5 marketing / FMCG predictions for 2016

This is the first time I am attempting a prediction for the coming year. The following are what I think will happen in the FMCG and marketing space in India in 2016. I will review this post 366 days later to see how accurate they turn out.

1. Rise of the marketing geek: There is a lot of emphasis on emotional and creative aspects in marketing. That’s one reason why a lot of ad agencies come up with absolute crap. The year 2016 will see a new breed of marketing person shine. Thanks to the economy slowing down, a lot of data driven justification will be needed to support marketing activities. There is already an overload of possibilities and data in the online space which a lot of marketers don’t understand. Some nerds in marketing will demand this from offline space as well. They will then start combining these to get better understanding of consumers. Every thing will be tested and everything will be measured. I won’t be surprised if new roles come up for such people. [This is an inspiration from an old blog post that was forwarded to me]
2. Big data – the buzz word: This word has been doing the rounds for some years now but is yet to catch up in India. There is already huge volume of data being captured near real time from various streams and at the disposal of people in some FMCG behemoths. Currently this data is being looked at disparately. With the rise of the marketing geek big data will no longer remain another term that is thrown around randomly without understanding.
3. The rise of the super regulator: Claims in FMCG has been my pet grouse  for some years now. With competition intensifying, marketers are making really ridiculous claims of late. Then there are products being launched left, right, and centre with scant regard for safety and quality. There are multiple regulators currently handling  different aspects of approvals, and regulation (separate one for product and ad). With rising health awareness and international exposure, consumer are looking to make informed choices. This will put pressure on the government to regulate brands and products more.
4. E-Commerce – beginning of the end: Money flowed freely and was spent freely in this space for some years now. With economy not showing signs of improvement, questions will now be asked on these investments and spends. Purses will be tightened by investors and some will make judicious exits to cut their losses. You see some signs of stress already in this space – Flipkart struggling to raise money, multiple CEOs changing at Housing.com, FoodPanda laying off hundreds of people. More such will happen in 2016 and some E-commerce guys will shut shop.
5. Healthcare – start of the boom: With e-Commerce story going sour, investors have to park their money somewhere. That somewhere, in India, will be healthcare.