Few people, in marketing or elsewhere, had heard of a nonfungible token prior to the start of 2021. Now, the tech is inescapable and appears primed to remain ubiquitous in 2022. The meteoric rise of NFTs and all things metaverse over the past 12 months speaks to a period where new digital concepts have taken hold at a remarkable rate. Meanwhile, already budding tactics — from connected TV to TikTok (the latter of which surpassed Google as the most-visited site this year) — continued to gain traction amid an ad market rebound that's outpaced that of the general economy.
Below, Marketing Dive has assembled its biggest trends stories of 2021. These pieces reflect an industry undergoing intense transformation in the face of changing mandates around ad targeting, cultural resonance and agency leadership. They serve as a bellwether for what will set the agenda as marketers map out strategies for a rocky — and surely exciting — road ahead.
As always, thanks for reading.
Peter Adams
Reporter, Marketing Dive
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Deep Dive
Consumer appetites for NFTs remain niche, but the format could serve as an important experiment if the metaverse ever takes off.
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Deep Dive
Marketers face pressure to address a history of propping up gender roles that were woven into the cultural fabric by agencies in the "Mad Men" era.
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There is no one-size-fits-all solution for agencies looking across categories and brands, said the head of investment and activation at GroupM's Wavemaker.
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Deep Dive
Executives at Advertising Week spoke about the opportunity connected TV presents despite persistent issues with fragmentation and measurement.
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Deep Dive
An emergence of "asynchronous buyers" like Yum Brands and Walmart speaks to how marketers are asserting more control in the face of an uncertain future.
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The burger chain's celebrity tie-ups are a key part of driving app downloads and expanding membership in its new mobile-based loyalty program.
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Several channels previously viewed as less popular, including mobile gaming and music streaming, saw gains amid the pandemic's radical shift to digital.
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Deep Dive
Through cookie alternatives and lessons learned from past digital marketing efforts, brands can hit reset on privacy in the metaverse.
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Rolling out ahead of the holidays and leveraging The Trade Desk's expertise, the DSP serves as a major test of whether the retailer can scale in ad tech.
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Deep Dive
Shaq, Ryan Reynolds, Tony Hawk and Dwayne Johnson are putting their star power behind marketing agencies that are more than just vanity projects.
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