Clubhouse have emerged - expect ad dollars to catch up.

Audio's strength is in its passive consumption - whilst driving, working out, gaming - but subliminal messaging is powerful. People are often surprised to find themselves recalling jingles, or being able to repeat ad reads word for word.

In the digital age, audio has been augmented by programmatic ad insertions on channels such as Spotify, Soundcloud, etc and that means they can harness some of the other predictions/trends identified above.

These are just a handful of my predictions for the year ahead and I hope this serves as a jumping-off point for a lively debate! What did I miss? What are you bullish on in 2021?