2019 has begun with a lot of excitement and everyone is practically at the edge of their seats waiting for what will make the year more memorable than the previous and this is not even about the general elections alone but also about the several sectors especially the Marketing Communications industry.

During a recent interview on BrandtalkWithLamide, industry experts, Akinlabi Akinbulumo, Director at Trellis Group, Omolara Shitu, Group Head, Client Service at Brooks and Blake and Temitayo Ige, Brand Manager (Digital) for Beiersdorf after analysing how well the industry fared in 2018, made projections about trends that will likely take the industry by storm in 2019 and these three we found very interesting.

1. Augmented Reality: According to Akinlabi, although technology has been aiding lives for years, companies are beginning to realise how it has evolved and can now give feedback about the lives of consumers, as such companies and brands in 2019 especially the forward-thinking ones will leverage this in 2019. This, coupled with the fact that consumers of late have become more curious than ever and want personalised experiences, he says will birth the need for AR in 2019.

2. Compelling Narratives: Omolara agreed that the industry did witness a lot of creative campaigns in 2018 but seeing the stiff competition there continues to be, there will be a need for brands to do more than just campaigns in 2019 and begin to look in the direction of narratives; strong narratives that are able to change perception and incite required actions; strong narratives that are human interest led that consumers can relate with and become ambassadors of. In essence, if your consumers can.

3. Uptake on Digital: As Temitayo bluntly puts it, there is definitely going be a need for more spend in digital. She stresses that in the last few years, there has been a no less than 10 percent growth in the digital sphere, as such there will be a drastic need to cater to this population which translates to launch of more platforms, improvement on the existing to cater to consumer needs and content marketing which must be relatable all of which will naturally require more funds to be pumped into the sector.

These three trends I found insightful but don’t take my word for it, click this link https://bit.ly/2TUIRIg to watch the clip and tell me any I may have missed.