Trends in advertising – 2012

Thanks to technology, what's old is new again. At least that's what advertising executives predict for 2012.

Television and magazines ads have been pronounced dead more than once on Madison Avenue, of course. But technology breathed new life into those mediums last year, with YouTube extending viewership for TV ads and the iPad making print ads sexy again.

Technology is expected to continue to invade and rejigger every aspect of advertising in the new year, according to ad executives.

"In 2012, advertising will be more than ever the intersection of technology and storytelling," says Christian Haas, executive creative director at Good by Silverstein & Partners, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc.

Hints about what this future might look like have already begun to emerge. In a reimagining of sampling, one of the oldest forms of marketing, Kraft Foods Inc., for instance, is testing a vending machine that uses facial recognition technology and a bit of humor to dole out bites of its Jell-O dessert called Temptations. Targeted at adults, the Jell-O machine, equipped with an Intel camera, has a surprising message for kids who approach for a taste: "Sorry kid. You're too young to experience an indulgence like this. Please step away so the adults can get their free treat."

Even staid retail catalogs are getting a digital makeover, with Google recently unveiling an app that aggregates dozens of the mailbox-clogging books, including ones for Pottery Barn and LL Bean.

Still, a flair for technology won't be enough to stand out amidst the stupefying ad clutter. To grab attention, some ad executives expect to see more comedy in the mix while others foresee an uptick in raunchier promotions, peppered with f-bombs.

What follows are some of Madison Avenue's predictions for 2012:

Couch-Potato Gatherings

New downloadable apps will turn TV watching into a virtual community event. "Apps like Get Glue invite viewers to check-in to a program and have conversations with others watching the same thing," says Daniel Khabie, chief executive officer of Digitaria, a digital-marketing firm owned by WPP PLC. "TV networks will pump it up because it encourages live watching and thus commercial watching."

Foul-Mouthed Ads

"Ads with f-bombs? Get used to it," says Glenn Cole, chief creative officer of 72 & Sunny, a unit if MDC Partners Inc. "Major brands will start to take off the granny pants and create racier content that demands the attention and respect of younger audiences." Such content would be focused on the Web and certain cable-TV channels.

Getting to Know You

Along with small screens on store shelves flickering with product promotions, kiosk-like machines will offer personalized "product suggestions," says Michele Fabrizi, chief executive officer of MARC USA. "So if you want to buy the same shade of lipstick or even the same color of paint, it will be able to remind you what you purchased previously.

-    Websites Migrate

Fortune 500 companies will give up on stodgy corporate websites and move their "primary online identity to a social network—most likely Facebook," says Mr. Khabie of Digitaria.

Mobile Madness

Every year, "Black Friday" sends shoppers into an irrational tizzy. Now add two more days. "In 2012, 'Mobile Thursday' will join 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday' as record shopping days," says Colin Kinsella, chief executive of Digitas North America, a digital-ad firm owned by Publicis. Mr. Kinsella is predicting that "the link between mobile and commercial will thicken" in 2012, which means more money for the mobile industry.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203899504577129021841047502.html