Trends in Digital 2019
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The document discusses several digital trends from 2019 including: 1. The shift from focusing on customer experience (CX) to also considering recruit experience (RX) and employee experience (EX) as companies face challenges finding and retaining top talent. 2. The rise of digital ethics as a comprehensive approach for companies to consider how their digital solutions treat users from a privacy, security, accessibility and inclusion, and transparency perspective. 3. The mobile tipping point where mobile usage has surpassed desktop usage for key interactions, driving changes in content strategy and a focus on video and podcast formats.
Trends in Digital 2019
- 1. Presented by 2019 Trends in Digital 5 January 2020
- 2. Each year, we examine the most interesting developments in digital. We look for what’s new. What’s exciting. What’s relevant to our clients and to our work. Confidential 2
- 3. We offer these trends as inspiration for your own ideas and innovation. Confidential 3
- 4. Digital Trends: 2019 Confidential 4 1 From CX to RX & EX 2 Digital Ethics 3 Mobile Tipping Point 4 Digital First Content 5 Searching v. Exploring 6 Going Hi-res 7 Ambient Digital
- 5. From CX to RX & EX Confidential 5
- 6. Recruiting and retaining top talent has never been more challenging. In response, brands are taking a closer look at their recruit and employee experience. Confidential 6
- 7. In the last few years, a fundamental shift has dominated marketers’ perspective on brand. Whereas we once views brand through messaging or psychographic dimensions, marketers are now being urged to think of customer experience as the core of their brand. This shift offered a host of new models, approaches, and tools – from design thinking to customer-journey mapping. In companies that accepted this shift, marketers find themselves newly empowered to curate every customer touchpoint as a brand moment. We’re all Customer Experience (CX) Experts Now Confidential 7 89% 18% Of companies expect to compete based on customer experience Of marketing budgets are dedicated to CX initiatives Source: Gartner for Marketing CMO Survey, 2016 & 2017
- 8. In 2018, a Federal Reserve study declared that the US has reached full employment – basically, the labor market is incapable of operating any more efficiently than it is now. Unemployment is at its lowest rate (3.7%) since 1969. This is making it increasingly difficult for organizations to find and retain talent – particularly at the highest skilled positions. In many leading organizations, CHROS and CTOs are teaming up with CMOs to overhaul not just the outreach to new talent, but the entire quality of the recruiting and employee experience. New Urgency in Recruiting and Talent Confidential 8 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-19/fed-study-of-labor-participation-finds- u-s-at-full-employment
- 9. Executives are now urged to take greater care of their talent/employer brands. It’s perhaps not surprising that the “experience lens” that has proved so effective for attracting and retaining customers is now being applied to recruits and current employees. This has frequently meant taking a more expansive, more strategic look at how key digital touchpoints – LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, public websites, internal tools – articulate the culture and experience of the organizations. For some, it has lead to another level of digital innovation. CX is extended to RX and EX Confidential 9 https://hbr.org/2015/05/ceos-need-to-pay-attention-to-employer-branding
- 10. While most companies use standardized, third-party tools for recruiting in-take and management, top competitors for talent are producing their own sites and apps. Accenture’s onboarding app helps smooth over a complicated transition where talent often feel a disjoint between the organization they experienced during recruiting and the organization they eventually joined. Taking Control of the Onboarding Experience Confidential 10 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/accenture-onboarding/id1269703455?mt=8
- 11. PwC’s Talent Exchange iOS app connects the internal culture to a network of vetted independent talent. PwC can use the exchange to fill gaps in resourcing. Independent talent can use it to explore opportunities, projects, and fill their pipeline with work into the future. They can also connect with each other. Encouraging Talent Connections Confidential 11 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pwc-talent-exchange/id1062078571?mt=8
- 18. In 2018 we witnessed GDPR, record-breaking lawsuits and fines, and multiple corporate scandals. In 2019, Digital Ethics is emerging as a comprehensive response. Confidential 18
- 19. Attention has moved beyond third-party hacks. There is now deep scrutiny by governments, courts, journalists, and users themselves into how digital solutions treat users across several dimensions. Digital Ethics is a comprehensive approach to such issues as: As Gartner has noted, the shift happening now is from a reactive discussion of liability toward an active concern for ethics – from questions like “are we compliant” to “are we doing the right thing.” Smart organizations realize that addressing ethics in the design of their services is the only way to maintain trust. Dimensions of Digital Ethics Confidential 19 Privacy & Security Accessibility & Inclusion Values & Transparency Are we keeping data safe? Are we keeping people safe? Are we designing for everyone? Do we treat all users equally? Are we up-front about what we’re doing? Does it match our values? https://www.gartner.com/doc/3891569?ref=clientFriendlyURL
- 20. The storm around Facebook’s lack of attention to privacy concerns is so overwhelming that some news outlets publish frequently updated “roundups” tracking multiple concurrent stories. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/timeline-facebook-s-privacy-issues-its- responses-n859651 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/dec/14/facebook-privacy-problems- roundup Facebook is far from alone, however. The dubious prize of first major GDPR violation went to Google. https://www.crn.com/news/security/france-hits-google-with-57m-fine-in-first-major-gdpr- violation The Cost of the Reactive Stance Confidential 20
- 21. Though technically only applicable to services delivered in Europe, GDPR’s main policy directives – keeping data safe, keeping data private, and giving people direct control over how data is used – are now core expectations. Many now expect other countries and regions, including the US, to adopt similar regulations. https://www.engadget.com/2019/02/17/gao-gdpr-privacy-laws-us/ Privacy is Relevant Everywhere Confidential 21
- 22. Case law is forcing the US to catch up to Europe in guaranteeing digital access for all persons, including those with disabilities. Access Joins Privacy as an Essential Right Confidential 22 https://www.fastcompany.com/90293399/ninth-circuit-court-dominos-pizza-website-is-bound-by-ada
- 23. Companies are realizing that it’s not just about reactively complying with specific technical standards. A comprehensive approach – aka inclusive design – offers a more solid and more value-aligned foundation for their digital efforts. Inclusive design strives for access across: - Abilities (visual, audio, motion) - Resources (income, digital access) - Geographies - Backgrounds Inclusive Design is Now an Imperative Confidential 23
- 24. Confidential 24
- 28. Mobile drives, or influences, an average of over 40% of revenue in leading B2B organizations Confidential 28https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/experience-design/b2b-marketing-reshaping-growth/
- 29. In the past 10 years, we’ve enjoyed a continuous revolution in mobile design. Mobile websites, mobile apps, responsive design, and progressive web apps (PWAs) have given us more dynamic, better optimized tools for delivering content to small screens. Mobile usage has now caught up to, or in some instances, surpassed desktop usage for key interactions. This tipping point in behavior is driving change not just into design and technology, but into the content strategy itself. The Mobile Tipping Point Confidential 29 https://www.bcg.com/publications/2017/marketing-sales-digital-go-to- market-transformation-mobile-marketing-new-b2b-buyer.aspx
- 30. Digital experience providers now realize that certain kinds of content better suit a mobile context. Whereas a desktop is tuned for consuming large amounts of information, in a specific setting, and connects easily to work; a mobile context best allows focused consumption of one thing at a time, at any point in a person’s day. The two biggest areas of innovation in B2B mobile content – video and audio (podcasting) – actually don’t require new technology of design techniques. But they do require a rethinking of content form and purpose. The Mobile Tipping Point Confidential 30 Desktop Context Mobile Context • Location specific • Location independent • Interactive • Hands-free • Browse larges amounts of data • Focus on one thing at a time • Connected to work • Connected to life
- 31. Video is of course, nothing new. But previous approaches were not focused on the mobile context. They were based either on television interviews (think talking heads) or worse, advertisements. There’s much to find at fault in videos like this send-up from a stock-video house. But the core problem is shared widely: they are essentially content-less. (Pre-) Mobile Video Confidential 31 https://youtu.be/2YBtspm8j8M
- 32. One highly successful new type of video is the “explainer,” a format that is highly consumable on mobile during a commute, in between meetings, etc: - Short (usually < 3 mins) - Illustrated (digital vs video production) - Captioned (not reliant on audio) - Focused on a single concept, idea, or story The Rise of the Explainer Video Confidential 32 https://youtu.be/mbPiAzzGap0
- 33. Many have discovered podcasts as an ideal format for consuming complicated ideas – ones that often struggled to focus on when it arrived as a long-form article. Podcasts also fit nicely into contexts (like a commute) where you can’t look easily at a screen. Rise of Business Podcasts Confidential 33 Supporting information like transcripts, tagging, and offering multiple listening platforms help improve visibility of podcast content and help bridge the desktop-mobile experience.
- 34. Podcasts need not involve a heavy up-front investment. Recording tools are easily available, and most see better success when deployed across multiple (free) platforms. Natively Cross-Platform Confidential 34
- 36. Marketers have sought to add interactivity to their content marketing pieces for years. Now some are rethinking their digital content from the ground-up. Confidential 36
- 37. Content marketers have always for years that long-form copy was a challenge. Design could offer a more comfortable reading experience, but it couldn’t the amount of work required by audiences. In the tight competition for users’ attention, shorter always wins. By making content more interactive, more natively digital, marketers can communicate complex ideas, models, and data sets without forcing users through a marathon of paragraphs. Interactive pieces are also easier and more effectively marketed across channels like social and mobile. Many look to leading examples like McKinsey’s 5/50 publication series for inspiration. Bye, bye PDF Confidential 37
- 38. New interactive content tools and marketing services seek to make McKinsey-like approaches accessible to organizations of all sizes and industries, without a lot of coding. Content Design Tools Make Interactivity Accessible Confidential 38
- 43. Confidential 43 A templated approach has challenges. Even McKinsey’s pieces can lack distinctiveness after a short while. After the initial visual hook, they often lead to the same long articles and/or PDFs.
- 44. Some of the best examples in digital-first content is coming from unexpected sources. Confidential 44
- 47. Confidential 47
- 48. New Approach, New Roles In a standard approach, a content pieces moves from skillset to skillset at is proceeds through a staged process. A digital approach breaks down roles and stages. It also introduces new skills. Teams collaborate throughout. Writing Editing Design Sign-off Publication Analysis Expert, Writer Editor, Writer Designer Editor, Expert Marketer Marketer Digital Editor + Expert, Writer, Designer, Front-end Developer, Marketer Ideation Creation EditingDistribution Measure Lots of back- and-forth (Coordinated writing, design, and coding)
- 50. Search dominates how we begin most digital experiences. But brands are now more careful about how we rely on search to get users to where they want to go. Confidential 50
- 51. 2017
- 52. 2019
- 53. Many content-heavy sites followed the lead of online retailers by putting search front-and- center. These experiences represent significant investment: technology must be purchased, filters and controls must be designed, and the results continually optimized and refined. But here’s the reality: users don’t like search- forward interfaces. At least, not when they aren’t yet sure what you have. Our own website is (perhaps ironically) a good example of this trend. The blog search accounts for only 1.5% of pageviews. Why Do We Make People Work? Confidential 53 Pretty much no one uses all this functionality.
- 54. Amazon, who appropriately leads with search in its main retail site, chose an exploration-focused experience for its corporate blog. A simple keyword search is still available. But the primary metaphor is a digital magazine, supported by a clear hierarchy of featured and supporting articles, multiple discovery mechanisms, simple tagging, and a clean reading experience. Leaning into Exploration Confidential 54
- 55. BCG, McKinsey, and other professional service organizations that market primarily with thought leadership have followed a similar path, encouraging browsing over searching. Experts Agree Confidential 55
- 57. Of course, SEO and external search still matters. More than ever. A big driving factor is the browser experience – all major browsers have integrated search into the address bar, making portals, bookmarks, and landing pages essentially obsolete. * External SEO Still Matters Confidential 57 https://moz.com/blog/write-for-seo-2018
- 59. A new generation of ultra high-resolution displays across devices is driving the use of new visual treatments and techniques Confidential 59
- 60. Unlike in previous years, the biggest changes in display technology are not in their size, but in their resolution and pixel density. Howsoever they’re labelled – 4K, 5K, 8K, “Retina,” etc. – high-res screens are now standard across all device types, including TVs, desktops, laptops and mobile phones. Pixels are now small enough to be invisible to the human eye, rivalling the smoothness of print. Designers have definitely taken notice. The Rise of Hi-Res Confidential 60 Your college computer Your first iPhone Old flat-screen TV your kids use to watch YouTube Brand-new monitor at work Neighbor’s “man cave” TV you secretly want
- 61. Type treatments previously avoided – serifed fonts, thin weights, extreme modulations – can now be used as beautifully in digital as they are in print. It’s not just about having new design options. For some organizations, it’s the key to full visual alignment between their print and online brands. Refined Typography Confidential 61
- 64. Custom Interaction Effects Higher pixel density also leads to smoother, more refined micro-interactions. Subtle changes to the cursor, line weights, typography, and buttons visually reward the user for continued engagement.
- 65. High-resolution displays show their full power when used for immersive experiences Confidential 65
- 69. Leading brands don’t just align analog and digital. They integrate them into a single, cohesive experience. Confidential 69
- 70. Our digital lives have now become so pervasive, so portable, and so ubiquitous that the most innovative brands are exploring immersive experiences that blend analog and digital touchpoints so seamlessly that the difference no longer makes sense. By leveraging location-specific (or location-aware) technology like touch kiosks, voice assistants, mobile devices, VR and AR, brands can create experiences where people interact with a environment, not a device. Ambient Experiences Confidential 70 “This multiexperience environment will create an ambient experience in which the spaces that surround us define ‘the computer’ rather than the individual devices” - Gartner, Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019
- 71. One of the easiest first steps in creating an ambient experience is the introduction of kiosks and interactive screens into an environment. Kiosks & Device Integration Confidential 71 Mcdonald’s kiosks haven’t cut jobs, but they have cut error rates. Taco Bell’s kiosks are design to improve traffic flow and overall experience. BT’s new kiosks will never be as well loved as the iconic phone booth, but they offer fast wifi, free charging, and location-specific information
- 72. Amazon Go stores are low on kiosks, but they are integrated into digital in less obvious ways. People scan in using their phones. Items they select are tracked using sensors or beacons inside the products. No need to check out – after you exit your Amazon account is charged and you receive the receipt by email.
- 73. Online retailers like IKEA and Houzz have each released mobile apps that integrate their online stores, physical stores, and your own home. The apps use AT technology now built into iOS and Android to “place” furniture items like rugs, sofas, and chairs into an image of your own room. It even lets you move to view the object from different angles.
- 74. In the New York Times Daily 360 videos, the content itself is projected into the video. There’s no interruption in consumption between copy and image. You can move your device to explore the area around you. The sound on the file is an ambient recording.