Top 10 marketing promotion trends in 2020

With only one week left in 2019, it’s time to look to the future. I recently had some free time and started thinking about the major marketing trends in 2020. The following ten guesses about the marketing trends in 2020 are the results of recent thinking, and also include the results of recent discussions with some friends from different industries. They may be right or wrong, and you are welcome to discuss them together.

Trend 1

Brands are pursuing more extreme conversion and results

I believe no one will object to this view. Brands have made no secret of their strong pursuit of conversion in 2019. Every penny of the budget, no matter how much or how little, must be spent wisely, which is almost the norm for every brand this year.

This is why concepts such as "private domain traffic", "growth hacking", "fission", and "KOC" suddenly became popular in 2019. Behind this is actually the traffic anxiety of brands facing the economic downturn.

After communicating with CMOs or marketing managers of many brands, it is foreseeable that the marketing strategies of most brands in 2020 may be more conservative. Conservative here does not mean spending less money, but that the budget will be invested in areas that are easier to quantify.

For example, brands may become increasingly cautious when faced with tycoon strategies such as TVCs and pop-up stores that cost millions. If brands in previous years were more willing to "buy" traffic generously and directly, in 2020, they are more inclined to more precise operations of traffic behind precision marketing.

For marketers in 2020, spending money is important, but how to make every penny count is even more important. Of course, the cruel thing is that such demands may also eliminate a group of people.

Trend 2

Find new traffic value depressions, such as WeChat for Business

Because traffic anxiety has become a disease for everyone, we must find new traffic value depressions. In fact, this is not a trend in 2020, but a trend every year.

At each stage, there are people who take the lead in finding the traffic value gap, and this group of people enjoys wave after wave of traffic dividends. Douyin, Kuaishou, Pinduoduo, mini programs, new retail... these are all vivid examples.

I cannot assert where the new traffic value depression will be in 2020, but I boldly predict that WeChat for Business may be one of them. So I must remind you that if conditions permit, I suggest you pay more attention to the dynamics of corporate WeChat in 2020.

To be honest, WeChat for Business has been relatively useless in the past few years, and most people only regard it as a business module for Tencent to compete with DingTalk. However, combined with the latest upgrade of WeChat for Business, I will roughly list several functions that WeChat for Business has achieved:

• Enterprise WeChat can add personal WeChat friends, and the upper limit can be higher than personal WeChat;
• Enterprise WeChat can be bound to personal WeChat and read personal address books;
• In addition to internal groups, WeChat for Business also supports the establishment of external customer groups. The upper limit has been raised to 100 people, and group permissions of 500 and 2,000 people are being tested.
• Enterprise WeChat can send red envelopes and use mini-programs, and the same mini-program can be connected on both personal WeChat and enterprise WeChat.
• Enterprise WeChat 3.0 has added the function of connecting with customers’ friends circle.

I believe that sensitive people have already seen the value behind these features. More importantly, WeChat has not relaxed its supervision on various "induced sharing" behaviors in recent years. The latest policy has put Pinduoduo's "cut one price" and "friend support" into cold storage. You can assume that it will become increasingly difficult to gain traffic in the WeChat ecosystem in the future.

Trend 3

The value of the sinking market is highlighted and will become a new battleground

This is also the inevitable result of the brand's endless desire for traffic. Kuaishou, Qutoutiao, OYO, Pinduoduo, JD.com... Third- and fourth-tier cities have become the main battlefield for major Internet companies to compete for traffic, and the spending power of young people in small towns has become a key variable determining growth.

Mr. Da said that the Chinese market is so big and everyone is welcome to come and take a look. This is said to foreigners, but it should be said to Chinese entrepreneurs themselves. It is no exaggeration to say that no matter what business you are doing in China now, you should not ignore the sinking market.

In 2020, don’t think that your brand is high-end, and don’t underestimate the taste and purchasing power of young people in small towns.

By the way, let me mention the Spring Festival travel rush that is coming soon. It is really magical and special. It is a large-scale population migration unique to China, and it is expected to exceed 3 billion people this year. It is this fixed time point once a year that is often the best time for brands to expand into lower-tier markets, because people in big cities begin to return to third- and fourth-tier cities. This is the most original and lowest-cost way to spread your brand to lower-tier markets.

Trend 4

Communication is more important than creativity, and channel competition is more fierce

If communication and creativity need to have a priority, communication must come first. So I insist that every brand should pay more attention to communication in 2020, or be more direct. I think more and more client marketing departments will consider adding or setting up a media position. The importance of this position will be more prominent in 2020, so much so that you should not expect to leave it to external parties to solve.

Believe it or not, channel competition will be even more fierce in 2020. Online traffic is becoming more and more expensive, and offline traffic will not be cheap either. Accurate traffic will be more precious.

But I am not saying that creativity is not important. On the contrary, good ideas are more expensive and rarer. Behind this is also the frustration of the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult to go viral. Even the "What's Peppa Pig?" that broke the circle and went viral at the beginning of the year failed to reverse the reputation and box office of the Peppa Pig movie.

Therefore, in the context that Party A will calculate its budget investment more meticulously, if we have to rank priorities, perhaps more people will be willing to focus on communication and channels.

Trend 5

Targeted brainwashing advertising will still be imitated

Targeted brainwashing advertising has been very popular in the past two years. Although brainwashing advertising is quite controversial, and I myself admit that I regard it as the dregs of advertising, we seem to have to accept that this form of advertising may not disappear in 2020.

Whether it’s the circular brainwashing of Boss Direct Hire and Platinum Travel Photography, or the simultaneous appearance of 54 city elevators by Yiche in one day, brainwashing advertisements always find a way to appear in our elevators with new concept packaging.

Data from CTR and other sources show that in July and August this year, several food and beverage brands such as Meiji, Junlebao, Yangshengtang, Wyeth, Bestore, and Fulinmen were added to the TOP20 brands in terms of elevator media spending year-on-year; automobile brands such as Saleen and Changan Ford also made the list; and local leading cosmetics brand Carslan was also newly included in the list.

The client's cautiousness with the budget means that the brand needs to penetrate one point, and fragmented communication will inevitably disperse the final effect. After all, clients such as Boss Direct Hire and Platinum Travel Photography have repeatedly stated that they are satisfied with the results of the campaign, and they don’t even care about sacrificing their brand reputation. So, what reason do we have to doubt that brainwashing advertising will continue to exist?

Trend 6

The Matthew effect of internet celebrities is intensifying, and some internet celebrities may fall from grace

The resurgence of live streaming seems to have made the public see the power of internet celebrities again.

In fact, the ecosystem of internet celebrities has undergone some changes in recent years, but there are also some things that remain unchanged. From the early Feng Jie and Furong Jie to the current Li Jiaqi, Liziqi, etc., the most obvious change is that this generation of new Internet celebrities are more "content-based Internet celebrities" with real talent.

The value of "content-based influencers" to brands is obviously higher, and there is also more room for brand co-creation. Papi Jiang, a representative of the first generation of "content-based influencers", has now carved out her own path. "Content-based influencers" are between KOLs and celebrities, and there is room for more brands to play in this space.

What remains unchanged is that the Matthew effect always exists in the ecosystem of internet celebrities, and resources are siphoned away by the top internet celebrities. Taking the Taobao live broadcast on Double Eleven this year as an example, Wei Ya and Li Jiaqi monopolized a large amount of traffic, and the gap between the third place and the two of them was even greater than expected. This trend is also evident on Tik Tok and Kuaishou.

In addition, when top internet celebrities begin to be used as role models, perhaps it also implies the law that everything will turn into its opposite when it reaches its extreme. The scene of internet celebrities’ downfall also became a hot topic in 2019. It is bold to predict that some internet celebrities may fall from their pedestal in 2020.

Trend 7

Selling goods is the ultimate goal, and traffic closure is the top priority

Zhao Yuanyuan, the person in charge of Taobao Live, wrote in the review of Double Eleven: Without the collective support of the entire Alibaba economy and the massive investment in Taobao Live, Taobao Live would not have become such a big success relying only on a few anchors.

I personally would summarize the sudden "return" of Taobao Live as "closer to selling goods", which is exactly what all brands are pursuing at this stage in 2019. This is also why so many big brands have put aside their tricks to start live streaming, they still have to sell goods!

This year there is a hot word called "marketing chain". No matter how many turns this "chain" takes, the ultimate goal is to sell goods. Taobao Live is the closest to selling goods, so it became a success.

In addition, Kuaishou, Douyin, iQiyi... platforms are all trying to complete the traffic loop. Traffic that cannot achieve a closed loop is invalid or inefficient for the brand.

In 2020, brands may pursue traffic on various platforms, such as Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, Zhihu, live streaming... The commercialization capabilities of the platform are closely related to the brand's choice. The link in the closed loop of traffic is the shortest, and the attraction to the brand is naturally the strongest.

Trend 8

Cross-border collaborations are still effective, but marginal utility is decreasing

2019 is definitely a cross-border carnival, and "everything can be crossed and everything can be connected" has become the purpose advocated by many brands. From this perspective, in 2020, for brands, cross-border collaboration will still be one of the lowest-cost forms of user interaction. However, diminishing marginal utility is also an unchangeable fact.

The trends of the Forbidden City, White Rabbit, Want Want, and Lelecha, brands that have become famous for their cross-border businesses this year, have already foreshadowed this.

Judging from the trend, there will definitely be many brands that are late to the party and will continue to engage in cross-border collaborations in 2020, but smart brands may begin to lose interest in cross-border collaborations. At least, it is difficult to enjoy the benefits of simply selling feelings.

Trend 9

People born in the 1990s are not considered young people, all brands need to be younger

There are several cruel facts in 2020. The first batch of people born in the 1990s are entering their thirties; those born in the 20s are about to be born, and the way those born in the 20s look at those born in the 1990s is the same as the people born in the 90s look at those born in the 60s.

From this perspective, those born in the 1990s are no longer young people. The generation born between 1995 and 2009 is called "Generation Z". According to relevant statistics, the total number of Generation Z is about 260 million, and more and more brands have targeted these 260 million people.

"National Trend" is the achievement made by the first batch of brands that cater to the aesthetic tastes of Generation Z. This may be difficult for many people to understand, and that may be because you are old.

All brands need to become younger, which not only means that brands must start studying the new generation of young users, but also means that the brand must have a completely new perspective. Although it may be cruel, you have to admit that the old practices and perspectives may be outdated.

From what I have come across, quite a few brands have lowered the age of their CMOs and marketing managers to under 30. They understand young people better and are more bold and open-minded, which may be the core of brand rejuvenation.

Trend 10

Sports marketing is back in the spotlight during the Olympic Year

Although there are still more than seven months to go until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, many brands have already begun planning for the Olympics. The marketing pattern of the 2018 World Cup is likely to be repeated in the 2020 Olympics.

The Olympics are a hot topic every four years, and most brands will likely take advantage of it, but they still need to be mindful of copyright risks, as cases of copyright infringement due to Olympic hot topics are not uncommon.

There will inevitably be an increase in athlete endorsements, sports-related themed commercials, etc., so the brand’s creativity in this regard will be put to the test.

Author: Jun Xiaobao

Public account: Jun Xiaobao