If you missed it, in June PwC published a report about where the digital media market is going (Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2013-2017) and how companies should think about responding. While this is a report focused on the consumer market there are several findings for B2B marketers to consider.
Here are some key takeaways from the report and what B2B companies should think about.
- Digital advertising is on the rise and will account for 37 percent of advertising revenues by 2017 (an increase from 26 percent over last year). If you’re not factoring into your advertising spend digital — not banner ads but social promotions and digital partnerships — what is holding you back? On the one end, some of this is new territory and can seem risky, but the investment (for now) is minimal and cannot be overlooked. But digital advertising can open many new ideas and possibilities beyond just experimenting. One of the key benefits can be examining the data you discover and using the findings for future campaigns.
- The PwC report validates the often discussed idea that consumers expect to read media and view entertainment when and where they want it. That concept is no different in the B2B space, so what are you doing about it? One thing I’ve learned in the past several years from doing digital is that we notice a number of ways people consume our content. We’ve seen content viewed on many devices — cameras, X-Boxes and even on one refrigerator. How is your content consumed? Do you know? Does it matter?
- Video gaming is growing at a nearly 7 percent CAGR. While gamification may not be for every B2B brand, there are some interesting ideas to consider. Marketing Sherpa offers up six tactics for B2B brands and companies like Autodesk have already tried it. There is definitely more of an investment in terms of time and resources if you plan to explore gamification, but this is a growing trend and several B2B companies will outmaneuver their competition as a result. If you haven’t thought about this yet I would suggest you pull together an internal team to at least explore the concept and see what your industry is doing.
- The report also shows that the vast amount of content is leaving consumers “confused” as to what to read. This should be no surprise as more platform choices grow and the amount of information being shared increases. The challenge is tying what you do all together — whether through gamification, website, Twitter, email, advertising — is consistent, tells a story and useful. There is a growing opportunity for B2B brands to help stakeholders find, share and use information that matters. Just make sure it’s your brand leading the way and not your competition.
The year 2017 may seem far away, but the reality is you are laying the groundwork this year, this month and this week for how your B2B brand will be consumed four years from now. Will you be ready?
