[BizTrends 2016] The mobile gamechanger

We're interested to monitor whether mobile catches up or overtakes desktop in online payments. This will be a gamechanger because it will mean that South Africans are becoming more and more comfortable sending money not only online, but also on mobile phones.

Also, Facebook as an online platform - we're interested to see how their shares perform as they diversify their advertising platform and what that means for online advertising as a whole.

Programmatic

Online media buying is changing monthly - programmatic media buying is definitely a trend to watch as clients will push agencies and media buyers to minimise wastage and increase value for money when driving leads and engagements. Gone are the days of 'Oh look it's on Facebook, job done'. Results are the new differentiator between who's competent and who's not.

Video

Video on mobile is our gamechanger trend for 2016. With Facebook's auto-play on video, consumption has increased by over 60%. Facebook is also now the largest platform in the world for video viewing. What this means for dynamic content and Facebook/Instagram adverts is going to be interesting. Static imagery alone isn't going to cut it in 2016.

Because digital changes constantly, the possibilities change too. We're going to encourage our team to push the boundaries and explore digital beyond just the obvious channels and tools that lie in front of us. How do we create campaigns that integrate the things in our lives? That's going to be a challenge.

I'd like to see more creative campaigns that push the envelope and challenge the industry as a whole to become better.

Digital spend

Invest your budgets in what really matters. At the end of the day, what really matters is business, otherwise why are we marketing anyway? Maximise digital spend because therein lies your best option for qualified leads.