My first blog ever early in 2012 was on the topic of my presentation at the Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) conference in Chicago, Peaking into the Future, Top 7 Social Media Trends in Multicultural Marketing. How did I do against my predictions? I give myself a “B” grade since most predictions became trends and were fulfilled in one way or the other.
But there was at least one big miss: Increased use of languages, e.g. Spanish. It is still difficult to properly alternate writing in English and Spanish in most of the digital world. Language options are limited, and assume a single language preference since shifting between languages at will is rather difficult. With global innovation taking a leading role in 2013 (e.g. China will have more smart phone users than the U.S.), I hope that multi-language options in the digital/mobile world will become easier.
The original trends were:
Key Social Media Trends for 2012 with a global perspective
This year I only going to predict four trends as it relates to multicultural marketing.
- Corporations will continue to wrestle with the best way to embrace multicultural marketing throughout their organizations as part of their core strategy, operations, marketing and financial measurements. Both progress and confusion are expected but ‘siloed’ approaches are to change.
- Hispanics, whether U.S. born or not, will continue to grow at accelerated rates than the rest of the population, even as their fertility rates slow down and immigration rates become near zero. Asians will continue to grow faster than the rest of the population due to immigration. African American growth rates will stay similar to last years’. Together, these groups will continue to comprise about 90% of the U.S. growth in population.
- The democratization powers inherent to digital media and technology will continue to open doors for increased participation in politics and in business by diverse groups. This has implications in marketing, new product development, and community communications strategies. A generally young group (average age of 29 years versus 39+ years for the rest of the population), Hispanics, African-Americans and Asians segments will continue to be heavily involved in e-commerce, social media, digital technologies and entertainment.
- Expect the rise of the ‘new’ Latina women. With studies showing that Latina women earn only 69 cents on a dollar versus men, new awareness of their role is expected. With increased level of education attainment, and inspired by women progress in general, Latinas will start challenging old preconceptions and become a ‘force to be reckoned with”. Just ask thousands of ‘blogueras’ and new small entrepreneurs.
Latina Women Earn 60 Cents for Every Dollar Paid to Men
A Latina nurse assists a patient. (Jose Luis Pelaez/Getty Images) ABC News/Univision
For more trends and predictions, please browse through the following top 10 trends lists in technology, marketing, global business and consumer behavior that I have compiled for your perusal. Be cognizant that the lines between predictions and trends are getting blurry as the pace of innovation and big data analysis accelerates.
- http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2013/01/22562.html#.UPQiqlDHnFs.twitter Trend Spotting moves to a third dimension. By IBM, now a trend-spotter?
- JWT 2013 and Beyond; 100 Things to Watch http://www.jwtintelligence.com/2013-and-beyond/
- Consumer Marketing: TrendWatching.com http://consumergoods.edgl.com/trends/10-Crucial-Consumer-Trends-for-201384149 10 Crucial Consumer Trends
- The Economist: Key events/anniversaries for 2013 http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2013/01/year-ahead-landmarks-edition?fsrc=scn%2Ftw%2Fte%2Fbl%2Fupforgrabs
- Advertising Age: What to expect in the Ad and Marketing Category http://adage.com/article/news/ahead-2013-challenges-predictions-marketers/239008/
- Marketing:
- Fast Co. – “The Can’t-Miss Social Media Trends For 2013″
- ragan.com – “7 content marketing trends to watch for 2013″
- Exact Target – “Inspired Marketing Predictions for 2013″
- Business 2 Community – “2013 Medical Marketing Predictions”
- Social Media Today – “2013 Digital Marketing Predictions”
7. Advertising Age: Global Markets http://adage.com/article/global-news/10-things-global-market/238683/
8. The Futurist : 2013 and Beyond Scientific trends: http://adage.com/article/global-news/10-things-global-market/238683/
9. Gartner Top Technology Predictions for 2013 and beyond http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWDo8AK5Dg4
10. Technology Design Trends by FrogDesign http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1iMq7g/designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/20-tech-trends-for-2013.html
Major mainstream predictions will apply to multicultural segments, with a cultural ‘twist’. How ready is your company to identify and relate to cultural influences ‘twists’?
¡Felicidades! Happy 2013!
