We want everyone to tell better stories, says Switch CEO Richard Muscat Azzopardi

The CEO of Switch marketing agency, Richard Muscat Azzopardi, has encouraged businesses to tell better stories, as his company releases an annual marketing trends report that is usually available only to its clients. The report, which can be accessed here, covers a set of market tendencies that will carry over from 2021, along with four major trends that are predicted to have a major impact on the industry during the new year.

Mr Muscat Azzopardi said: “We work on a trends report to share with our clients every year, but we thought it would be valuable to anyone who has an interest in marketing, so we’ve made it available for free on our site for all to learn from. Staying ahead of the curve is critical for every brand, and we want everyone to tell better stories. The world will be a better place that way.”

The overarching theme of the data-driven report is the continued focus on humanistic values. This is exemplified through the increasing need for brands to be in support of causes beyond company profit. Brands that care about a cause enough to link it to their fundamental principles will benefit from long-term improvements in brand perception and loyalty.

Another trend the report details is the change that the influencer market is going to experience in 2022, as more people look for genuine content that resonates with their personal ideologies, rather than more generic commercial fare.

“The incoming data privacy revolution due to the imminent death of third-party cookies is going to change the way marketers think about targeting. As large data-collecting platforms come under fire, brands will come under more pressure to provide consumers with better reasons to voluntarily provide their data for marketing purposes,” the report states.

The report also lists trends from 2021 that will continue to pick up steam in 2022, such as the demand for brand accountability, remote-working, and virtual events.

The document includes statistics supporting each of the trends, along with case studies that highlight their relevance. Data for the report was gathered from sources such as Statista, Forbes, Deloitte, and Microsoft, then analysed and interpreted by Switch’s team of industry experts.

The report serves as a follow-up to last year’s equivalent publication. During the height of the pandemic, Switch also released a booklet to serve as a Comprehensive Guide to Marketing in Uncertain Times.

Switch is a brand & digital firm that partners up with a selection of international clients that are like-minded. It excels in creative storytelling for social, with a focus on B2B marketing for SMBs. Since May 2006, Switch has been a proud and active member of ICOM, the world’s leading network of international independent advertising agencies.

Mr Muscat Azzopardi was the co-founder of Switch Digital, the precursor to the current agency. He has over 10 years of experience in the marketing industry.