Top 100 Marketing Trends of 2016

The top 2016 marketing trends have been been unsurprisingly diverse – but some of the more influential patterns of this year can be found in brands harnessing the viral power of celebrities, and more subversive marketing techniques.

One particularly prominent example of brands using celebrities to further their image is the collaboration between Selena Gomez and Coca Cola. The image features the celebrity dressed in red and drinking a coke, while lyrics from one of her songs are featured on the drink's bottle. The picture quickly shot to fame and became the most "liked" photo on Instagram – an enormous feat considering the sheer volume of content that is posted on the site. Coca Cola was able to capitalize on Gomez's celebrity and the fact that her Instagram account has the most followers from anyone on the site – resulting in a campaign that created plenty of buzz among the younger demographics that tend to follow Gomez.

Brands are slowly beginning to take more prominent stances on various social issues, rather than appearing to remain "neutral" while still catering to dominant groups as they once did, and their advertising is beginning to match this shift. One such example of this is 'Addition Elle's' "F* it Up" campaign, in which a series of models from diverse backgrounds are featured boldly talking about the "fashion democracy" – where all body types and skin colors are represented.

For those interested in learning more about upcoming trends and insights in the vast field of marketing, Trend Hunter's annual innovation conference Future Festival will be taking place in seven different cities in 2017.