Future Trends Newsletter

A new year provides a fresh reminder that it's a consumer's world and brands are just living in it.

Despite being the UK's first restriction-free year, 2022 certainly hasn't been without its challenges for marketers across the industry — from stripped-back budgets due to a cost-of-living crisis, to consumer confidence drops and uncertainty about the Metaverse. As we move into 2023, PR, Experiential and Influencer will play a key role in how brands recover from a rocky year, and land back in the hearts of consumers. To help brands understand and navigate the 2023 consumer landscape, here are our top communications trends and predictions for the coming year.

From data-driven strategies to the rise of influencer engagement and brand partnerships, a lot's changed in 2022 when it comes to what makes an effective, measurable PR strategy. After 2020’s massive shake-up, followed by a still-unpredictable 2021 and a looming recession in 2022, PR pros across all industries have had to adapt, evolve, and pivot to satisfy upcoming PR trends and get their client brands in the spotlight. Here are just a few key influences the industry can expect.

To affinity and beyond

In 2022, consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level in nearly half a century. Going into 2023, smart brands will move away from short-termism and focus on building better long-term value and trust with their PR comms through affinity-driving campaigns that put consumers at their core.

We've already seeing brands like Iceland (with its interest-free loans scheme) Cadbury's (reviving its Secret Santa postal service this winter by giving away 120,000 chocolate bars) shift-focus towards brand-building campaigns towards the end of 2022, and can only expect it to continue.

AI-powered creativity

At the crux of it, data allows brands to listen to what consumers are asking for and respond accordingly. Data isn't necessarily a new phenomenon, but using data to inform your PR strategy is becoming increasingly important, especially for brands that want to create less-ordinary, problem-solving campaigns.

According to PR Moment, one of the biggest trends for 2023 will be harnessing the power of AI, particularly as a tool for creativity. We saw the start of this in 2022 with Heinz' AI campaign, which asked AI image generators to 'draw ketchup', with the results proving just how iconic its brand identity truly is. Proving that AI is not always a creative's enemy, in 2023 we're expecting more brands to harness the power of AI for PR.

Newsworthy content

As we see marketing budgets decrease into the recession, multi-purpose content will move up the list of important channels for brands. As ex-PrettyGreener and current VP of UK Comms at Warner Catherine Smiles put it, “Budgets and consumer spending will be tight this year. Brands will need to engage more impactfully and organically. Newsworthy content will be vital.”

In 2023, its a budget-friendly no brainer for brands to continue using content as a tool for driving conversation, in earned media and beyond. For inspiration, just take Specsavers' Best Worst Team YouTube content series with Jimmy Bullard, or when PrettyGreen and Hasbro reactively gifted Stormzy his own version of Monopoly after his rant content went viral.

Events are back with a bang. They haven’t just recovered post-pandemic — they’ve emerged as a critical marketing channel to generate demand and build strong brands. We're over the covid spike when it comes to internet usage, with the daily average now almost on par with pre-pandemic figures. This largely stems from consumers having more free time to get out and socialise — and they're increasingly looking for brands to elevate their out-of-home experiences. According to Forrester research, 74% of marketers cite events as their most important demand generation tactic leading into 2023, because they allow brands to reach new audiences, build more personalised relationships with audiences and drive continuous engagement. Here's how brands can get ahead of the experiential trend in 2023.

Let's get phygital

Phygital experiences that blur the line between physical and digital will reign supreme in 2023. Consumers want more integrated experiences — particularly Gen-Z who expect a relevant “phygital” experience that is seamless and personalized, both online and in-person. Forrester research shows that 57% of marketers already increased their spend on event tech in 2022, and are estimating this to grow in 2023. Augmented reality (AR) and other immersive experiences have become key to achieving this. And the rise in the use of AR technology means consumer demand for immersive experiences will become even more mainstream in 2023. In fact, more than a third of Gen Z are predicted to be shopping with AR by 2025. Looking back on our Snap Fashion and Beauty event in 2022, we're predicting tech-infused, shoppable experiences to be front and centre in 2023.

POV experiences

As events become more phygital, brands will use video content capture and influencers partnerships to supercharge their reach and give online audiences a point of view into physical brand experiences. According to The Cisco Video Networking Index, video accounted for 82% of all internet traffic by the end of 2022, with the rise of snackable TikTok content. This appetite for on-demand video represents an integrated opportunity for events and content teams, and turn brand experiences into content factories.

Influencers are a powerful tool for closing the gap between physical event and online audiences — the right partner can act as a portal into your brand experience, maximising campaign reach while boosting audience affinity through influencer advocacy. We're set to see more brands adopting a content-first approach to experiential — think Lucy Edwards' viral red carpet interviews at Netflix' first audio-described premiere, or the PrettyGreen Group's latest pop-up with Not On The High Street featuring Sam Thompson.

From Instagram’s alleged ‘identity crisis’, the aftermath of Twitter’s leadership change, new entrants such as BeReal, and the continued uncertainty around the metaverse, 2022 was a busy year for influencer marketers. But the sector is not slowing down, with 2023 touted to be the year of the influencer as 89% of marketers who currently engage with influencer marketing will increase or maintain their investment this year. Brands that have previously overlooked the power of influencer advocacy will be keen not to get left behind, with 17% planning to invest in it for the first time in 2023. And it's unsurprising when Gen Z, outside of China, use Instagram almost as often as they do Google, meaning that brands need to look beyond traditional digital channels like search or display for discovery.

Niche is the new mainstream

More influencers online than ever means that content is becoming more niche, as new factions of the internet emerge. Influencer strategists know that niche isn't always a negative though, as collaborating with creators of a specific genre means brands can reach hyper-relevant audiences. This was WhatTheySaid's approach for our World Cup campaign with The Athletic, where we partnered with sports commentary influencers to tap into online football fandoms.

This applies particularly to harnessing the power of micro-influencer partnerships, which according to Forbes are set to grow in 2023. Where the cost of earning or retaining hero talent might stretch some budgets, working with the right micro-influencer(s) could earn you a higher ROI with a more engaged audience. Seems like a win-win to us.

Going steady

We’ll continue to see interest shift from short to longer-term influencer partnerships in 2023, which we began to see in 2022 with the likes of Tasha Ghouri x Ebay. From a brand perspective, longer-term collaborations reinforce the element of loyalty and provide budget efficiencies, alongside the added benefit of consistent brand messaging through endorsing and evolving with a brand they genuinely know and trust.

For many brands this may involve working with influencers on a consultancy basis, advising organisations on marketing approaches as “audience experts", as seen in 2022 with Lucy Edwards and Pantene. Working with them in this way will help brands unlock new sources of revenue and insight that may be pivotal in shaping communications with more impact.

360° IGC

With social users demanding more ‘real’ people to showcase products, brands in 2023 will look for innovative ways to incorporate influencers across their marketing channels.

Spotlighting influencer-generated content (IGC) on websites will become more common, and we’ll start to see influencers pop up in email campaigns, blown up in-store or on billboards. By repurposing IGC across multiple channels and platforms, brands will not only be maximising their investment and amplifying the peer-to-peer effect that influencer marketing provides, but they’ll be giving their audience exactly what they want.

In a world saturated with influencer edits though, be sure to make your content authentic to both parties' tone of voice — check ASOS' latest collab with Lewis Capaldi for pointers.

Purpose with a Capital P

With the cost-of-living crisis, British consumers are scaling back on non-essential spending. This means that when they do part with their cash, consumers are making more considered choices about which brands they support with the purchases. With no sign of slowing down in 2023, brands are prioritising campaigns with purpose at their heart.

2022 was also the year for calling out purpose-washing, with numerous brands being called-out for performative social activism or using inauthentic influencer collaborations as a fast track to appearing diverse and inclusive.

We know that consumers are more likely buy-from, trust, defend and champion companies with a strong purpose. And with Gen-Z touted as the most sceptical generation yet, brands that do the hard, purpose-led work will come out on top in 2023.