Published on April 14, 2023
Do you end your day with a look ahead? For me, a relaxing evening or weekend is a game of trend-spotting. I wander through websites, magazines, e-books and podcasts looking for inspiration. Fresh revelations keep me sharp and drive our marketing campaigns in new directions. Ideas are like a fireworks show—lots of pop and sparkle leading to a grand finale, the Big Idea.
Our team created this report for our newsletter with mental stimulation in mind. In this quarterly update, we share our findings to help you raise your innovative game. Communicators must stay externally focused, and these trends help guide us as we break through the clutter.
I level up my innovation game by connecting the dots across categories. Purpose is my thing. Our work builds brands and reputations. It’s not about a particular cause or agenda; rather, it’s about taking what a company does best and connecting it to what consumers genuinely care about.
Take a quick look at what we have found. I am sure any marketing professional will be able to find something of value here. Full disclosure: We love content that provides lots of case examples to learn from.
Purpose-Driven Campaigns: 7 Themes That Matter
Drawing lessons from 2022 marketing trends and best practices, combined with developments during the first quarter of 2023, we share the seven Big Ideas your team might want to explore as they develop new campaigns in the coming year or next planning cycle.
You’d be right to expect environment and equity campaigns, but others will surprise you. Find out more about these purpose campaign themes.
Best of 2022 Set Stage for 2023 Trends
Social Media Campaigns. Social media moves individuals and the world. We’ve highlighted the top 50 social media campaigns of 2022 with embeds to each campaign for further reading. You’ll also find further insights on trends to watch for in the second quarter of 2023 and beyond. (Note: This one will take a while to load, but it’s worth it!)
Purpose Campaigns: Our Top 50. Purpose campaigns broke records in 2022, and will continue to score in 2023, because they address issues that people genuinely care about. We have aggregated the 50 best purpose campaigns of 2022. (Note: Scroll down to where the campaign examples start—50 great ones.)
Corporate Purpose Statements Still Thriving. While more companies have embraced corporate purpose, many have still failed to take the purpose leap. If you lead or work for one of the many companies still on the fence, you may find the inspiration you need by taking a look at purpose statements from Fortune 500 companies.
ESG Marketing Will Take Center Stage
We believe that environmental, social and governance is one of the most under-marketed areas of opportunity for corporations. Currently, reports are being created for an investor audience and rarely tie in the marketing departments to present the content seriously to the public. In my many conversations with some of the nation’s leading strategic consultants, I have found that they share this concern.
Here are some helpful resources for marketing professionals interested in ESG:
- Collected ESG reports of Fortune 500 firms (Note: Only reports that include “ESG” in their anchor link are included in this list).
- What Is ESG Marketing? This blog offers a primer on ESG marketing and what companies can do to communicate their social impact.
- Why ESG Marketing Should Incorporate Crisis Communication Plans. This blog details the relationship between crisis comms and ESG, and explains what firms can do to make sure they are prepared to respond quickly to crises and criticisms.
DEI Reporting Is on the Rise. Believe It.
More corporations have begun to recognize that ESG transparency trumps non-disclosure—even if the news or results are bad. Just look at the latest DEI reports from Fortune 500 companies. Study them and learn how to package your information. Your results may not be perfect. Still, share with the world what you are doing, your goals and that you care. A DEI report is critical to the organization, its employees, recruiting prospects and your ability to successfully navigate the marketing of your portfolio. Use this opportunity to focus your internal communication team on accomplishing three things:
- Celebrate your DEI goal-setting, progress and commitment to accountability.
- Arm your recruiters and interviewees with Q&A on this report.
- Sign up a diverse PR firm to advise and build your reputation here carefully and authentically.
Why SVB Matters: A B2B/B2C Stress Test
Will the run on Silicon Valley Bank speed changes in the economy? The collapse of the venture-focused financial institution has broad implications for startup marketing, business-to-business public relations and business resilience. We review a Harvard webinar that looks beyond the headlines.
Our Best Finds on Marketing Trends and Tools
Want to Learn More? For those tacticians out there, here are a few resources that might help you up your marketing game.
- What Are the Top Digital Marketing Trends for 2023? (Digital Marketing Institute)
- Top 7 AI Trends to Watch Out For in 2023 (Silicon Republic)
- Metaverse and Web3 Marketing Glossary: Key Terms Brands Need to Know (Ad Age)
- The Best User-Generated Content Examples & Ideas (Meltwater)
- The Future 100: 2023 (Wunderman Thompson)
- Here’s What Marketers Need to Know About GPT-4 (The Drum)
Please send us your favorites. We love to learn.
Our Favorite Books: Of course, our own writing made the list, but we included a few more.
- ADAPT: Scaling Purpose in a Divided World
- ALL Report: Culture, Diversity, Leadership – Stop Talking and Execute
- The Urgent Life by Bozoma Saint John
- Traffic Secrets by Russell Brunson
- Influence by Robert Cialdini
Happy trending,
Diane
