It's that time of year again... "Nostradamus season." As the new year starts, leaders across marketing and communications have been busy formulating 2023 predictions.

To coincide with a certain football tournament, in December 2022, our digital team in Canada decided to break from tradition by giving every team member the chance to propose a prediction for the year ahead.

Each member of our 32-person team was placed into one of eight groups. Each group had a dedicated theme to base their predictions on, such as social media, ecommerce, gaming, marketing automation, and crypto.

However, letting everyone submit a prediction wasn't our only break from tradition. We also let the team decide and vote on the winners through a series of polls.
 

With voting complete, our eight digital predictions for 2023 are as follows:

1. Big brands will bring influencers in-house to run their social media accounts. It is rumored that Chris Olsen is running the TikTok account for Harry Styles' brand, Pleasing. More brands are expected to follow this trend in 2023, leveraging the platform expertise of influencers by bringing them in-house.
2. Movies and TV shows will move beyond the screen and become more like metaverse games. These media will take advantage of the popularity of gaming and the development of the Metaverse by building immersive experiences in virtual worlds. These experiences will replicate the settings of the movies and TV shows, allowing viewers to feel like they are part of the story.
3. Spotify Live will become available to all users and go mainstream. More fans are expected to tune in to events such as live concerts, Q&As, and podcasts to connect with creators, allowing the platform to compete with other social media apps that have gained popularity with their live features.
4. AI creative and advertising campaigns will go mainstream. Agencies are already utilizing solutions like Dall-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion to augment creative, and an increasing number of independent creatives and content creators are sharing their AI-powered work on social media. In 2023, the role of creative and production in high-profile campaigns will be reimagined, with fashion brands leading the way.
5. Real-time shopping during livestreams, also known as Live Selling, will become a trendy tactic. More retailers will showcase their products through livestreams, allowing customers to ask questions, get answers, and make purchases in real-time. Facebook, Amazon, and Nordstrom are already doing this, so other major players are expected to follow suit.
6. Fintech and traditional payment brands will stop hyping blockchain solutions due to increased government and business scrutiny following the FTX collapse.
7. AI-powered auto-blogging optimized for SEO will break through. AI tools like jarvis.ai are already capable of accurately writing long-form articles with minimal input. In 2023, AI will be integrated with platforms like Ahrefs and Mailchimp to help brands automatically create optimized content to increase organic traffic.
8. Rich video experiences while shopping will go mainstream, bringing the in-store and online experiences closer together. Powered by vendors like Firework, brands are expected to start shooting real-time, TikTok-style product videos for product pages. Ratings and reviews have already been shown to drive sales, especially when a video is involved. Live video on product pages and social channels will provide even more possibilities, especially when leveraging top tier creators who have the power to move product. This is already the norm in Asia, and North America is expected to follow suit.

We hope these predictions and insights will help provide clarity and enable you to move forward with confidence. If you think Edelman could help your brand take advantage of any of these predictions or if you would like to join our team, please get in touch.