In 2021, the pandemic dominated the marketing communication of brands. We saw consumers having to make huge changes in lifestyle and brands had to adapt accordingly. While everyone has adjusted to the new normal, what can we expect to see in 2022 ?

We caught up with Nida Haider, Managing Partner at IAL Satchi and Satchi at the Effie Awards Jury session to find out what she anticipates to be the trends and challenges for 2022 in the media marketing and advertising industry.  With over 23 years of experience in advertising, Nida specializes in strategy and has worked overseas on international brands like Doritos, Frito lay and Pharma in the United States.

Here are a few key predictions we took back from our conversation to keep in mind for 2022 :

1. Sustainability is becoming a bigger part of conversation

Advertisers need to ensure that whatever they are saying and what they are doing connects with the consumer to buy the product. Hence, functionality, emotional connections, and other things are important parts of what advertisers do.

Sustainability is definitely becoming a bigger part of the conversation in briefing sessions – In terms of what can brands do, we recently saw that Aquafina did a vending machine with cans because they realized that plastic has a real impact on the environment.

It’s not just the brands moving in this direction, the consumer has changed their approach towards brands. It is not “What are you selling me?”. It is “What are you doing in this world?”, “What is it beyond the product?”. In response to that, brands are introducing recyclable packaging. For example, Dawlance has been doing recyclable packaging for a long time.

Brands are talking about reducing the environmental impact in terms of climate change. If it is not in terms of packaging, it is usually in terms of platforms, creating partnerships with companies/organizations that have an edge towards sustainability.

Just like Digital was a part of nascent conversations ten years ago and then it boomed, in the same way sustainability will become a bigger part of what we do as advertisers. 

2. The upcoming trend is creating nostalgia – going back to a better time before the Pandemic

There is a mood and shift towards wellness with a move towards a betterment of lifestyle. We see lot of brands move towards health and well being. However, when it comes to advertising and marketing, Nida feels that most communication leans towards nostalgia  – going back to a better time before the pandemic and reliving those moments of a simpler life.  She has noticed this not only with ads in the Super Bowl recently but also in terms of music with advertisers moving back to old jingles.

A lot of brands have begun adopting this strategy, like for example, Lipton did “Chai Chaiyay”.

So, brands are creating triggers of happier times of before this two and a half year dark period where we all have been so worried and afraid – so we will see a lot of nostalgia and kind of reinvention of ‘old’ in the advertisement.

3. Is the Gender Gap Divide Changing in Pakistan’s Marketing and Advertising Sphere?

According to Nida there is no right ratio, however as an industry, advertisers are striving towards including women in top positions. IAL has a woman as the head of client services, head of creative, head of the strategy, head of an agency, and head of design. The agency didn’t place these individuals in their positions as a part of a campaign or an initiative to create inclusion or build gender diversity. The most experienced and qualified person for the job was given the post.

As much as we want to talk about gender inclusion and diversity, the best person should be the person for the job. 

In Nida’s opinion, women are entering the agency world a little bit more now. There has been a significant shift towards flexible timing and working online has helped. It has made agency heads realize that you can work from home and still be productive. Maternity leave has become more flexible and all these joint efforts are creating an environment for women to come in and apply for jobs in this industry.

4. Because Advertisement turns into Culture….

Advertisers have a huge responsibility to the country.

Whatever they are beaming out in the airwaves, whether it is digital or whether it is on tv, it has an impact on the masses and the mindset,so I think we have to take that responsibility more seriously.

The type of stereotypes, the kind of advertising, the variety of stories and concepts that are created by advertisers must bend towards making sure that they are not creating submissive characters. Advertisers today are ensuring that there is gender inclusion and female empowerment because advertisement becomes culture. Hence, advertisers must be careful with what they say and do.

Effie Awards Jury Session 2021: Industry Leaders Talk About Milestones Achieved Over the Years & What’s in for 2021. Read the full story here:

Effie Pakistan jury sessions 2021 kickstarted in Karachi’s Marriott Hotel on the 22nd and 23rd of January. Jurors from the media, marketing, and advertising industry met to grade the event’s most influential and effective Pakistani campaigns. We asked industry leaders what milestones have been achieved by Effie Awards over the last few years and what’s in for 2021?

Effie Awards Jury Session 2021: Industry Leaders Talk About Milestones Achieved Over the Years & What’s in for 2021

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