5 Intriguing Trends for Advertising Creative in 2021

If you’ve been following the news regarding business, you’ll no doubt be aware that 2020 was the quintessential curveball no one really likes to think about. It gave every advertising creative team out there, both large & small, a real wake-up call when it comes to jumping into action.

There’s no denying that a majority of businesses & their advertising departments were left scrambling, trying their best to avoid being decimated. Unfortunately, many companies weren’t able to keep going, closing-up shop & having to lay-off employees.

What happened? The obvious elephant in the room aside, much of the commercial carnage came from a lack of thinking ahead. Projections in business, when done well, do more than just think about earnings & profits years from now. They also think about any hiccups that could come along & derail business as usual.

In other words, you have to think about what can go wrong almost as much as what you hope will go right. Advertising is a major part of this process. The team you’ve assembled has to be able to see what things will be ‘in’ now & years down the line. Moreover, they need to help set goals, both short-term & long-term, as well as consider the best approaches to meet said goals.

Now that 2021 is in full swing, it’s time to consider what creative advertising concepts are on the horizon. For instance:

Mobile Optimization

Like it or not, our phones & tablets have become an integral part of who were are. All aspects of our lives are seemingly tethered to mobile technology. This means that ANY & ALL advertising campaigns MUST include ways in which to reach folks on their screens.

Video

While static images & captions are still big on the social media front, some have found the approach to be a little behind the times. Video in numerous forms has become THE go-to way to get people’s attention. Short-form video, stories, banner ads, and livestreams are perhaps the hottest ways to reach an audience.

Automation

More advertising work is starting to become quite easy to “set & forget”. There was a time when technology hadn’t quite kept, leaving interactions with prospective customers feeling robotic. Nowadays, chatbots & other forms of automated interactions feel more human than ever before.

Personalization

Meeting folks where THEY are is the name of the game. People like to feel they are more than a transaction. As such, making advertising feel more personable engenders higher levels of trust & comfort. 

Social Change

2020 was also a year when our eyes were being opened to the continued strife of many. Businesses, large & small, decided to take stronger stands and be ‘about something’. While not the easiest call to make, this depth of personal outreach & connection is not going away anytime soon.

Are these advertising creative ideas worth investing your resources? Truth be told, that’s a question every business will have to answer for themselves. However, as tough as 2020 was, there is a lot of optimism for this year. A combination of best practices, ingenuity, technology, and a human connection look to the the calling card for 2021. More importantly, it should be calming to know that while changes will be needed, the work isn’t as profound one might think.

Want to work with an Austin advertising agency defining advertising creative in Austin & beyond? Contact MindEcology today.