When it comes to year-end predictions, it’s tempting to aim for controversy or doom and gloom. But at RP3, we believe in seeking the good. So based on our conversations with current and potential clients, here a few of the themes we see continuing into 2020 and beyond that represent big opportunities for brands and marketers who embrace them.

The Wellness Marketplace Keeps Booming

People across the globe are embracing a more holistic approach to health -- one that focuses on total wellness, not just medical remedies to health issues. In fact, the “wellness marketplace” (which includes fitness, personal care, nutrition, spas, wellness tourism, preventative medicine, and even workplace wellness) was valued at $4.2 trillion in 2017, growing roughly twice as fast as the global economy overall. 

And brands have taken notice, by expanding the roles they play in consumers' total wellbeing. Cigna has embraced the mind-body connection in brand communications. Hotel companies like Marriott are opening wellness hotels. And even Equinox is taking its fitness expertise into the hospitality industry to create "wellness-fitness" hotels.

So what does this mean for brands in the next decade? We don't believe any one brand will be able to own "health and wellness" broadly, even if some may try. We predict that the successful brands will pick lanes to master, to double down on their brand strengths and capitalize on the unique brand attributes that contribute to particular aspects of consumers' wellbeing.

Content at the Speed of Culture, and 5G

Meeting consumers’ insatiable demand for content will continue to be a challenge for marketers. (It’s why we launched our own in-house Content Lab last year.) But it’s not enough to be on every device, in every channel. You need engaging storytelling, high production values, and a keen sense of what’s happening in culture at every moment for your content to stand out. The good news is, 5G allows for longer-form content consumption via mobile, so you’ll be able to add a new level of detail to your storytelling.

More Cookie Talk

Now that users have the choice to customize their cookie settings in Chrome, Publishers/Networks who have credible first-party data will have a leg up on their competitors who rely on third-party data. This will allow agencies and marketers to demand more from vendors by asking “How are you supplementing the third-party (cookie) based tracking in order to report true ROI?”

Creative that Stays Above the Fray

During what is sure to be another divisive election season, creative that stays above the fray will resonate best with consumers. But it can’t be too obvious in that regard. Expect to see a lot of messaging around “what brings us together” in 2020, but that can be tough to execute authentically. Of course, humor is the ultimate shared language. So hopefully advertisers, especially Super Bowl advertisers, will go for big laughs and not be too gun shy as they seem to have been in recent years.