Experts at brand agency Champions (UK) plc are predicting that digital will dictate industry trends for both brands and professionals as we move into 2018.

After recently confirming plans to invest £1m in a state-of-the-art digital media suite that will further expand its capabilities, the agency explains the anticipated movements within the sector that have prompted the new development:

Further integration

Merging traditional and digital PR with SEO, social media and PPC will increase in 2018. PRs will have to consider shared, paid and owned as well as earned media to achieve success, so agencies who already offer all of this will be at an advantage.

Influencer marketing

The influencer marketing powerhouse will continue into 2018, but how brands utilise it will change. Research has shown that 38% of marketers can’t tell how effective their influencer activity is*, so using an influencer marketing agency that can help maximise ROI will become more of an industry norm.

Always ahead of the curve, Champions launched Influencer Champions earlier in 2017 to meet the growing demand for knowledgeable and skilled influencer marketing agents.

Content creation

Print media will continue to decline and shift over to online alternatives. This will create opportunities for brands and PR professionals to meet the demand for a high volume of fresh content, but may also mean more time is spent on content creation. It will also mean that SEO-based evaluation metrics may become more applicable to PR outputs.

Video content

In 2015, video was already cited as the type of content with the best ROI by more than half of professionals**, and this is set to increase as more content is consumed online. It is predicted that 82% of web traffic will be video by 2021***, something savvy PRs can’t afford not to capitalise on.

As Managing Director of Champions (UK) plc Matthew Hayes explains, predicting the ebbs and flows in the industry is essential for brands and branding professionals to stay relevant,

“One of the main qualities that makes a successful business is the ability to anticipate the coming trends and be prepared. The growing dominance of digital means that the branding landscape changes faster than ever, and we want to be in the position to meet demands as they come. That is something Champions has always been great at, and something we will continue to prove when our digital suite launches.”

For more information about Champions (UK) plc visit www.championsukplc.com