Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Leading edge marketers may like to believe that consumers are learning about new brands through social media. But new research shows that’s not always the case. Further, consumers only occasionally mention brands in their social media posts.

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for HVAC Equipment Manufacturers. The following are the predicted Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

Is there anything marketers can do to get consumers to like TV ads? This is an important question as one of the year’s most important TV ad-viewing events is on the horizon: the Super Bowl. A new survey reports that consumers appreciate specific elements of TV ad campaigns.

Regulation of the distribution of content via the Internet as well as targeted online advertising has been making headlines lately. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are considering legislation to stop online piracy but their efforts were met with highly visible protests by key industry players like Wikipedia last week. Similarly, bills circulating in Congress that propose to regulate targeted advertising are also facing strong headwinds.

Consumers are concerned about what they eat and what they feed their children, but household budgets don’t always allow for paying a premium – whether it’s on branded or organic foods. After several difficult years during the recession, more consumers are paying extra to buy organic. In total, the industry is now valued at more than $28.6 billion.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) may have been late to the social media party, but many of these enterprises now see the promise in this marketing channel. For years, many SMBs have been using traditional media outlets to connect with local consumers. But now that so many consumers are using social media, SMB owners see that they can communicate directly with potential clients in their local market.