Year after year, marketing industry leaders experiment with and popularize innovative advertising techniques. From the convenient Instagram shopping checkout feature to advertisements centered on social change, 2019 has been a year of constant connection.
While many of these marketing techniques are here to stay, a few may not be back for a second round. We asked eight members of Ad Age Collective their take on which advertising trends could fizzle out before the calendar hits 2020. Here's what they believe will be on the way out, and what new trends we might have to look forward to in their place.
1. Mid-tier influencer marketing
There will be continued effort put into managing influencer programs, but consumers' trust in influencers is disappearing fast, as are results. Micro-influencers, such as close friends, will remain, and celebrities will continue to play their role. But mid-tier influencers will be replaced by measurable social advertising where it is overt that brands pay to target prospective customers via ads. - Reid Carr, Red Door Interactive
2. Highly detailed personalization
2019 has been a year of increasing personalization, to a point that consumers are starting to be creeped out by how well an anonymous company "knows" them. In the wake of privacy scandals and data breaches, 2020 will see a pullback in this personalization in favor of advertising that demonstrates how a company is respectful of its consumers and takes steps to secure their private information. - Patrick Ward, Rootstrap
3. Inaccurate voice search
Our devices are not yet sophisticated enough to provide fully satisfying and accurate responses to voice queries. A comprehensive and SEO-focused content strategy can help advertisers maximize success in voice search today. However, we will see an increase in visual search strategies as improved user experience has driven an increase in visual search adoption. - Kerry Curran, Catalyst
4. Disruptive advertising
Disruptive advertising will phase out. Nearly half of global internet users enlist ad blockers today. The success of influencer marketing and integrated advertising is rooted in an ability to get in front of the right audience in the most authentic, non-disruptive way. We’ll see more creativity in how brands integrate into virtual reality, augmented reality and other tech-driven content experiences to build awareness. - Ricky Ray Butler, Branded Entertainment Network
5. Paid influencers with tons of followers
The idea of paid influencers that oftentimes have a gazillion followers but zero connection to your brand? Going, going, gone. We are quickly, and thankfully, moving to the age of the micro-influencer—the authentic person who happens to have a connection to your brand and also happens to have a social media reach. Finding this group and engaging with them is the evolution of word-of-mouth. - Rich Honiball, Navy Exchange Service Command
6. Simply using data for enhancements
Relevancy is key, and in 2020, brands will leverage data and AI in more holistic, creative ways. Rather than focusing on simply using data to enhance media plans, marketers will incorporate significant personalization strategies in the creative process to improve overall brand experience. - Oz Etzioni, Clinch
7. User-generated content
User-generated content has plateaued. Brands’ social media followers are growing weary of being asked to submit their own content for the benefit of the brand. Influencer commerce, selling products through online influencers, will skyrocket. Today’s online influencers are equivalent to how Michael Jordan was to Nike. Brands will seek influencers who can sell through their network of followers. - Jason Weaver, AirDeck, Inc.
8. Operating without an advertising strategy
Platforms that are not running profitably, that exist only on raising capital with the promise that it’s their subscribers that add value but have no advertising component, will have a hard time surviving in 2020 and beyond. - Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising
