They’re still expensive. They’re still the best way to reach a massive audience and, they’re still going to be full of celebrities and funny animals. They’re also still fun to watch–but, let’s admit it, not as fun as they used to be.

Our commitment to creating momentum for brands is centered around crafting meaningful stories that move audiences. To tell these brand stories, our work, balanced by our belief that everything starts and ends with the target audience, is fortified by leveraging consumer insights to inform brand decision-making. With these commitments in mind, we are excited to announce our new Director of Insights, Claire Mazzeo-Gnau. Claire will replace Ann Dencker as the head of our research and marketing science departments at the end of February when Ann retires after 15 years of incredible work and dedication to the agency.

The new year brings hopeful reflections for what the next 365 days will hold – and what challenges may arise. In an ever-changing arena like marketing, finding a foothold can be tricky. Our Hiebing experts are here to help. Here, we spotlight five marketing trends that are worthy of consideration to maximize your impact in 2022.

Stepping into 2021 after a tumultuous 2020, the country was charged up and changes to our status quo were an ongoing learning curve. The world at large cautiously began to step back into working from an office, be it full time or a hybrid office scenario, travel started to regain momentum and our digital media landscape was vastly shaken up.

As evidenced by Facebook’s recent evolution to Meta, a lot more goes into a rebranding than changing a name or a logo.

The start of this decade has tested the adaptability of marketing strategies for brands everywhere. Between a global pandemic that caused a large portion of the population to adjust to remote workspaces, a racial reckoning in the wake of George Floyd’s death that sparked worldwide movements for social justice and swift shifts in important societal conversations amplified by social media, brands have been left in a lurch to organize quick, strategic responses to multiple crises at once.

In 1981, Roman Hiebing had a vision to build an agency that brought together proven marketing strategy and endless creative possibility. We honor 40 years of that vision with 40 unique things that make Hiebing, well … Hiebing.

The end of the third-party cookie era is turning the digital marketing world on its head, with many changes already underway to boost user privacy across the internet. Apple has been developing privacy protection features that put the user in control of their information and is taking its efforts a step further with the introduction of Mail Privacy Protection. Set to begin rolling out this month, Apple Mail app users will have the ability to opt into a more secure way to get their email.

Since we last visited Elder Z, the older cohort of Gen Z, COVID-19 upended the established norm and created a new standard. Instead of traveling the world, these 17- to 23-year-olds were left to dream of overseas trips and find adventure online, outdoors and closer to home and to spend time investing in healthy habits and overall wellness.

While brands are always navigating shifting consumer expectations, the bar being set in some areas is a daunting one. One of the latest: The consumer’s desire to find and support brands with Purpose – and willingness to abandon those without. A recent global survey reported that 94% of consumers say it’s important that the companies they engage with have a strong Purpose (and that they’d reward those who do). However, those same consumers also estimated that only 37% of companies have a clear and strong Purpose.

Defining and understanding Generation Z as they venture into making their mark economically on the world is a growing focal point for brands. Studying Gen Zers, born between 1998 and 2013, was a primary focus for Hiebing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research concentrated on their habits and purchasing power, as well as the most meaningful tactics to reach this cohort.

The marketing industry has become accustomed to aggregated data collected from cookies across multiple platforms to determine target audience’s behaviors, interests and purchasing power. Considerable changes are already being implemented as the era of third-party cookies comes to an end, so marketers must rethink what a cookie-less world means.