Digital Shift, a quarterly service from Econsultancy exclusively for Enterprise subscribers, is intended as a guide to support strategic thinking.

Focused tightly on digital technologies, marketing and ecommerce, it’s about delivering actionable insight on trends that will be significant in the short to mid-term, and which can be used to generate new ideas, improve business performance and stay ahead of the competition.

The latest report in this series, also available as a presentation and webinar recording (see below), explores the most notable developments impacting digital marketing this quarter. The critical shifts are summarised below:

  • Digital and marketing trends for 2017. We pull some of the big overarching themes from Econsultancy’s brand new Digital Trends report, and look at how all things customer experience is shaping up to be the macro-trend to beat all others.
  • The big trend in ad tech. With the recent warning given by Procter & Gamble’s media chief on the results of the growing complexity in the ad tech market, we consider whether convergence and transparency will be the two big medium-term trends in ad and marketing tech.
  • Trends in machine learning. With the developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning coming thick and fast is it time to think about regulating algorithms? We also look at how Facebook is using AI to improve image search, and then balance this by considering the current limitations of machine learning that are still to be overcome.
  • The future of automotive. Plenty of software-driven innovation is taking place in the automotive market right now so we take a look at what the concept of ‘cars as devices’ could really mean, why there is such an opportunity in simplification, and how some manufacturers are using new technology to redesign customer purchase journeys.
  • Amazon’s operating system. With Alexa being everywhere at this year’s CES, is it effectively becoming Amazon’s new operating system and if so, what are the implications?
  • Pipelines to platforms. Amazon has been exceptionally good at creating so-called platform businesses. The shit from traditional pipeline models to platforms is one of the key shifts in internet era business economics – how can your business benefit from a shift in thinking?
  • Virtual reality (VR). Travel virtually around some of the most famous sites in the world without leaving your headset – yes, we couldn’t not talk about the latest in VR.

The hour-long webinar recording features input from Ashley Friedlein, President, Centaur Marketing & Founder, Econsultancy and Neil Perkin, Consultant and Founder of Only Dead Fish.