Insights from below deck: January 2024

Cross-agency collaboration, naked Sprite bottles, and value-based marketing are some of the topics that have got the team talking this month. Here, we discuss the latest news from the digital marketing landscape and how we expect brands to leverage updates throughout February and beyond. 

Cross-agency collaboration is on the rise

A recent opinion piece on The Drum asked leading marketers for their predictions on how agency life is evolving in 2024. One recurring theme in particular caught our attention: more businesses are moving towards agencies that collaborate with each other, or that adopt a more integrated approach. One of the marketers, Simon Hearn, said "Client budgets (and teams) are shrinking; the need for one-stop agency solutions will grow as they look for bang-for-buck".

We’ve certainly embodied this shift in the past year. Our collaborative approach with PR agency Scriba has become increasingly integrated, especially once we acquired it. Not only does this make client lives’ easier, it ensures a seamless way of working for us too, and allows us to maximise potential. After all, if the client succeeds, we all do – and leveraging our collective skills and expertise is the best way to do it. 

Andy McCaul, managing director

Sprite trials removing labels

In a bid to make bottles easier to recycle and reduce the use of packaging materials, labels on Sprite and Sprite Zero products will be taken away in favour of a completely transparent bottle. The logo will be embossed onto it, while the product and nutritional information will be laser-engraved on its back. 

This proposed solution to reducing unnecessary packaging is one of those things that’s so simple, we can’t help but wonder why it hasn’t been done before. However, it will be interesting to see whether the completely see-through bottles have enough shelf presence to stand out among competitors, and whether the laser-engraved information will be easy to read for everyone.

James Bornshin, senior designer

Value-based marketing is more important than ever

Meltwater’s Marketing Trends 2024 reports that that consumers, particularly Gen Z and

Millennials, are increasingly drawn to brands that not only offer quality products but also embody values such as sustainability, social responsibility, and inclusivity.

But it’s not enough to simply shout about these values – brands must truly back them up with real, difference-making action to avoid being accused of virtue signalling, greenwashing, rainbow washing, and so on. Ensure that these topics are talked about internally, integrating them into your corporate values and mission statement to ensure your core tenets are always in mind and being acted upon in a genuine way. 

Alice MacLaverty, content writer

Real, opinion-led content will stand out from AI

Open source generative AI models such as ChatGPT have given anyone and everyone with internet access an easy button for content creation. And while this newfound freedom has its benefits, there’s a catch: an onslaught of generic content simply being copied and pasted from AI models.

Luckily, true content creators know that while AI can be a useful tool in content marketing, it’s not enough on its own. To stand out in a sea of same, we expect to see a rise in opinion-led, 

point-of-view pieces that deliver real insight and experience to the reader. Context? Cultural nuances? Human connection? AI could never.

Nina Cresswell, senior content writer