Four Trends That Will Disrupt Marketing in 2014

Up for some crystal balling? We reached out to several industry creative and strategy types to share with us what they see on the horizon for 2014. What will we see? Some predictable stuff like the continued growth of mobile and experiential. And some no so predictable...such as the proliferation of Emoji Economics. No, seriously.

Read on to see what's coming your way in 2014.

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Time Stops, Drivers Talk in Distressing Road Safety PSA

We're not quite sure what it is. Or why. But New Zealand, Australia and the UK consistently create the best road safety commercial in the world. This new one from Clememger BBDO for New Zealand's Transport Agency is a bit different in its approach from PSAs that drag us through the horror of an automobile accident and more akin to the Sussex Safer Roads Embrace Life PSA which employed slow motion.

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How to Avoid the Social Media Stupidity of These Four Brands

Social media is a great place for companies to engage consumers (or infuriate them), gain media attention (sometimes the bad type of attention) and promote their brand (or promote boycotting their brand).

Sure, we've all made a mistake or two on social media (just ask Anthony Weiner), but it's a place where brands need to be extra cautious of what they say.

Here are four companies that have made major social media mistakes - and what we can learn from them. Perhaps you've heard of these blunders before but it would seem there can never be enough tutelage in this space.

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Samsung Fails at CES With Michael Bay Meltdown

Why brands feel they have to do scripted interviews rather than, you know, actual interviews where people actually think about the question in a mystery. But if you've ever been to CES or any other big marketing event, you are familiar with this cringe-worthy experience.

Speaking of cringe-worthy, how does a marketer make a cringe-worthy event even more cringe-worthy? Well if you're Samsung and you invite Michael Bay to a keynote Q&A and he screws up his TelePrompTer lines, that's how.

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