The year in review: The digital trends that shaped 2020

From the economic effects and catastrophic loss of life brought on by the pandemic to the growing climate emergency, 2020 was year many would want to forget. But beyond the tragedy and uncertainly there were many positive stories of unity against adversity – and the digital marketing sector was no different. We take a month-by-month look back at how advertisers and tech giants alike adapted to a year like no other.

Case study: Adidas uses WhatsApp to engage amateur football teams through ‘rent a player’ helpline as part of launch

Adidas found a smart way to get WhatsApp working in its marketing, by creating a hotline to help amateur football teams replace missing players at the last minute. And to build excitement, they added the chance of some global superstar talent. A brilliant social media stunt that hacked the model of WhatsApp.

Case study: Becks earns engagement by turning WhatsApp group chats into comic souvenirs

WhatsApp has become a key tool for organising social events and parties among friends – a prime audience for a beer maker. But how can brands engage with this very personal and private social channel? Becks found a smart way to get these users to come to them, by transforming friend’s WhatsApp group chat history into an epic comic souvenir of their night out.

How the Coronavirus has (and has not) affected marketing spending

eMarketer has cut its outlook for global ad spending, after decreasing its ad spending forecast in China by more than 6%.

Top 10 Super Bowl ads: Groundhog Day, Baby Peanuts and MC Hammer

The Super Bowl is not only one of the biggest sporting events of the year, it’s also one of the biggest ad events, with brands battling for both TV viewers and social media clicks. We take a look at yesterday’s big game to pick the best (and worst) ads of the night.

The year in review: 17 biggest digital trends of 2018

2018 was another big year for digital marketing, with the rise of voice search, AI going mainstream and Walmart buying FlipKart. This was the year that Spotify went public, Huawei overtook iPhone and a video game sparked a dance craze. In this special report, we’ve identified 17 of the biggest trends of the year.