Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

It’s that time of year when marketers in various industries review what’s working and what needs to change from a product and marketing perspective. The staff at Advertising Age recently pulled out their crystal ball to make predictions about the year ahead with respect to which major marketers will be increasing their spending.

With the economic outlook improving, consumers may be in the mood to buy jewelry in 2012. Last year, consumers exhibited a clear preference for specific types of jewelry. This year, jewelers are sure to be promoting those items and they’ll be advertising other services to consumers as well.

Despite the hype about how U.S. consumers are getting all of their news online or via their smartphones, there’s one category of newspapers that is attracting plenty of attention. A significant percentage of consumers regularly read their community newspapers, in print. And this behavior means that marketers can reach a unique audience by advertising in these newspapers.

For many decades, U.S. marketers advertised to a stable population which exhibited predictable buying patterns. But consumer aspirations have changed as has the demographic profile of the country. As a result, marketers will be adjusting their strategies.

Early last year, the press was filled with reports about how virtual events were poised to take a bite out of the traditional events industry. Those reports may have been overblown. The trade show industry has had a strong performance in 2011 and events are on track to grow this year.

As the new year approaches, owners of B2B enterprises are making resolutions about their marketing campaigns. B2B marketers intend to increase the number of leads they bring in and the quality of these leads. At the same time, they believe the effectiveness of many marketing strategies is falling. As a result, these enterprises will largely be using ‘tried and true tactics’ to improve their position in 2012.