Predictions for 2??22...
You might think that with so many unexpected developments in recent years that we'd be shying away from the predictions game. But you'd be wrong! Intelligence is at the heart of everything we do at Rainmaker. It enables us to keep uncovering new business opportunities for all of our clients. Seeing Through the Fog we anticipate where future marketing budgets will come from. So, what do we see in our Rainmaker Crystal Ball for 2022?
?? Talent wars rage on – Churn baby churn! We can’t see an end in sight to the talent supply shortage in 2022. With decision-makers on the move more and more often, you’ll need to be regularly reconnecting with brands to keep on top of who’s in charge of budgets. Agency-side, the creative talent musical chairs will continue triggering account change and retention challenges. Effective new business expertise is also in short supply and equally prone to movement – a headache for agency owners looking for consistent new business programme delivery.
?? Is it all sustainable? – With the Green Agenda going up a gear in 2021 the conflicts for consumer hearts and minds will deepen in 2022. On the one hand, you have a travel sector predicted to roar back in the summer and the on-demand delivery sector booming. On the other, the majority of consumers at least claim to want sustainability, and brands fall over themselves to claim the squeakiest clean credentials in this department. So we are expecting a growing backlash for ‘greenwashers’ in 2022 and vigorous and creative initiatives to establish meaningful purpose. Other sectors to watch here are automotive, where Tesla is outselling most major brands, energy where ethical operators have failed, and consumer electronics where of course even the famously proprietorial Apple is moving to a 'self-service' repair your own device model.?But perhaps the most challenging of marketing problem solving is reserved for fast and affordable fashion. The paradox of consumers being more style-conscious than ever yet also embracing sustainability will drive to new heights the resale and vintage phenomenon, and the rental options for high-end brands like Nova Octo.?
?? Innovators will consolidate – We have seen that in times of great change, innovation thrives and new services and brands pop up to solve the challenges of the day (Airbnb and Uber of course launched in 2008/2009 following the Financial Crisis). But only the strong will survive. Disruptors will be acquired by market leaders in 2022. We’re already seeing this in spaces like on-demand groceries as Getir acquires Weezy.
?? Fungible finance – The day after hosting the GRAMMYs, the iconic Staples centre will become Crypto.com Arena. But this isn’t another blindingly obvious comment about blockchain, finance is completely transforming and consumers’ behaviours are too. During the first 12 months of the pandemic, the FCA say that more than 7 million people opened investing accounts. People want to get involved, and publicly listed brands need to understand these new micro stakeholders.
?? Predictable results - Something we're very comfortable predicting is that many more accounts and budgets will be in play in 2022 and that our clients will be in the best possible position to take advantage of these opportunities. This year, we picked up on early signals that changes could be afoot at brands including Fever-Tree, VW, Pets Choice, Converse, Patron, Photobox, and Rude Health that all led to significant wins for our clients. A few other recent reviews we predicted include PR at Cadbury, White Stuff and Metro Bank, experiential at Made.com, media at John Lewis, Santander and Lloyds, creative at First Direct and AG Barr, and digital and UX at PizzaExpress. As you might expect we have our eyes on many more brands likely to be shopping around in the New Year...
?? ?? ?? More curveballs! Yes, the only thing we can be 100% certain of is that next year will bring plenty more curveballs for all of us. You'll want to be ready to adapt as fresh challenges and opportunities emerge, and having the right new business resources in place is a vital element of this. If you would like to discuss how Rainmaker might help here, and where we're predicting opportunities are likely to come from in your space, we'd love to hear from you.