Advertising, marketing and PR: Future trends

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Digital marketing and new media

The last three to five years have seen an expansion of available communication channels. This has made a big impact on the way the advertising, marketing and PR industries operate. As well as the traditional communication channels, such as the media and direct mail, there is also digital media, such as the web and text messaging. The use of digital communications, including social networks, viral marketing, mobile marketing, corporate blogs and podcasts, has increased in importance as well. Global PR consultancy Porter Novelli has published a report, entitled Intelligent Dialogue: Mobile Lives and Times, that looks into these developments and their effect on our everyday lives.

These new media channels and consumer devices have been able to emerge due to advances in digital and mobile technology. The UK government acknowledges the importance of the development of this technology and, through Research Councils UK, is rolling out a Digital Economy Programme in partnership with organisations like the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).

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The development of these new communication channels has changed the way organisations communicate with their customers and stakeholders facilitating much more targeted, one-to-one, interactive, 2-way, and ultimately, more effective marketing communications.

A new discipline has arisen as a result. Digital marketing uses blogs, mobile phones, social networking and content-sharing sites to promote brands, products and services. Revolution is a magazine dedicated to this marketing discipline.

The technological advances have presented the industry with some exciting opportunities but also challenges. With digital growth, there has been a corresponding rise in spam mail and services which have contributed to consumer mistrust in this type of media. This mistrust lead to the introduction of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, which was followed by further legislation, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, in order to tighten the rules regarding the promotion of businesses and products.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Businesses and organisations are increasingly being held responsible for their decisions and actions by the general public, as reflected in the Krauthammer Corporate Societal Responsibility 2009 survey. Businesses who incorporate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their decision-making processes acknowledge the importance of ‘people’ and the ‘planet’ alongside ‘profit’. As a result, CSR may be referred to as the ‘triple-bottom line’.

Alongside the emergence of CSR, the concept of the ‘ethical consumer’, someone who takes environmental and ethical concerns into account when making day-to-day consumer decisions, has also developed.

Marketers, advertisers and PR professionals are taking the issues of sustainability and CSR seriously, as it makes business sense to do so and is relevant in the eyes of most target audiences. The article, How to…market sustainability, published in The Marketer, looks at how marketers can effectively create sustainable promotional strategies. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) features information and resources on its website to aid professionals in the implementation of environmentally-friendly policies. Other relevant professional bodies feature similar information and resources on their websites.