Top Trends to Watch in 2007

A new brief from the Center for Media Research compiles the top trends for the year based on interviews BtoB’s Kate Maddox held with marketers, ad agencies, media companies, analysts and other industry experts.

Check it out:

1. CMO Influence – chief marketing officers are expected to gain increased influence at the executive table.
2. Web 2.0 – user generated content, blogs, wikis and the like will continue their reign as marketers seek loyal communities of users.
3. Global Expansion – new markets and international campaign.
4. Online Video Advertising – Maddox references eMarketer's prediction that online video advertising will increase by 89 percent this year.
5. Engaging the Customer – marketers know engagement is the present and future, so the focus is shifting from the “if” to the “how”… namely how to measure it.
6. Sopisticated Search – search is capturing marketers’ dollars, accounting for 40 percent of total online ad revenue in the first half of the year.
7. Sales Leads – a BtoB survey of marketing priorities found that more than 62 percent of respondents said acquiring new customers is their number one goal. Maddox also notes a MarketingSherpa study that says free trials, Webinars, white papers, blogs and podcasts are the most effective lead generation tools.
8. Behavioral Targeting – more relevant targeting is the name of the game for online advertising, and Maddox expects personalization and improved conversion rates to continue to boost BT.
9. Trade Shows – Maddox sees an increasing demand for face-to-face dialogues among executives.
10. Email – there is no stopping email, the staple of online marketing. It continues to beat direct mail nearly two-to-one.

Do you think there is anything missing from this list?