12 Trends for 2015

What Marketers Should Be

Thinking About in Digital
A Beyond Report

Introduction
Whats in this report?

How to use it?

In this report we will cover 12 trends we think will shape digital in

We have divided these trends into timely priorities (Trends to Prepare

2015. In 2014 we saw marketing spend big on technology, a sharper

for Now) and longer-term priorities (Trends to Start Thinking About).

focus on user experience design, and a resulting shortage in good UX

designers. As predicted, 2014 was the year mobile finally became the
primary way people consume digital in the US and UK. In 2015,
successful marketing will become more dependent on the effective use
of technology, but marketing technologists will need to better
understand the human dimension of the experiences they digitise.
They will also need to think more clearly about "little data" - and how
brands can create more user value from the highly personal data they
generate online. Lastly, all of this will be delivered through new user
interfaces on devices we don't even have names for today. These broad
themes are brought to life in the following 12 trends that will shape
2015.

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Summary:
The 12 Trends

Strong image strategies will drive better conversion rates:

smart brands will optimise for the growing image economy that is
driving the shift to a visual web.

Bare your data, innovate faster: APIs and open data

streams allow for faster and cheaper innovation, creating
more value for users and boosting brand love in return.

Buying on mobile will be better than on a PC: 2015 will see

m-commerce benefit from UI and payment integration
improvements that will make buying on mobiles mainstream.

User Interfaces will simplify as everything becomes

connected: in a world of mobiles and wearables, UIs will simplify
dramatically, and Android/iOS changes will force developers to
rethink how services are delivered to users.

In-store digital experiences will revolutionise commerce:

2015 will see in-store digital experiences becoming more

Consumers will recognise their data value: the backlash

against the collection of consumer data is growing and brands

common, with online e-commerce leaders moving into physical

need to prove value and transparency or face being overlooked in

spaces, sparking new innovations.

favour of more trusted brands.

Sensors will drive super-smart, proactive products: Our

mobiles are now packed with sensors giving developers the

10

opportunity to use new personal data streams to mesh peoples

Your phone will become smarter than you: mobile

services will use more contextual information to begin
anticipating user needs before users have them.

physical and digital experiences.

Brands will still struggle to embrace digital: digital

transformation is a key priority for brands, but without genuine

11

investment from the C-suite, initiatives will struggle to make

Your data will do your work for you: brands will increasingly
make behavioural data available to customers to aid them in their
decision-making.

an impact.

Companies will waste money assimilating big data: deriving

insights from big data has underappreciated pitfalls that will
disappoint many.

12

Automated marketing won't be good enough: as marketing

becomes increasingly technology-driven, brands are increasingly
at risk of losing the human touch.

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

- Hal Varian, Google

Strong image strategies will

drive better conversion rates

Creation, engagement, and sharing of images

driving transition to a visual web

Creation

Engagement with brands

- Hal Varian,Photos
Google
taken in 1998:

8 Billion

Photos taken in 2014 (est.):

880 Billion

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Sharing

Images shared per day in 2014:

Engagement Rate

1.8 Billion - 150%

Instagram
Facebook

increase from 2013 and

Twitter
G+
0

0.4

0.8

1.2

1.6

515%

increase from 2012

Sources: Kodak, Yahoo, L2,Kleiner Perkins

1. Strong image
strategies will
drive better
conversion rates

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Whats the trend?

In 2015 brands need to think about visual optimisation of their content.
Images communicate ideas at least 20 times faster than text (Potter et al,
Kriegl et al) and consumers are far more inclined to click through to
content which includes high quality images of their products and services.

Where are we seeing it ?

According to Bing, nearly 10% of all organic searches are for images, and
40% of all search results contain some kind of visual component. By
September 2014, image search traffic had a conversion rate 11% higher than
non-image organic search traffic.

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

- Hal Varian, Google

Bare your data, innovate faster

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Explosive use of web services which

brings plugnplay innovation based on
combining data streams is key to
driving fast new innovation
- Hal Varian, Google
Combinatorial Innovation:

14000
10500
7000
3500

APIs

0
2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

Combine and recombine internet

components in ways that create totally
new innovations
Hal Varian, Google

2. Bare your data,

innovate faster

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Where are we seeing it ?

We will see more companies following the example of Uber, which
opened its API and allowed partners like Starbucks, Time Out and
TripAdvisor to build on its functionality. Users can now see pickup

Whats the trend?

We will see brands achieve competitive advantage over their rivals by

times and fare estimates on these apps, rather than having to open the
Uber app evidently, shared data has improved functionality and
user convenience.

opening their data and functionality APIs up to the developer

community. This digital trend counters the traditional closed R&D
approach taken by offline brands for the last 100 years.

Open API

Build on
Functionality

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Buying on mobile will be

better than on a PC

3. Buying on
mobile will be
better than on
a PC

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Whats the trend?

NFC mobile payments are finally here on both Android and IOS. But the biggest
m-commerce breakthrough might come with Apple Pays eventual
incorporation into Safari on the iPhone. This would allow people to purchase
items seen on screen with a single fingerprint, removing the hassle of entering
credit card numbers and customer details.

Where are we seeing it ?

Mobile device conversion rates for e-commerce have long lagged those on PCs
with smartphone conversion rates often reported at a 1/3 of that of desktops.
Conversion rates for smartphone on mobile optimised sites are 160% higher
than on non-optimised equivalent. We expect to see UI and payment
integration improvements coming in 2015 to further increase this differential.

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

User interfaces will simplify

as everything becomes
connected

New devices, new UIs

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Micro-interactions

Glanceable UI

Hyper personalised moments that

Providing the minimal required

are easy to action with instant

information to elicit a

gratification

meaningful action

4. User Interfaces
will simplify as
everything
becomes
connected

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Whats the trend?

As more things become connected to the Internet featuring a wide range of
non-standard displays and interfaces (from smart watches to Oculus Rift
glasses), brands will need to re-think how they present information and deliver
services to users across these devices.

Where are we seeing it ?

Mobile design has already started moving in the direction of greater
simplicity. Glanceable user interfaces such as bite-size cards lend themselves
to smaller devices and take friction out of user interactions. Both Apple and
Android are redesigning their operating systems around the concept of
notifications that will let users fully engage with their surroundings without
the need to open an app.

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

In-store digital experiences

will revolutionise commerce

5. In-store digital
experiences will
revolutionise
commerce

Trend To
Prepare For
Now

Whats the trend?

With previously online-only brands such as Amazon, E-Bay and FourSquare
starting to expand their offering into brick and mortar high street locations,
the in-store retail experience will become increasingly driven by technology
in 2015.

Where are we seeing it ?

Mirrors that double as massive touch screens can assimilate personal data and
suggest complementary "looks" and accessories to the clothing you try on in
front of them. Stores will recognise users of the brands mobile app as they
enter, allowing staff to offer a more tailored service. As omni-channel retailing
enters the mainstream, it will set the standard for more traditional high street
brands who are playing catch-up on building their e-commerce offerings.

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Sensors will drive supersmart, proactive products

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

The Wireless World

Types of sensors used in

Research organisation

smartphones:

predicts

7 trillion

sensors by 2017.

at least

14

6. Sensors will
drive supersmart, proactive
products
Whats the trend?

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Where are we seeing it ?

Gartner predicts that by 2017, smartphone sensors will reduce the costs of
diabetic care by 10%, while by 2020, wireless health monitoring
technology is expected to increase life expectancy in the developed world
by six months. Beyond this, we are already seeing non-health related
brands innovate within this space. Microsofts Septimu will use heart
rate, temperature, and other biorhythm sensors to work in conjunction
with a pair of earbuds. The associated mobile app called Musical Heart
will select the most appropriate music based on the users mood informed
by the Septimu sensors.
The Chinese search-engine Baidu is launching smart chopsticks that
can detect oils containing contamination - an appealing prospect to a

We can expect to find sensors in everything from smart watches to

patches on our skin, gathering data on heart rate, sweat composition and
body temperature in real time. In 2015, brands will add huge value by
tapping into sensor-gathered data. These sensors will be used far beyond
health and fitness brands to provide experiences that are personalised
through sensors.

country beset with food safety scandals.

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Brands will still struggle to

embrace digital

7. Brands will
still struggle to
embrace digital

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Whats the trend?

Without more direct and deep involvement from the C-suite and a
willingness to adopt experimental approaches to digital development,
many companies will fail to adapt.

Where are we seeing it ?

In established companies, digital is too often a function, department or a
specialty, and therefore removed from core business strategy. Its rare
that CFOs and CEOs are deeply involved in digital initiatives in fact,
Gartner has predicted that by 2016, 50% of digital transformation
initiatives will be unmanageable due to internal skills gaps.

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

- Hal Varian, Google

Companies will waste money

assimilating big data

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

By 2020 there will be 50 Billion things

exchanging 40,000,000,000 terabytes of data

- Hal Varian, Google

Will this greatly increase our ability to glean insights or

will the data overwhelm us?

8. Companies will
waste money
assimilating big
data

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Where are we seeing it ?

As Nate Silver (author of The Signal and The Noise) puts it, with very
large data sets you start seeing more spurious correlations, more false
positives, and erroneous answers. If the quantity of information is
increasing by 2.5 quintillion bytes per day, the amount of useful
information almost certainly isnt. Along the same lines, machine
learning guru Michael Joran has predicted an epidemic of false
positives coming out of big-data projects. In 2014 alone, big data
accounted for nearly $30 billion of investment its likely to cost
companies even more in 2015 with many businesses struggling to

Whats the trend?

In 2015, its possible well see disappointing results from big data
initiatives, as companies use the technology in the search for new
insights, but without the right expectations or scientific approach.

achieve real value from the investment.

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Consumers will recognise

their data value

9. Consumers
will recognise
their data value

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Where are we seeing it ?

In a recent Beyond study for HP, we found that only 18% of people say they
feel comfortable sharing data with companies in return for a personalised
experience. However, when given insight into how they can improve their own
lives such as with popular fitness trackers like FitBit people are more than
happy to supply personal data. There are now hundreds of self-tracking apps
available, many with millions of users - such as Check (10 million users;

Whats the trend?

personal finance tracking) and Azumio (7 million users; health tracking). This
shows there is huge appetite to share even sensitive personal data as long as
there is a clear value exchange - but with that comes an equally huge

Consumers have accepted the adage that if you dont pay for a
product, you are a product, and continue to adopt free services like
Facebook in their droves. Nonetheless, new networks like Whisper and
Ello promise not to track users and their success shows that
consumers are increasingly wary of their personal data being
misused. Companies need to promote greater transparency and give
consumers more direct control of their data, or face more backlash.

responsibility to not breach trust.

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

10

Your phone will become

smarter than you

10. Your phone

will become
smarter than you

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Whats the trend?

Context is everything. And your mobile phone is becoming increasingly aware
of context, sensing and reacting to changes in its environment - from weather,
to traffic, to the time of day. Companies are increasingly using contextual
design to create smarter products that understand the full story around the
user in order to bring them exactly what they need, when they need it, possibly
before they even know they need it.

Where are we seeing it ?

Whether its an automatic notification that youll be late for a meeting because
of traffic or a notification that you have run out of milk when you enter a
supermarket, your digital devices will anticipate your needs before the needs
are needed. The possibilities are endless.

11

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Your data will do your work

for you

Key forces driving this trend:

Machine learning
Collaborative filtering
Predictive analytics
Quantified self
On-demand and cheap(ish) technology

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

11. Your data will

do your work for
you
Whats the trend?

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

Where are we seeing it ?

Amazon recommends products you should look at next, OKCupid pairs
you with algorithmically compatible partners, and Google anticipates
what youre about to search for so why cant traditional, brick and
mortar brands start doing the same with their online experiences? By
exposing analytics data intelligently, digital experiences will only
become better, delivering increased value for both brand and customer.
And with new simple, low-cost predictive APIs like BigML and Google
Prediction API its easier than ever to start experimenting now.

Algorithms - such as predictive analytics - have helped brands guess

what you might buy, based on the traits you share with people like you.
Over the past few years weve seen brands using this to target people
with promotional offers based on their shopping patterns and
preferences. But a few companies have pioneered the use of these
algorithms to solve customer needs online by exposing user analytics to
help with decision-making. Users are being increasingly conditioned to
expect websites to automatically learn and anticipate what they need,
automatically suggesting personalised solutions.

Trend To
Start Thinking
About

12

Automated marketing won't

be good enough

12. Automated
marketing won't
be good enough

Trend To
Start Thinking
About
Targeting users repeatedly with the same ads regardless of where the
user is in the buying journey shows how easy it will be for automation
to go wrong. In 2015, more brands will see the value of ensuring
automation is designed and quality-controlled by humans, who can use
expert insight and informed planning to ensure promotional messages fit
into the greater overall customer experience. Otherwise, the benefits of
automation could easily be outweighed by the damage done through
annoying, inappropriate and irrelevant marketing.

Where are we seeing it ?

Whats the trend?
In recent years, marketers have invested huge amounts in various forms
of automated marketing but as with all automation, theres a danger of
losing the human touch.

A recent study by RAPP and InSkin Media shows that over half of
consumers are put off buying products or services if they see the same ad
reappearing multiple times online.

About Beyond

Beyond is an experience design agency that creates

digital products and services for companies. We create
the experiences that define your brand by removing
friction from the customer journey.
Beyond believes in innovation through iteration and collaboration with our clients
and users because products are the living expression of the brands we build.

The company was started in 2010 and now employs 85 people with three offices,
San Francisco, New York and London. Our client list includes Apple, Google,
Novartis, Virgin, UBS, Facebook, Instagram, Sainsburys, HP, Amadeus, Hersheys
and Viacom amongst others.
In 2012 Beyond was recognized by Marketing Magazines Revolution Awards as
the Best Start Up citing our "innovative approach to digital" and growth rate as
key factors in winning the award. In 2014, Beyond was shortlisted in Data
Storytelling and Online Marketing by Marketing Weeks Data Strategy Awards for
our work with Virgin and shortlisted twice for the 18th Annual Webby Awards:
Virgin.com and Google.

Contact details

San Francisco

New York

London

Matt Ilie
GM San Francisco

Matt Basford
GM New York

Charlie Lyons
GM London

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USA
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E: london@bynd.com

Thanks for reading.

This trend report was brought to you by the research and strategy team at Beyond as
part of our ongoing work to help create a world without friction.
www.bynd.com