Future Proofing Brands, Video Shorts and More

This week our team came together to discuss future proofing brands, the power of Youtube shorts and how the trend of nostalgia is resurging in the design space. Tune in below to learn how you can implement these strategies into your branding and marketing strategies.

Laura Moody | Senior Designer

Future Proofing Brands

Only one word comes to mind when summarising the last three years; turbulence. Like weatherproofing your property, future-proofing your business should be the highest priority for all  brands. Especially important after the tumultuous pandemic situation which led to unprecedented disruption for many companies; new and long-term established. 

It is likely the economy will slow down for 2023, in anticipation of a recession in Australia. Making sure your business is stable enough to withstand worsening economic situations is paramount.

Sustainability To Sustain Businesses

What does future proofing look like as we move into 2023? A key point we continually find to be essential across industries is sustainability. A green business is a good business. Being environmentally aware is just as important as making profits. Adopting the ‘triple bottom line’ mentality (profits, people and planet), sustainable businesses make a profit by adhering to their social responsibility and not exhausting the planet’s resources. 

Sustainable businesses not only refers to environmental action, but taking steps to maintain your workplace internal structures. Adopting a strong brand culture with employees is fundamental for longevity of internal structures. In turn, clients are more likely to spend money with brands that care for their employees. 

A few other important elements you should be considering when it comes to future proofing your business is not being afraid to collaborate with other businesses, continually reinforcing your brand purpose through storytelling, and being accessible across all digital touch points.

Jemma Giovannucci | Head Of Socials

Youtube Shorts Monetisation

Looking for effective ways to monetise your content? 

In September last year, Youtube released Youtube Shorts; 60-second videos hosted on their site, in their bid to take on TikTok.

Youtube is now jumping on the bandwagon and rewarding content creators who use shorts.  Unlike long-form content which has monetisation from advertising revenue, shorts will be funded based on popularity of videos. 
Youtube will also begin to roll out shopping features on shorts. This means content creators will be able to tag items from a shop and pay on a view of click basis.

Youtube Versus Tiktok

We all know short form content is on the rise, and whilst there is a lot of interest across Tiktok for businesses, there should be just as much attention given to Youtube.

There are a lot of reasons why brands should be getting on Youtube and taking advantage of shorts.
The first reason is Youtube is still the number one highest used video platform in the world. Youtube has 15 billion viewers daily and Tiktok has 1 billion monthly users. Tiktok has a hefty $200M fund to reward creators, however Youtube is not fair behind with their $100M fund for creators in 2022.

Youtube’s Great Demographic Dispersion

Perhaps the greatest reason to take advantage of Youtube for monetisation is the wider demographic of users. In 2022, a US study found 20.2% of Youtube’s advertising audience was between 25-34, and 15.5% between 35 to 44. 

Pew Research’s 2021 nationally representative survey of 1,502 U.S adults determined Youtube continues to dominate the online landscape, with 81% of adults using the platform, compared to 21% using Tiktok. The highest percentage demographic being 18-29 year olds; with 95% watching Youtube. This is followed by 91% of 30-49 year olds, and 83% of adults 50-64, highlighting Youtube’s broad demographic of users. 
Whilst Tiktok has grown fast in a much shorter period, its demographic is strongly skewed to a younger generation. A recent study determined 67% of Tiktokers were younger than 24; the majority of which are 18-24 (39.91% or two out of every five users).

Trusted Content, Two-Fold Strategy

Being such a long established platform, Youtube has garnered trust amongst millennials, who value and believe in the content creators on this platform. 

What is interesting about Youtube’s implementation of shorts is it’s two fold. This content can be an ideal choice for people who may not want to watch an entire video on their channel, or it can be leveraged as a strategy to bring people to their channel to watch the full video. As a way to gain long-form subscribers. 

So when it comes to your content strategy, whilst TikTok is a valuable platform to be focusing your energy into, let’s not forget about the longstanding value of Youtube as well.

Ainsley Caulfield | Graphic Designer

Make Space For Punk Rock Aesthetic

Moving onto the graphic design world! In 2022 we are seeing brands move out of their comfort zone and embody punk, rock aesthetic and club kid spirit – and we are here for it! 

Punk revival has paved its way in a post covid world, unearthing an almost dystopian-core. We are seeing it present across the fashion industry in particular, as a shift away from the clean girl aesthetic which has begun to lose momentum. 
So if you’re looking for a unique opportunity for your brand to stand out, punk revival presents an opportunity for rebellion against the perfectly curated image. Grunge girl beauty is gaining momentum for makeup products and brands. The beauty industry is synonymous with high end brands projecting perfectionism. This rock aesthetic brings elements of nostalgia for the 70’s. At the same time, it presents an opportunity for relatability. Punk in the 70’s was for those on the fringe, the outcasts. Today people are more embracing of each other’s uniqueness. As such it poses a safe opportunity for acceptance, and could be very big in fashion and beauty.

How Can I Incorporate Punk Into My Graphic Design

It’s time to get messy! No clean lines, bring some chaos and play around a bit! 

What we love about punk rock aesthetic is there is no right way. It’s about cutting images up, mixing your media, hand drawing those textures, switching around your fonts and letters.

We can’t wait to see what presents in this space moving into 2023! 

That’s a wrap for this week’s insights into the news and trends surrounding the digital landscape! Tune in next fortnight for another exploration with the team!