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7 Trends Marketers Can Expect to See in 2010

The facts, stats and true in-the-trenches business experiences of 2009 now tell marketers a lot about what to expect for 2010 — the value-oriented, thrifty approach cemented in 2009 isn’t likely to change. Below is a quick review of some of the key things marketers should look for in the coming year.

1. Pent-up demand from the jet set. For the super wealthy demographic, expect that luxury items will be back in vogue as pent-up demand for jewelry, cars, homes, boats and fashion — at today’s reduced costs — increases. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to offset the dramatic falloff seen from the much larger affluent group that accounted for much of the demand growth during the run-up to the recession.

2. Personal fulfillment for the rest of us. Whereas pre-recession discretionary money was reserved for items people didn’t need but wanted, the recession and its epic duration have now made people’s hobbies and passions indispensable as a means to relieve stress and add back pleasure into their lives. Revenues from home improvement; home-based interests like gardening and exercise; and passion hobbies like crafts, music, fishing, etc., will stay in vogue and continue to capture wallet share.

3. Just the basics for the apparel market. Recovery in this sector will likely take all of 2010, and I believe we’ll see minimal increased spending. An exception to this could be wardrobe maintenance and accessories: “yes” to blouses, shirts, jackets, slacks and low-cost accessories, but “no” to high-end designer fashion unless it also has a high perceived value. It’s an exciting time for the fashion industry to diversify and pursue new opportunities.

4. The mature market will keep booming. I expect the mature market — including insurance, financial services, health care products and domestic travel — to see revenue growth throughout the year as aging baby boomers continue to need to make ongoing decisions about their futures.

5. Paid content will test its limits. This year will be the year of publishers testing paid content business models as lean advertising has forced publishers to develop new revenue streams without significant cash outlays. Where the line between paid and free exists, and whether the fundamental shift in technology and the internet’s jarring redirect of consumers’ reading behavior has made getting paid moot, will be tested.

6. Newspapers will leverage strong regional brands and databases. National and large regional newspapers are rallying together to create higher-value advertising relationships that result in higher ad rates. In order to successfully create their own ad networks and potentially bypass Google and other low-CPM advertising outlets, they'll have to offer refined demographic targeting of their databases.

7. Social media will grow up. This year will mark social media's crossover into the demand requirements of traditional return on investment-based search, display and email campaigns. Marketers know audience measurement and impact need to be brought into the calculation, but figuring out just how and what to measure will require a different set of analytics.

Chris Paradysz is CEO of PM Digital, a New York City-based internet marketing agency specializing in search engine marketing. Chris can be reached at cparadysz@pmdigital.com.

go to original article at ROI online