Ten marketing trends for 2007 include more smart-comedy packaging of Web sites, sales meetings, PR programs a la Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show,” but consumers will read fewer blogs, predicts Foghound, a communications strategy firm.
Foghound says that smaller, more intimate virtual web worlds will spring up as a response to the online digital world Second Life, which now boasts 2.23 million members. Private branded virtual worlds will allow marketers to connect more directly with customers and gather new customer data and insights. Also, delivery of TV news will be affected by the success of the “Daily Show”, which has taken viewers from establishment network newscasts.
Also, the growth of blogs will slow as people narrow down their daily reading and posting to blogs; blog participation slowed in 2006 after five years of growth, Foghound said. Business intelligence will benefit from new technology that cn analyze unstructured data such as call center notes, blog postings and e-mail exchanges.
