1) This is the year augmented reality went mainstream and I expect it to continue. Pokemon Go is an obvious (and very buzzy) example of this, but I would also include less sophisticated examples such as Snapchat Geofilters. The concept of creating a new reality that layers over our own to provide information or entertainment has been around for awhile, but it hasn’t achieved any significant scale until now. This year we’re seeing it more and more and many of our recent campaigns integrate AR in some way. I can’t wait to see how this develops.
2) One of our most high-profile campaigns this year was for Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 7 premiere. On July 4th weekend, we rolled out over 60 Snapchat Geofilters at locations throughout the country. Each was highly customized to the location and had an Independence Day theme (e.g., at Mount Rushmore you were served a filter with the Housewives in place of the presidents). This struck a major chord as it showcased the promise of AR combined with highly tailored creative. More on that campaign: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/bravo-launches-real-housewives-of-new-jersey-snapchat-filters-w211793
3) Though calling it “entertainment” is likely selling it short, “The Displaced”—the VR experience from The New York Times—is a brilliant example of advertising with storytelling and seamlessly leveraging technology. This might be more of a natural fit for a brand like the NYT but all brands can take a lesson from it.
4) I think the creative/business climate is evolving rapidly—and it’s a great thing. A combination of new platforms/technology – think AR like Pokemon, Snapchat, iMessage, bots, etc. – and smarter programmatic media approaches will make the foreseeable future a great time to be in this business.
5) I see activism as a big theme this year. #OptOutside, an amazing campaign from REI that saw measurable financial success while reinforcing their brand’s beliefs, is a perfect example of this. When you can invite consumers to align with your values and take an action together, it can be very powerful. It also doesn’t have to be so serious; look at the McWhopper, which took a fun activist approach and drove a ton of interest. When looking at many of the winners, you’ll notice a common thread of activism that I believe has helped define this year.
6) One overlooked tech issue is that of storage, especially as video content becomes a bigger piece of the pie. How do you effectively store all those petabytes of content? How do you make it available and actionable? How do you know when to archive it or if you should charge clients for simply storing it? It’s kind of a boring topic but it’s an important one and for us it’s driving some of the larger tech purchases of late.
