What are the NBTs for 2015? Here we give our predictions for the coming year in our latest trends presentation. Cult LDN is an award-winning digital communications agency. We deliver brave and strategic campaigns for our clients which deliver measurable results. We specialise in; strategy & execution, online talent management, online advertising and trend reporting & training. www.cultldn.com

2. THE NEXT BIG THINGS - 2015

3. Just as the fashion houses showcase their wares for the anticipated season, we too
look forward to the coming year with predictions on what will be hot in 2015
In fact it’s not rocket science, social has fast overtaken traditional media in reach,
opportunity, creativity and spend. Consumers know this too, with 76% using social
for their holiday gift shopping over the past few weeks alone (Crowdtap, 2014)
Here we look at the five key trends in social for brands to look to in 2015

4. S-COMMERCE
social-led sales to consumers

5. “SOCIAL COMMERCE SALES ARE EXPECTED TO BRING IN
$30 BILLION [IN] 2015, WITH HALF OF ALL WEB SALES TO OCCUR
THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.”
- Mashable, 2014

6. INSIGHTS
• 74% of consumers rely on social networks to guide purchase decisions, with 55% sharing their purchases across social - social commerce will streamline this
behaviour
• Social commerce will envelop the shopper’s experience; bringing brand inspiration and product discovery to target consumers whilst providing brands with
valuable data
• 2015 will see social media as a leading sales channel and brands need to stay in front of their consumers, engaging on their level
STREAMLINED CONTENT
Insights
INSIGHTS
social commerce
BRAND LEARNINGS
• With more time-pressed consumers going online via mobile devices, brands have increased opportunity to market to users and create a shortened sales cycle -
think one tap purchase and impulse shopping
• Brands need to develop streamlined processes, with an easy purchase path that allow consumers to stay on one site or channel
• With rapid platform developments in social commerce, brands need to use analytics to discover where their target demographic lies and use this an opportunity
to sell in a bespoke way to the consumer

7. DEVELOPMENT: FACEBOOK ‘BUY’BUTTON
• Facebook has announced a Buy button to help businesses drive sales through consumers’ News
Feeds and on brand Facebook Pages
• With this feature, consumers on desktop or mobile can click the 'buy' call-to-action button on
adverts and Page posts to purchase a product directly from a business, without leaving Facebook
• All a consumer needs to is enter payment details once, enabling them to use this for transactions
again and again, this type of password-less authentication will drive forward mobile transactions
• Following six months testing across the US, Facebook is due to roll this button our across the
platform for brands to take advantage of
STREAMLINED CONTENT
Insights
INSIGHTS
social commerce
BRAND LEARNINGS
• Optimise branded content for purchase - to date there has been a focus on the retail site UX which
needs to translate to social channels to ensure seamless purchase
• The Buy button will facilitate the ability for customers to purchase an item the moment they see it
within the social network, improving conversions rapidly

8. DEVELOPMENT: TWITTER ‘BUY NOW’BUTTON
• Twitter is to roll out it’s Buy Now button in 2015, a feature that allows users to make purchases
directly on Twitter.com and through its mobile app, completing transactions “in just a few taps”
• Brands will gain a new way to turn the relationship they have with their Twitter followers into sales
• Twitter Buy Now will allow brands the opportunity to target sales to key demographics whilst
achieving easy, measurable ROI via Twitter’s analytics
STREAMLINED CONTENT
Insights
INSIGHTS
social commerce
BRAND CASE STUDY: BURBERRY
• Burberry has always led the way in live-streaming shows, with customers ordering garments straight
from the catwalk
• To coincide with the Prosum SS15 show at LFW, Burberry trialled the Buy Now button
• This allowed customers in the US to instantly buy a selection of the nail colours worn by the models
directly from a Tweet

9. WHAT’S NEXT ?
ROI from social media? We will have a precise measure in 2015 as
s-commerce becomes a normalised purchasing process
The continued rise in mobile usage offers the opportunity to capitalise on a
more streamlined content to purchase journey for consumers
Online channels will support innovation in the sector, providing an exciting
platform to not only sell to consumers, but to enhance the overall
customer experience

10. THE AGE OF ACCESSIBLE DATA
knowing more than ever before about consumers

11. “WE TALK A LOT ABOUT BIG DATA,
BUT WHAT THIS IS, IS BIG INSIGHTS WITH REAL
CONSUMER BENEFIT”
- Keith Weed, Unilever’s chief marketing and communications officer

12. THE TWEET SHOP
Daisy Marc Jacobs
INSIGHTS
accessible data
INSIGHTS
• 36% of global consumers are willing to share their data with retailers – double the number since 2013, with 52% of consumers believing they will be more
satisfied if brands use this personal data to show them relevant advertising (Marketing Magazine, 2014)
• Openness with personal data will grow throughout 2015, granting more opportunities for brands to engage with and understand their customers better
• This gives brands the opportunity to tailor services and products to individual customers enhancing brand loyalty
• As valuable data sources grow, brands need to turn this into into actionable insights for the business overall
BRAND LEARNINGS
• With improved analytics brands can discover their target demographics before starting a paid campaign, meaning enhanced ROI
• Re-targeting of that data, cross-platform will ensure maximum site traffic and increased conversion rates from potential consumers
• The increase of information on individual consumers will allow customised online experiences, such as sites based on consumers’ previous orders or
personalised e-mails specific to customers’ interests

13. BRAND CASE STUDY: UNILVER
• With over 11 billion annual searches for “hair” Unilever partnered with Google to use data to predict a trend before it actually happens
• Working with influential bloggers they created a YouTube channel ‘All Things Hair’ to answer these predictions
• The channel became the number 1 haircare channel with over 17 million views
• The ‘discussions’ feature on the channel, allows Unilever to constantly gather data from existing and potential consumers, informing future product development
BRAND LEARNING
• As platform analytics advance utilise real-time data and customer feedback for true insights and targeting
• Use results for business development, receiving demand for product, even prior to launch
THE TWEET SHOP
Daisy Marc Jacobs
CASE STUDY
accessible data

14. BRAND CASE STUDY: KATE SPADE
• Kate Spade transformed the hauling surrounding the construction site of a new store into an interactive shopping experience
• Passers-by were invited to take a personality questionnaire and receive a personal style statement to be shared via email and social media
• Based on the customer’s answers, they would also be shown a personalised selection of products that could be tapped to purchase with free next-day delivery
BRAND LEARNING
• Enhancing the consumer experience with lasting value for the brand can include data collection and sales
• Innovation in the retail space links the online and offline shopping experience
• Tracking consumer interactions provides valuable insights into shoppers’ preferences - even before a product has launched
THE TWEET SHOP
Daisy Marc Jacobs
CASE STUDY
accessible data

15. WHAT’S NEXT ?
With increasingly advanced analytics and targeting brands can now offer a
far more personalised message to consumers, enhancing brand loyalty
Understanding more about consumers’ preferences informs future
business insights and product development
Data can be used creatively to showcase bespoke product options to
consumers and encouraging purchase

16. THE SOCIAL WALLET
frictionless transactions peer to peer

17. THERE ARE CURRENTLY 79 MILLION MASTERCARD HOLDERS IN
THE U.S AND NEARLY 200 MILLION MONTHLY ACTIVE FACEBOOK
USERS IN THE COUNTRY
FACEBOOK HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CREATE A PAYMENT
NETWORK THAT RIVALS THE MAJOR CREDIT CARDS, VIRTUALLY
OVERNIGHT
- Statista, 2014

18. INSIGHTS
• 45% of Millennials in the US and UK would like to use their mobiles to split bills with friends (JWT, October 2014)
• 18-36 years olds engage in social media daily spending an average of 3.8 hours a day on different networks (Crowdtap, 2014)
• 15.1M consumers use social media channels before making purchases where 71% are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals
(Entrepreneur, 2014)
• 2015 will see social networks enter the race of mobile payment systems; products, sales and money-transfers are all just one click-away on the network they're
already talking to peers on - making the perfect seamless experience
STREAMLINED CONTENT
Insights
INSIGHTS
social wallet
BRAND LEARNINGS
• Payment features on social networks will provide brands with rich data on key consumers’ buying habits collected from these transactions
• Social networks will become a familiar place for consumer transactions with their payment details stored - brands need to act on this behaviour to drive sales
through social commerce

19. DEVELOPMENT: SNAPCHAT ‘SNAPCASH’
• Set for release in 2015, Snapcash is a partnership between popular peer-to-peer social network
Snapchat and digital business tool Square
• At present the utility of transferring money on Snapchat is limited to peer-to-peer exchange
• Snapcash represents a further shift towards social media platforms making it easier to transfer
money in-app
STREAMLINED CONTENT
Insights
INSIGHTS
BRAND LEARNINGS
• Snapcash further demonstrates a move toward measured ROI for a brand
• The launch of Snapcash will be of interest to brands looking to sell to younger demographic using
image-led content to lead FMCG sales
social wallet

20. DEVELOPMENT: WECHAT SOCIAL WALLET
• China-based brands recognise the value of user-generated content and are embracing social
influence on their e-commerce platforms
• Mobile app Weixin (WeChat) is a messaging platform, mobile e-commerce site, mobile wallet and
geo-location sensitive marketing platform
• In early February 2014 during Chinese New Year celebrations, 5 million people opened a bank
account on Weixin and exchanged $45 million
• With approximately 396 million active users per month, WeChat is seen as a gateway to interacting
with Chinese consumers on mobile
STREAMLINED CONTENT
Insights
INSIGHTS
BRAND CASE STUDY: YOOX
• US luxury and sport brands Yoox joined with WeChat to enhance consumers shopping experience
• Additional to social commerce, consumers can chat in real time with customer care or get style
advice from a Yoox representative
• Yoox provides exclusive styles available only on WeChat for an element of exclusivity on the platform
social wallet

21. WHAT’S NEXT ?
There is a global battle for for users amongst instant messaging apps
including; Facebook, WhatsApp, iMessage, WeChat, Line, Snapchat, Kik
and many more
Once Facebook Messenger payments rolls out, this may win the race and
see a rise in consumer Facebook activity for 2015
There is future scope to open up these payment service to merchants,
allowing them to accept debit card payments from customers via
Messenger. This would have some huge advantages cutting all charge
interchange fees and gaining valuable data on consumer purchasing
trends

22. THE ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM
Instagram leads the way for consumer interaction

23. SOCIAL MEDIA USERS ARE 58 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO
INTERACT WITH BRANDS ON INSTAGRAM THAN THEY DO
ON FACEBOOK, AND 120 TIMES MORE THAN ON TWITTER
- Forbes, December 2014

24. INSIGHTS
• With 70% of Instagram’s audiences under the age of 35 this is a key platform for brands targeting Millennials
• Fashion brand Topshop has an audience of over 3.5m compared to the most prestigious global fashion publication British Vogue with only 537K+ followers
• With Instagram receiving a 4.2% engagement rates compared to Twitter and Facebook that don't even hit a full percentage point (Forrester, Dec 2014) brands
are using this opportunity to sell to a highly active demographic
STREAMLINED CONTENT
Insights
INSIGHTS
the engagement platform
BRAND LEARNINGS
• Brands have a huge opportunity to excel and talk directly to their target audience with compelling content, focussed on storytelling
• The numbers don’t lie, although Instagram may not be the largest social network, it’s engagement levels blow the competition our of the water, so work with this
to develop strong, branded content that ties in to your overall marketing strategies
• UGC is still king of the content, so ensure you are rewarding your consumers for sharing their positive experiences with you on Instagram

25. CASE STUDY
BRAND CASE STUDY: MARC JACOBS BEAUTY
• Marc Jacobs Beauty was the first brand or retailer to develop its own in-house application for Instagram purchases
• Users sign up with their email address and Instagram handle using an online form
• Every week, they will receive an email with purchase details for any @marcbeauty Instagram images they liked that had the hashtag #shopmjb with direct links to purchase
BRAND LEARNING
• A full-brand experience that is customised and seamless, for an easy, accessible path to purchase
• Learn from your consumers and fans - here MJ not only has a powerful sales tool, but also a powerful data capture platform to learn about its customers
the engagement platform

26. CASE STUDY
BRAND CASE STUDY: SAKS & ASOS
• User-generated content is 20 per cent more influential than any other type of media when it comes to purchasing, and 50 % more trusted (Ipsos, 2014)
• Retail and fashion brands are using social channels and their engaged online communities to reap the rewards of UGC as a conversion tool
• ASOS has made their user-generated social content shoppable; linking customers’ own content with their e-commerce to drive sales with #ASEENONME
• The #SaksStyle hub creates a 360° experience that turns Saks fans style images into shoppable content online via saks.com
BRAND LEARNING
• Big data means that retail is now everywhere, instant and increasingly personal
• Brands must respond to customers wanting to move freely between social platforms and media devices for a seamless shopping experience
the engagement platform

27. INSTAGRAM ADS
Earlier this year Instagram announced ads and have now launched their 15
second video advertising
Michael Kors was the first luxury brand to test Instagram’s ad platform and
gained nearly 34,000 new followers in the 18 hours following with 370% more
engagements
BRAND LEARNING
UGC takes the lead - it is key brand’s keep storytelling, not selling in sponsored
content
Brands that are able to maintain continuity across organic and sponsored
content will be the most successful

28. CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY: MERCEDES BENZ
• Mercedes took to Instagram with the aim of reaching Millennials with their luxury cars
• The company recruited Instagram influencers and loaned each of them a GLA for a cross-country excursion, inviting them to document their travels on Instagram
• These images were used as Instagram ads targeting both men and women of the target younger demographic
BRAND LEARNING
• “Take the Wheel” achieved its goal of reaching their target demographic with buyers becoming one of the youngest age groups in the history of the brand
• Instagram ads saw a 580% lift in visits to the site and the campaign generated 87 million Instagram impressions and 2 million likes
the engagement platform

29. WHAT’S NEXT ?
Instagram provides the perfect platform to evolve a brand story, we will see
much more of this in 2015
Brands will need to evolve their content to improve the consumer
experiences of target consumers; image led, affluent Millennials
Brands will use this platform to reach a younger generation of consumers
that increasingly gravitates toward fast, visually-led media (think: emoji,
Tinder, Snapchat and of course Instagram)
And 2015 will see Instagram continue to also grow in the micro-video
space. With the recent emergence of Instagram’s in-feed video advertising,
marketers will now have the option of paying to target their 15-second
videos to consumers

30. ADVANCED SECOND SCREEN
enhanced social TV strategy

31. “HIGH LEVELS OF PARALLEL MEDIA CONSUMPTION WILL
OCCUR IN 2015;
57% OF PEOPLE ARE SECOND SCREENING IN SOME WAY
WHILE WATCHING LINEAR TV WHILST 33% ARE
COMMENTING ON TWITTER ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE
WATCHING”
- Nielsen, 2014

32. THE TWEET SHOP
Daisy Marc Jacobs
INSIGHTS
streamlined content
INSIGHTS
• 80% of users engage in social media through a mobile device, and that number is set to hit over 90% by 2018 (Mashable, 2014)
• When TV advertising is paired with Twitter paid media, TV ads drive 8-16% more sales (Twitter media, 2014)
• With 72% of real-time video clips played across Twitter on mobile devices, and Twitter’s updated TV targeting; ‘Twitter Amplify’ brands need to create relevant
streamlined content across all media for maximum ROI (Twitter media, 2014)
• 74% of media companies expect the ‘use of data to personalise, segment and deliver unique content experiences’ to be an important trend leading up to 2020
(Econsultancy, 2014)
BRAND LEARNINGS
• Brands can connect with consumers around live events - across multiple media channels to deliver a consistent, compelling message with an added layer of
engagement and interactivity
• Deliver innovative ads that use popular shows as the anchor for engagement to release content at key moments during broadcast to maximise reach
• Integrated cross-platform content reaches key social conversations to highlight promotions and take payments providing consumers with a seamless purchase
journey

33. DEVELOPMENT: TWITTER AMPLIFY
Twitter has partnered with more than a dozen new broadcasters and publications to launch Twitter Amplify, giving brands the opportunity to publish real-time, in-tweet video clips. Twitter is currently offering in-tweet
videos for ‘Rapid Replays’ creating huge potential both for sports fans and broadcasters looking to engage with their followers:
• State Farm partnered with the NBA to bring fans replays from live games. The entire campaign was built around “the assist,” something that ties basketball and insurance together - a topic relevant to the target
audience
• Heineken amplified content around the 2013 U.S. Open generating over 12 million impressions and 200,000 engagements across 124 tweets
In 2015 Twitter is looking to expand beyond sports to a more diverse selection of partners, including BBC, FOX, Fuse, Conde Nast, New York Magazine and The Weather Channel
CASE STUDY
streamlined content

34. BRAND CASE STUDY: CALVIN KLEIN REVEAL
• To maximise ROI from US TV spend whilst tying into the wider global creative; locally targeted Twitter Lead Generation cards ran in parallel with the new CK REVEAL fragrance TV spot
• The lead generation cards allowed users to claim a free sample of the new fragrance after viewing the TV spot in their local territory
• Cards were targeted at the hashtag whilst the global social strategy was at it’s peak level of engagement and US TV advertising was launched to capitalise on and maximise paid media
BRAND LEARNINGS
• The campaign generated over 8 million Twitter Impressions with over 71,800 engagements, a far higher rate of engagement than regular promoted content on Twitter
• Over 6,500 samples requested via Twitter were sent to a target demographic of potential consumers, this method offers a swathe of opportunities for brands to entice and delight consumers on second screen
CASE STUDY
streamlined content

35. WHAT’S NEXT ?
Brand video is an captivating story-telling method, that drives consumer
engagement
Twitter began testing a new Video Card that streamlines video playback
and brings a one-tap viewing experience to members’ timelines
Promoted Video enables brands to upload and distribute video on Twitter
as well as measure the reach and effectiveness of this content
Brands will have the ability to run these ads with a new Cost Per View
(CPV) buying model, meaning you only get charged when someone starts
playing the video measurable ROI for a brand

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