The combination of a U.S. Presidential election and Summer Olympics are bound to make 2016 a singular and bounteous year for marketers and media. But it won’t be without its challenges—from ad blockers and hackers to health nuts and political zanies. What else can marketers expect? CMO.com checks with industry insiders and other experts who uncovered 10 trends to look forward to in the year to come.

1. Slide Show:
CMO.com’s Top 10
Marketing Trends For 2016
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1. Programmatic 3.0
The first version of automated media buying was a clearance rack
for digital inventory that matured to focus on parsing reams of
data to target digital media. The newest version extends the
practice to traditional media.
“With new technologies being introduced constantly, there will be
more innovation and, therefore, more opportunity going forward,”
said Doug Ray, Carat's U.S. CEO and global president.
Time Inc., for example, extended programmatic buying into print
in the U.S., while Dentsu Aegis Network began buying ads
programmatically from the video-on-demand inventory of U.K.
broadcaster Channel 4.
Expect the trend to continue in 2016. “There’s still plenty of room
for growth, especially with video, mobile, social, and native-like
advertising becoming more automated,” said Jamie Fishler, VP of
marketing at Magnetic.
“Are you kidding me? I’m still explaining the concept to some
marketing leaders,” added Paul Gunning, CEO of DDB Chicago.
“This capability has decades of room to run. We haven’t even
touched TV in any meaningful way.”

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2. Millennials, You’re Not That Special
After years of obsessing over the post-Gen X demographic,
researchers are beginning to challenge the conventional wisdom
about Millennials.
A study from Forrester, for example, found Millennials’ mobile
engagement habits are about the same as their parents. Another
study, from The Economist Group, challenged the so-called
“Millennial Mirage” regarding their attitudes. And Carat’s Ray
noted the agency’s study on “The Millennial Disconnect” showed
“only 42% of the 85 million U.S. Millennials reflect the stereotypes
and generalities discussed by the more than 43,000 articles
published in 2015 alone.”
Brands will begin to adapt in 2016, especially as the now 30-
something Millennials age.
“Marketers need to make a good impression, but it’s time to ditch
the standard playbook,” said Eric Kneler, executive director,
strategy at Meredith Xcelerated Marketing. “It is clear that this
audience is apt to a new way of talking about old products.”

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3. Hello, Gen Z
Just as the Millennial obsession settles, marketers have found a
younger cohort to fixate on: Generation Z.
“Gen Z may be young, but with the new tools at their disposal and
their shifting values, they are at the forefront of changing culture,”
said Margot Nason, managing editor of Deep Focus’ Cassandra
Report. “Businesses should be wooing them now for their dollars
and their influence.”
Differentiating Gen Z from their Millennial predecessors will be a
tough job, but some traits are emerging.
“This will be the year we all realize that everything we thought we
knew about how teenagers use mobile is completely wrong, as
younger folks continue to jump from platform to platform to get
away from their parents, trolls, and desperate marketers,” said
John Caruso, partner at MCD Partners.
“While Gen Z has never encountered life in a ‘smartphoneless’
world, they will be the ones who will start to value interpersonal
interactions the most,” added Brandon Murphy, EVP, chief strategy
officer, at 22squared. “In response, more brands will have to tailor
their communications to resonate in a more targeted manner.”

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4. The New Radio?
Just as streaming video is considered the new TV and websites the
new magazines, podcasts are breathing new life to audio
programming. (Even CMO.com has a podcast show.)
The success of programs, such as NPR’s true-crime story “Serial”—
the most downloaded podcast on iTunes—and Marc Maron’s
“WTF” talk show, show an audio podcast can not only draw loyal
audiences but also appeal to sponsors. “I’m not saying we sold
out, but we made compromises” to monetize the podcast, Maron
said at November’s Ad:Tech New York conference.
Gimlet Media, a startup launched by former NPR staffers to create
for-profit podcasts, celebrated its first anniversary in 2015, as
established media companies, including Slate and Buzzfeed,
jumped in. NPR icon Ira Glass even turned up at the Cannes
Advertising Festival and Advertising Week New York to crack
jokes about running radio spots for MailChimp, a “Serial” sponsor.
After the success of “Serial’s” first season, music-streaming service
Pandora stepped in to pick up the second season, with the backing
of many large advertisers. As more streaming services jump into
the fray, expect monetization to follow.

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5. Publishers Try To Block The Ad Blockers
Ad blocking became big news with the release of the new
iPhone and its OS upgrade, which allowed for installing ad-
blocking software. Web publishers, livid at the possibilities of lost
revenue, began striking back. The Washington Post was among
the first to demand users switch off ad blockers in order to reach
its content, and Yahoo Mail is one of the latest and largest
service providers to do the same.
“Publishers will emerge from their defensive crouches in 2016
and demonstrate newfound strength in resisting the tide of ad
blocking,” said Dave Zinman, COO of programmatic platform
RadiumOne. “Expect to see publishers begin to flex their
muscles in 2016 and end the free pass that those who install ad
blockers are receiving.”
But consumers will strike back, too. Users are already embracing
a la carte content, including ad-free “freemium” services. The
odds don’t look good for the blocker-blockers.
“Digital advertising is dead. Ad blocking is here to stay,”
TapInfluence’s Cameron said. “The new approach will require
meaningful consumer-oriented content.”

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6. Think Global, Act Local—Please
As more marketers deal with the global economy through a
focus on “brand DNA,” the battles between headquarters and
local marketing teams will become more pitched.
Brands need to maintain control of their global messages for
governance purposes, but they are faced with challenger
brands that take advantage of unique local demands, said Matt
Roche, CEO of Extole. Relevance will be more important than
ever, added Matthew Wellschlager, VP of marketing at Ceros.
“Brands that allow local teams to be truly local in their strategy
will win,” he said.
It’s in that process that in-house battles will be fought next year.
Many global CMOs say local and regional teams are loath to
adapt a global brand positioning because they fear reducing
their influence.
“Success on the global level comes down to agility and control,”
said Alicianne Rand, VP of marketing at NewsCred. Marketers
have a growing challenge of streamlining their messages to be
consistent and relevant globally. In 2016 they will have to
leverage technology to create content at scale and collaborate
to execute globally, while still giving the local teams ownership
of their efforts, she said.

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7. Talent In The House
As brands seek to expand their real-time efforts, they will bring
marketing talent in-house and raid agencies to do so.
“Agencies will continue to lose great talent as it goes in-house for
more money, better control, and an opportunity to work on more
meaningful efforts, as more brands are turning to authenticity and
defining their company mission to woo top talent,” said Jim Cuene,
president of GoKart Labs.
But this will not put an end to the talent crisis in 2016. “Winning the
talent battles—especially when it comes to Millennials and future
generations—will continue to be a true concern,” said Ryan Stoner,
strategy director at Publicis Seattle.
With the continued focus on data-driven marketing, many industry
observers said agencies and marketers may be dropping the ball on
the care and feeding of creative staff, which could set the stage for
the next crisis.
“We’ve seen the emergence of a new data-driven CMO, and it has
me worried that the CMO of tomorrow will be focused only on the
data, not the storytelling,” said Ben Plomion, SVP of marketing at
GumGum.

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8. Brands In The Flesh
The comeback of brick and mortar is an evergreen trend. But while
consumers won’t stop shopping online, experience marketing “in the
real world” will take on added priority in 2016—often thanks to an
assist from mobile and digital devices. Immersive, sensory user
experiences will be a brand differentiator next year.
Indeed, “multisensory brands” will be part of the developments for
2016, according to Landor Associates. Landor’s 2016 forecast also
predicts that brands will place more emphasis on training employees
to be brand ambassadors and will continue turning packaging into
part of the brand story.
“2016 will be the year of customer experience, but only because
marketing, merchandising, and operations will finally come together
to provide a contiguous experience to all customers,” added Matt
Roche, CEO of Extole.
Additionally, the growth of affordable virtual-reality devices will add
a high-tech spin to the experience, bringing car test-drives and hotel
and real-estate property tours into consumers’ homes.
“VR is to video what video was to images. It’s immersive and highly
engaging,” said Jordan Gray, Organic’s manager of creative labs.

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9. Health Kick
Expect more brands to work health into their brand positioning
in 2016. “Americans will increasingly embrace a combination of
analog and digital strategies in their quest for health and well-
being,” said Liz Aviles, VP of marketing intelligence at Upshot.
The combination of new wearable technologies and attitudes is
putting health and fitness at the forefront of marketing. Industry
observers note food is quickly becoming a mode of self-
expression for consumers, and “organic,” “natural,” and
“sustainable” labels are increasingly becoming table stakes for all
kinds of products.
It’s a way to humanize a brand, 22squared’s Murphy said: “We’ve
already seen it with Nestle taking artificial ingredients out of their
products, CVS banning cigarettes, etc. Marketers are discovering
that this is a powerful way to win over Millennials, instead of
surface-level marketing stunts.”
“Every brand will need to find a marketing solution to align with
and support the concept of wellness, body mind, and soul,”
Cassandra’s Nason added.

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10. How Much For My Data?
The tug of war over data and privacy is another evergreen trend.
But ad blockers and the Internet of Things will give it additional
fuel in 2016, and consumers may get the upper hand.
The walled gardens of data will start to show some cracks, said
Dave Zinman, COO of RadiumOne. Platforms such as Google,
Facebook, and AOL spent 2015 consolidating and attempting to
leverage proprietary consumer data to differentiate their
advertising offerings, he explained. But that strategy will prove to
be flawed in 2016.
“The number of IoT devices will dwarf that of smartphones and
computers. Good luck building a walled garden when the rest of
the world is flowering with insightful consumer data,” Zinman said.
The insight might get blunted still if consumers continue to adopt
ad blockers. Marketers may have to step up their game, perhaps
offering rewards that go beyond a better user experience.
“We’ll see new systems in place that put people in control of their
own personal information,” said Rye Clifton, experience director at
GSD&M. “Imagine trading demographics for discounts: The more
you share, the more you save.”