Marketing Trends I Expect to See in 2023
Featured: Discord’s new Creator Portal where influencers can now earn money
“That is so last season” is a sentence baked into every It-Girl’s vernacular, and each season, companies across all industries (fashion, makeup, design, etc.) are racing to determine what said It-Girl will think is so in and so out. Will it be micro-bags or lazily-slung shoulder baguette purses? A cultural resurgence of Art Nouveau or Dadaism? TikTok or BeReal? Needless to say, trend forecasting is a sought-after area of work. It’s a profession that somehow demands people accurately predict the future for companies to design and sell in alignment with what’s currently cool, and ultimately maximize sales. Recognizable names in the trend forecasting industry are WGSN (fashion) and K-Hole (fashion/art and inventors of the term ‘normcore’ that gripped the fashion blogosphere with an iron fist).
Of course, even this year there were pop culture moments that could not have been predicted by even the niftiest of data acquisition: Lindsay Lohan’s Hollywood renaissance (welcome back, newly crowned Hallmark Queen), the Balenciaga advertisement scandal (can you believe an entire creative team thought that was a good idea?!), Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, The multi-layered awkwardness of the Don’t Worry Darling press tour, and of course queer women lusting after Emma D’Arcy’s “A Negroni sbagliato...with prosecco in it” to the point where it took over TikTok. But, still, we try to predict what will consume our daily conversations, link shares and memes. For if we can predict the trends, we can also predict how shoppers will spend their money.
Now, I work in marketing for a lifestyle brand. I consider myself a writer first and foremost but my adoration for all things business development has led to a job where I have the task of balancing creating writing with business strategizing. All that to say, upcoming marketing trends affect the way I do my work and thus are things I pay close attention to.
So, without further ado, here are my predictions for 2023 marketing trends:
Long-form Video Content Taking Centre Stage
Featured: Emma Chamberlain—YouTuber with 11.9 Million Subscribers—taking followers around Venice.
We’ve been repeatedly sold this narrative that the young generation has the attention span of a thimble, and this year’s short video boom fed into that. In particular, we saw countless aspirational videos (travel, design, fashion), trending interview clips, ‘asking a stranger’ interviews in the streets, bite-size comedy specials and book reviews, all predominantly spanning between 10 - 15 seconds in length. (Of course, countless other micro trends were occupying TikTok and Instagram, but the important takeaway is that they were bite-size, feeding into this ‘less is more’ marketing concept.) All that to say, people are always looking for ‘what’s new’ and after several years of short video content, I believe we are all craving content that will go deeper, explore topics more thoroughly and overall be of greater value. While some people may produce longer videos on TikTok or in Instagram Reels, I think what we will be seeing a lot of is TikTok and Instagram being the teaser content and creators pushing their followers to their YouTube channels or blogs (not me over here breaking the fourth wall!) for a more in-depth exploration of their topic of choice.
2. Bon Voyage! to Photo Dumps of Aesthetic Randomness
Featured: a photo carousel on Alexandra Yvette’s Instagram account, which includes a photo of a tissue with lipstick stains and the inside of a cluttered purse, among others.
It is too much. I can’t scroll that far to see a blurry photo of your bathmat followed by an unrequested photo of your coffee mug and an unedited street pick with no subject in the foreground, plus 7 more photos along a similar only-vibes-and-no-actual-sense vein. I would be sorry but I am not. It is time to move beyond this “I’m so authentic” strategy that is just a colossal time suck for the viewers of said photo dumps. And, guess what? I think most people are feeling tired of this trend too. I predict this use of Instagram will be out this year and instead people will be gravitating towards consuming content that has value either because it teaches them something or explores a topic in a new, interesting way.
3. TikTok Fashion Commentary as the Newfound Fashion Bloggers
Featured: Amy Odell, Founder of The Cut and author of Anna, on her TikTok account discussing Anna Wintour’s first Vogue Cover.
While Rookie and Repeller (formerly Man Repeller) will live on in our hearts, video is the future (or present, let’s be real) and fashion commentary—or, high-browed judgement on articles of clothing—has always been an integral part of the cyclical nature of that industry. For, to determine if a clothing ensemble is cool, one must judge it. Where that place of judgement transpires has evolved with marketing trends. Pre-Internet it was in magazine articles when Vogue reigned supreme and André Leon Talley, Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington walked the streets of New York as if they were royalty. (Leon Talley wearing literal capes to evoke said regalness, no less.) Then, of course, the internet came knocking and soon YouTubers like Bryan Boy and bloggers like Rookie’s Tavi Gevinson were seated front row at fashion week. (Does anyone else remember the moment went Gevinson’s sky-high bow/headband obstructed the view of many an A-list fashion editor? I mean, ICONIC.) Soon, fashion bloggers began formalizing their blogs into their very own digital magazines, assembling teams of talented writers, editors, photographers and programmers (i.e. Man Repeller). Meanwhile, Instagram was ramping up and before long the term ‘influencer’ was coined, becoming synonymous with the fashion scene (Chiara Ferragni, Aimee Song, Olivia Palermo, etc.). With TikTok becoming the newest trending social media platform in recent years, I expect that fashion commentators will be moving to that platform, even more, to present and market their writing in video format.
4. A Discord BOOM
A HUGE new update in the creator space: Discord recently launched its ‘Creator Studio’ where content creators can now earn money! Yes, you heard that right. Influencers can now begin monetizing on closed-community chats.
Now, I’m going to be bold and make a prediction right now: this is coming to Facebook. Mic drop. I know! It seems foreign and almost impossible to conceptualize, but with this new capability on Discord, Influencers are going to be swarming that platform. And, like any smart mega-app, Facebook is going to try and compete to keep its use count up.
But, let’s discuss this Discord Creator Portal in terms of trend forecasting. How will this affect marketing? Well, first and foremost creators are going to be creating Discord spaces for their fans/followers and pushing their audience into these closed-door spaces. There they will be developing a closer, more trusting bond with their audience (something that is extremely valuable to brands). Soon enough, brands will be swooping in to do some sort of product placement/callout in the Discord chats. How this will be monitored by the government to make sure the advertisements are done ethically? That is yet to be seen. But, it definitely is going to be a gigantic shift in the way we market and are marketed to.
5. Brand Collaborations Influencing Storytelling in Television in a Bigger Way
Featured: McDonald’s in Emily in Paris Season 3 Episode 1
Product placement is not a new concept, but for those who guzzled Emily in Paris Saison Trois like it was your rush-hour café au lait knows, Netflix has decided to experiment with the extent of advertisement in their shows. In this season, Emily frequents a McCafe in Paris, and it not only serves as a strange backdrop to this show that is supposed to be about an American girl immersing herself in French culture but McDonald’s also was woven into the plot. Pourquoi, you ask? Money, I presume. I mean, someone has to fund Emily’s lavish wardrobe! (Kidding, but also kinda not really…)
All that to say, I don’t think this was the last time we will see brand backing for a show being directly written into the plot. While this first attempt on behalf of Netflix was a bit of a flop, (it lacked the careful execution to make McCafe somehow waft in and out of the scene like a scent you recognize but can’t quite identify), I’m sure that this is only the beginning of larger-scale advertisement deals for the streaming conglomerate.
6. Gothcore and a General Presented Ambivalence to Be Mainstream (While Occupying the Mainstream)
Tim Burton’s adaptation of The Addams Family (i.e. Wednesday) was the ultimate celebration of gothic regalness. (Look no further than Catherine Zeta-Jones oozing elegance as the one and only Morticia Addams.) This show was sure to be a hit with Tim Burton’s wacky brilliance, Netflix footing the enormous bill, and an all-star cast, of course. Any TV show that captures the zeitgeist is going to have an impression on the style of the time: Sex and the City and oversized flowers on women’s lapels, Gossip Girl and headbands, and Pretty Little Liars and every spunky Aria look. Needless to say, Wednesday is nothing if not stylish and if recent TikTok trends are any indication, people are obsessed with this show, so give it some time and we’re sure to see Wednesday’s distinct style emerge in everyday attire.
7. MicroTrends as MacroTrends
While normally micro trends are reserved for niche communities, this year saw micro trends hit the mainstream feeds: the Meg Ryan fall girl aesthetic, Nancy Myers-esque Cottagecore, Balletcore, and even a resurgence of Y2K fashion. Honestly, there were way more than this humble list, but you follow.
So, what’s the takeaway from a year of too many micro trends to count? This is ONLY THE BEGINNING!! Sorry, that was a bit menacing, let me rephrase: we can expect more micro trends to occupy mainstream pop culture this year in lieu of a couple of mega trends.
Of course, this will mean that brands will have to choose whether they will pander to this multitude of micro trends from lots of niche communities or hone in on a single community to sell to.
And, there it is! My predictions for 2023’s marketing trends. From the oncoming Discord Boom that I’m foreseeing to the continuation of micro trends in mainstream pop culture, brands have a lot to prepare for.