NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS: HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR BRAND SHOWS UP IN 2024
Stepping into a New Year offers brands a fresh canvas to redefine their presence and really consider how they drive impact.
As we rapidly approach 2024, the opportunity to revitalise your brand’s strategies and secure a prominent spot in the market landscape beckons. At eight&four, we’re delving into the realm of New Year’s resolutions for brands, uncovering transformative ways to ensure your brand not only shows up but shines throughout the year ahead.
From reimagining your channel mix to harnessing emerging trends, let’s explore the essential shifts that will propel your brand into the spotlight in 2024.
EMBRACE THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION
Traditional television viewership is undergoing a significant decline among Brits, with Ofcom reporting a drop from 83% to 79% in 2022 for weekly TV broadcast viewership.
This trend is even more obvious among the 16–24 age group, where only 54% engage with live television content. As the social media landscape continually evolves to cater to user preferences, recent entrants like BeReal, Threads, and Discord have emerged as game-changers.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding these new platforms, embracing them within your channel mix is vital in 2024, considering the unpredictable success witnessed with TikTok and its monthly user base of 80 million.
At eight&four, we’ve developed an internal ‘Platform Guardians’ programme, whereby team members specialise in a channel and are called upon for innovative thinking and inspiration. As a result, we’re always ready to tackle your channel challenges.
HUMAN-CENTRIC STORYTELLING
In today’s storytelling landscape, exemplified by the TED conference series, analysis reveals that stories comprise a substantial 65% of their top 500 TED Talks.
This highlights the sheer impact of storytelling – powerful for sharing insights and ideas persuasively. In 2024, human connections will lie at the heart of the most successful brand narratives. It’s also the year that consumers will start to become more discerning and as a result, brands and advertisers have a considerable job to drive authenticity beyond campaigns.
Why not let employees take centre stage in your content? Highlight their stories, show the faces behind the product. When you humanise your team, you’re laying a strong foundation for a relatable narrative that goes onto spark genuine interest. The same can be said for customer testimonials or brands who showcase how they’re upholding values and causes. The message is clear: use 2024 to forge authentic human connections, fostering relationships beyond transactions for an authenticity-driven landscape.
INCLUSIVITY AT THE HEART
“Now, marketing is one thing, but marketing that reaches almost everyone is another. When we market a product, painting a picture for people to envisage what it’s like to own, use or interact with, we want them to feel like they cannot do without it – it’s the thing they’ve been missing, until now. “ - Forbes, 2022
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, it’s important for brands to reflect the diversity of consumers and cultures in their messaging. By integrating varying perspectives, representations and narratives, brand campaigns can resonate more deeply with audiences from all walks of life – for example:
Learn more about new audiences through listening and analysis – understand their unique perspectives, specific needs and challenges so you can tackle them head on.
There isn’t one size that fits all – Effective content and comms need to flex - this is flex across targeting segments and channels to drive audience relevancy, but also flex to adapt and evolve as you watch how it lands and listen to the community sentiment.
What’s relevant to Jake who lives in East London might not resonate with Fiona from the Lake District – and a very large chunk of marketing campaigns have a very London-centric view - which can be alienating. Be mindful of the distinct realities of your market audiences, and challenge ideas through this lens.
Inclusive marketing should not be seen as a trend but as a transformative strategy that goes beyond demographics. In turn, this works to create a sense of belonging and familiarity among consumers. This approach not only strengthens brand love and loyalty but also aligns with the values of an evolving society, paving the way for a more inclusive future.
One standout brand who have broken their own bias, is Gillette. Typically, a brand known for targeting CIS males, in 2019, they shared an ad which showed
a father helping his transgender son shave for the first time. Using the tagline: “whenever, wherever, however it happens – your first shave is special” this is a strong example of how everyday brands can show inclusivity in an authentic way.
INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS
2023 has been a great year for influencer marketing, with ad spend in this area projected to reach $2BN by 2027.
While normal influencer partnerships can offer value in terms of awareness, 2024 is the year of catapulting partnerships into the innovation space. Whether that’s with influencers or other brands, collaborations are an effective way to tap into new markets and consumers and drive buzz and excitement online.
This year alone, we’ve seen Heinz teaming up with Absolut Vodka, Tiffany and Nike coming together, and Muller and... well, Declan Rice. Authenticity remains imperative for a successful partnership, but we’re pushing brands to explore those unexpected partnerships and reap the benefits. Think about how we can:
Surprise users. Why is the partnership unexpected? Think about how you can break through the noise and capture the attention of those who might sit outside of traditional activations.
Reach new audiences. Innovative partnerships allow us to penetrate a different target demographic – driving growth and diversification.
Break stigmas! Challenge stereotypes and preconceptions. This can ultimately help users to revaluate the brand and see them in a whole new light.
WORK WITH US
New Year’s resolutions aren’t just for January. While 17% of Brits admit to not keeping to any of their resolutions, we’re on a mission to help brands stick to theirs, remain true to themselves and show up in 2024. If this sounds like something you want guidance with, our specialist teams would be happy to help. Get in touch now: olivia.osborne@eightandfour.com