First of all: Of course, we don’t have a glass ball with which to look into the future and sell this exclusive wisdom to our agency customers. Of course, we have something better: With our screens, we see directly (and live) the current development in the online sector and draw our conclusions from it. As attentive observers and forward-thinking strategists, we have summarized some of the digital trends for 2019:
Privacy
One of the central topics in the use of online services and offers: what data does the user disclose, what are they used for, how are they handled and who controls the whole thing? The entry into force of the GDPR in May 2018 has confused the world of bloggers, online merchants, and web agencies. The user himself has remained somewhat insecure but has hardly changed anything about his user behavior. In the coming years, he will continue to make his data readily available for free content, offers, online services, and digital convenience.
Voice input
Siri, Alexa, and other assistants have a fixed place in the world of online services. As scary as it is sometimes that the devices always wait for their start command (and listen to us), as practical is their advantage in the application. In addition to the smart-speakers in the home, language assistants will also be increasingly used on websites and web shops to replace the keyboard and mouse.
Even without a glass ball, DeSight Studio as a digital agency can discover and recognize digital trends of the future – from which both companies and agencies benefit – provided they have the right partner.
Social (Life) Media
In addition to distraction, entertainment, information, and sales, social media giants will continue to invade our everyday lives. The already implemented and imminent takeovers and mergers of and with, e.g., Messenger services and Smart home electronics are the clear signs of this. Once again, users value the gain in convenience and benefits more highly than the disclosure of the most sensitive data from their highly personal everyday lives.
Chabot’s
Electronic communication, partly supported by artificial intelligence or merely prefabricated statements: At the other end of the (data) line, there is not necessarily a person sitting to exchange information and opinions. This phenomenon will be found not only in the media and entertainment but also in commercial websites and web shops. Chabot’s, which influence the political mood in presidential elections, will probably also cope with challenging customer service in online trading.
Video content
“The Buggles sang “Video killed the radio star” prophetically back in 1980. Now the time has come for the Internet: Videos are outpacing pure text-picture content on the Internet in more and more areas of application. Since (mobile) Internet connections have reached reasonable throughput rates, short clips have been integrated into everyday digital life without any problems. More and more print media are using this form of presentation in their online editions to offer users variety in appearance.
Mobile Online wins
The trend is clear: in terms of advertising spending, the classic print sector is increasingly losing out to the mobile online industry. The emphasis is on the mobile online area, which has its unique user behavior: limited display size, short attention span, and fast spontaneous reactions. It will be exciting to see how the major media houses react to this with their online presences of (classic) media titles without cannibalizing themselves.
Internet vs. TV
The same applies to TV and the Internet: Online times will tilt in favor of TV times, so users will soon spend more time on the Internet than in front of the television. As a consequence, advertising spending will have to shift in the direction of the “stronger” medium. Companies and agencies that adapt to this trend and book in good time will then have their nose ahead.
Define goals, individualize concepts
This much is certain: the future will be exciting, even if it is a bit predictable. This makes it all the more important to define corporate goals at the right time (now) and coordinate them with the near future trends. This also requires experienced and agile partners who develop individual concepts accordingly. Moreover, these partners should also be able to offer the corresponding digital implementations from a single source. After all, there is no time to lose – 2019 is already waiting!
DeSight Studio GmbH | Wolfgang Zdimal
Journalist and professional copywriter Wolfgang Zdimal wrote this article on behalf of DeSight Studio GmbH and published by DeSight Studio GmbH. Wolfgang Zdimal, who manages his business from Vienna, Austria, has more than 20 years of professional experience and writes for the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, BAWAG P.S.K. Bank or just for DeSight Studio GmbH.