With the new year upon us, it’s time to take a closer look at what trends might emerge in 2010 in terms of digital marketing.  Beyond the basics of increased brand building and supporting technology- what methods, formats and other concepts will make themselves known over the next year?

A collaborative article on Adage.com, published by executives with Millward Brown and Dynamic Logic, speculates what they see as the most important rising trends in digital marketing for 2010.  Video, both viral and mobile-based, along with social and mobile gaming top the list of key concepts for the new year.  While mobile cuts further into Online ad-spend, location-based marketing and advertising will continue to rise in popularity, though not as quickly as many hope due to continued privacy and user-derived reluctance.

Use of viral video in digital marketing will be a vital strategy in 2010 as video analytics and supporting platforms become more sophisticated and advertiser-friendly.  No longer will advertisers simply have to place videos Online and hope that they attract viewers.  Campaign planning centered around viral video will too become more sophisticated over the next year and allow for viral “seeding” strategies- meaning promoting videos via Online influencers, for example.

The largest and most obvious trend will be the continued rise of mobile in digital marketing campaigns.  Mobile has been taking huge bites out of Online advertising for quite some time now, but 2010 will be a year for even more insurgence into other digital mediums.  U.S. spend on mobile marketing will grow from $1.7 billion this year to $2.16 billion in 2010, for example, and Google’s $750 million purchase of mobile ad network Admob reinforces that 2010 will be a significant year for mobile.  Continued consolidation in the mobile space will prove integral to the industry over the next year as well.

With a rise in mobile, the subsequent concept of user-location data to influence marketing and advertising will continue to make leaps and bounds in the coming year.  The only caveat being that consumers will remain understandably reluctant to broadcast their location randomly or to be interrupted by unexpected messages without their consent.  Instead we’ll see a variety of innovative solutions created to facilitate geo-targeting of marketing messages (when in-aisle, in-store or in-proximity) as the number of GPS-enabled devices continues to rise.

While 2010 is  increasingly  being  referred  to as the “year of mobile,” there’s still plenty of opportunities and emerging trends to look forward to in relation to other digital marketing mediums in 2010.  Like always, a new year brings new possibilities and opportunities to become the best digital marketer you can be!

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