The Biggest Digital Marketing Trends of 2019? The Ameba team makes their predictions.

The mark of an innovative creative agency is the ability to ride with the tide, to foresee big trends before they take over. We’re here to shape the narrative before it’s been written in stone—but before we can do that, we’re using our expertise to predict where 2019 is headed. In the interest of looking forward to an amazing year, we decided to ask each of our departments on what they think the biggest digital marketing trends are for 2019…and their answers didn’t disappoint.

Digital

We’ve been talking about this ad nauseam (pun intended), but video marketing is more than a digital marketing trend: it’s still one of the most effective marketing methods around. According to Hubspot, 72% of businesses report increased conversion rates from video marketing, so agencies that haven’t jumped on the video bandwagon are getting left WAY behind.

That’s not all: in today’s digital world, users are overwhelmed with information. Relevance has never been more important, and with the digital marketing tools available in 2019, brands are able to produce content that grabs attention by dynamically speaking specifically to an individual user and their demographic. With razor-sharp targeting and a true understanding of what a user is really looking for (i.e a Spin Bike service that actually cares about fitness or baby products that are actually good for your baby without costing an arm and a leg), agencies with the tech know-how can create content that’s tailored to a specific user. Well, almost. We’re not in the Minority Report, yet.

Design

The world is looking more and more colorful in 2019, and you better believe the design side of digital marketing is going to reflect that. To acknowledge a more multi-cultural world, we think designers are going to place a bigger emphasis on inclusivity and diversity in stock photos, models, and characters, even.

And next, the coral elephant in the room: Living Coral. It’s the Official Pantone Color of 2019, so we’re expecting to see this hue A LOT in the coming months. Of course, designers being the rebels they are, we wouldn’t be surprised if they end up throwing this shade out entirely.

PR

Love it or hate it—influencer marketing isn’t going away. In fact, it’s growing fast.

Let’s face it, influencers are everywhere: half the contestants on The Bachelor are currently influencers, and social media icons have become popular Halloween costumes and career aspirations for many high schoolers. Instead of overpaid movie stars or svelte athletes, influencers are the new Brand-Shamans for an audience that’s overwhelmed with traditional marketing and unimpressed by ads. It makes sense, because today’s audiences are so saturated with branding and marketing—they’re looking for someone they trust to help them find the best of the best.

So get with the program, and get to finding the next It Girl or YouTube star to partner with!

Copy

Memes (Or, as your grandma says it, “meemees”) are becoming an advertising staple. That’s not entirely a good thing. Jump on it too soon, and you’re at risk of putting something out that no one gets. Wait too long, and you seem out of touch. We tend to think it’s like playing with fire—so use caution.

Another marketing trend we’re seeing? Stop us if you’ve heard this before: You’re driving the highway or tuning into a podcast, and hear a company’s tagline that’s some variation of “a better way to ____.”

Whether it’s “A Better Way to Cook” or “A Better Way to Travel,” we see this type of tagline EVERYWHERE. And why not? It’s clear, simple, and gets to the root of what an audience is looking for.

Honestly, we’re not bitter—we just wish we thought of this marketing trend first.

Content

Content is king, right? So, what does awesome content look like in 2019? At a time when marketing and advertising are expanding to every corner of our online lives, it’s difficult to create content that truly stands out. Audiences are learning how to tune out-and in some instances, block, even the most ingenious campaigns and messaging.

So rather than going too flashy, we’re predicting one of the biggest marketing trends out there is a move towards authenticity and transparency.

Whether it’s bold…

Or totally honest…

It’s marketing that’s daring you to not like it.

So whaddaya think, did we miss anything important? Marketing prophets, let us know in the comments below!