2023: A Lesson in Authenticity
2023 was quite the year. From explosive film marketing campaigns to concert tours that redefined what it means to put on a show, to the shakeup of the social media landscape, the past year has completely transformed the digital marketing arena and set the stage for what’s sure to be an impressive 2024.
Let’s go over some of the year’s biggest moments, as well as the trends that made 2023 so hot for marketers and storytellers everywhere.
Film marketing reimagined
As the number one box office hit of 2023 and bringing in over a billion dollars worldwide, Barbie singlehandedly changed the cinema industry for our time. More than just a pink feminist dreamscape or a philosophical questioning about what it means to be a modern woman, Barbie’s marketing team hit it out of the ballpark with how they generated interest and excitement for the film months before its release date.
By partnering with well-known brands from every industry and category (the range goes from Cold Stone Ice Cream to Funboy pool floats), Barbie was top of mind for consumers everywhere – it made the film seem fun, accessible, and like it was made for everyone. The consistency in tone, visuals, and design across all marketing materials made the mid-months of 2023 the summer of pink, empowering everyone to step into their truth and own who they are.
Above all, Barbie told a story before you even saw the movie, which in itself is a huge marketing feat. A mix of fun and serious, witty and silly, young and old, the campaign touched on many aspects of life and spoke to generations across the board. What might have been seen as a preteen fluff film turned out to be one of the greatest cinematic successes of our time.
The year of the female powerhouse
With the extraordinary success of the Barbie film, 2023 seemed to be the year of the female powerhouse, and this was only exemplified by two of the most successful concert tours: Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.
Beyoncé’s 2023 RENAISSANCE tour was a global phenomenon that brought in half a billion dollars. With only one Instagram post promoting the tour, Beyoncé showed us again the power of community, brand identity, representation, and belonging. The tour brought in crowds dressed in their best clothes and costumes to support their Queen Bey, all while coming together in an overwhelming show of love and good energy. Concert-going became more than just another thing to do – it became an event to be documented and remembered for years to come.
Speaking of powerhouse entertainers, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was an explosion of the singer’s dynamic past and present songs, bringing in over a billion dollars and millions of fans. The tour shows us how past material doesn’t have to be stagnant or fall off the map with time – with the right approach and creative packaging, older content can be rebranded as a celebration of what has been and what’s to come. Taylor Swift also reminds us of the power of community, self-love, and brand consistency to stay relevant.
The social media landscape shakeup
Besides the explosive feminist entertainment movement, another huge part of 2023 was a reimagined social media landscape. We saw the rise and fall of apps such as Be Real and Threads, and also the rebranding of social media giants like Twitter to X.
What can we learn from the chaos?
The big guys are here to stay. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X remain the most used social apps worldwide, and you should always be finding new ways to stay relevant and follow trends for your digital marketing strategy on these platforms. It’s important to tailor your content for each platform to make sure your tone is resonating with the platform’s audience base.
Being original is key. While many wondered if Threads, with all its similarities to X, would pose a competition, the app hasn’t drawn quite the interest most thought it would. Going into 2024, it’s important to remember to use popular apps for inspiration and creative brainstorming without copying most of what’s already out there.
Innovate to grow. Be Real hit almost 74 million users at the end of 2022. By the end of 2023, there are only about 25 million active users on the platform. Why the drop in interest? While there are many factors that go into the decline of a platform, much of it has to do with a lack of innovation and keeping things fresh and interesting for users (remember HQ Trivia?). Audiences now, more than ever before, expect new, exciting features from brands and apps, and being on top of creating a fun adventure for your consumers will go far in keeping your community, and brand, alive.
Stay human. With the rise of AI tools like Chat GPT or Jasper AI, many businesses have turned to computers to produce their content – and many writers have worried about losing their jobs. 2023 has shown us that human writing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. AI copy has proven to be easy to spot, soulless, and, ironically, extremely artificial. Stay human in 2024 and connect with your community through real, meaningful, emotional content while using AI mostly to make your work more efficient and powerful.
With these lessons we’ve learned in 2023, it will be interesting to see where the social media landscape goes in 2024. Stay tuned for a post about my predictions, and what it could mean for your social media strategy going into the new year.
What did 2023 teach us? Be authentic.
From explosive pink takeovers to female powerhouses to a social media shakeup, 2023 was an exciting, transformative year in the marketing space. If there’s one key lesson we can learn from big moments this year, it’s the importance of being authentic with your audience. We’re entering an era where perfection is out and being human is in. In 2024, let’s celebrate what it means to turn our imperfections into strengths and step into our gifts as who we are. There is nobody like you in this world – and that’s your superpower.
If you want to level up your 2024 marketing strategy with insights from industry trends and predictions, fill out the form to get the conversation started.
