Our top 10 blog posts in an unprecedented year

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Ryan Dubras

Our blog has always been part of our agency culture. Our brilliant team from 15 offices, within different levels and specialisms, writing about the biggest developments in the world of marketing and social media to help keep our readers well-informed and ahead of the game.

But 2020 has been a year like no other. And when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, our teams rallied to provide the industry with advice, insights and practical tips.

So to close out 2020, here are our top ten most-read global posts from the last 12 months.

1.Digital in 2020
Our most sought-after post of the year – in February we launched our Digital 2020 report, with the biggest stats relating to social, digital, mobile and the internet from around the world. These reports have had an amazing 10 million views over the past year, which equates to almost 1 view every 3 seconds. And as we like to keep our readers up to speed, we also released quarterly updates in April, July and October.  Did you know that this year, for the first time, more than half of the world’s population now uses social media? If not, these posts are all worth a read. Keep an eye on our blog in February for the 2021 edition.

2.In Lockdown Series 
It’s fair to say that back in March (give or take a couple of months, depending on where you are), we all underwent a series of major changes, as much of the world entered lockdown. To help brands keep on top of a sudden and unprecedented shift in consumer behaviours, our global Research & Insight teams produced a comprehensive analysis of what was happening in a number of key sectors for our ‘In Lockdown’ series. 

They were all well-read – but the post examining dating in lockdown by our US Strategist Matt Friedman was our second-best read post of the year (priorities, eh!). If you fancy a trip back down memory lane, you can see them all here: Dating, Food, Entertainment, Sport, Alcohol, Technology, the Gig Economy and Coming out of lockdown in China.

3.Data Privacy on Social Media and Why it Matters 
A guest post from our friends at GlobalWebIndex, this blog looked at an ever-important issue for internet users around the world – privacy. Its author, Strategic Insights Analyst Olivia Valentine, also penned a load more successful posts for us, including this one examining the changes in consumer behaviour online in response to the pandemic. 

4.Global Trends Shaping Marketing in 2020 
I’m not sure anyone would have accurately predicted how 2020 would turn out back in January. Forgivably, the trends we talked about in our January update were not quite what ended up as the most significant things shaping marketing over the weird year that was 2020. But still, with topics like social self-care, the explosion of social commerce and the rise of the virtual self, we weren’t completely off target. Check out posts one and two from all our markets around the world here. 

5.Think Forward 2021: The Social Reset 
Our readers can’t get enough of trends posts. In a year where lockdown shaped much of our experience, the role of digital tools and communications have been pulled into even greater prominence. Our Think Forward report explores how brands will have to re-learn to navigate the ever-evolving role of social platforms in 2021 and provides invaluable insights (and practical tips) for brands planning their marketing strategy for the next year in the new normal. Check out our launch post from CSO Mobbie Nazir here

6.Do The Right Thing 
To post or not to post? This is the question many brands were asking themselves when Covid-19 hit. Inundated with requests for advice, we released Do The Right Thing: a comprehensive report which helped brands sensitively and appropriately navigate their social media communications through the crisis. 

7.Snap Safe: Our Answer to the UN’s Call to Creatives
While it’s a sad fact that keeping away from each other has become somewhat second nature, back in March trying to ‘eye judge’ your two-metre safe space was a challenge. Enter Snap Safe – a Snapchat AR Lens to help people keep a safe two-metre physical distance in public during the pandemic, explained in this post by our UK ECD, Gareth Leeding. 

8.The Dawn of a New Influencer Economy 
Our first blog post of the year, this one saw our global CEO Nathan McDonald examine the emergence of a new influencer economy for the 2020s: “Influencers, creators, marketers and social platforms exist in a symbiotic – and largely profitable – relationship. Yet if we follow the money, the next decade of influencer marketing looks quite different from the last.” Much of this has accelerated in 2020, so this post is well worth a re-read.

9.Everything You Need to Know About TikTok
TikTok has flown this year, gaining new users, mainstream attention and more $$$ from brands. To help demystify the platform for marketers, our Singapore-based Planning Director Werner Iucksch and Planner Meili Yeo hosted a webinar attended by almost 1,000 guests from over 60 countries. In this post, our Global Communications Manager shared some of the highlights from the chat. 

10.In the Feed 
Last but not least, our Global Head of Cultural Insights Lore Oxford scoured the internet for memes, tweets and everything in between, in order to provide an early warning system for cultural and behavioural shifts. In this post, one of a series, she examined some of the early lockdown behaviours: Zoom Parties (which we are happy to leave in 2020), sourdough baking and voice notes on WhatsApp (the giant lasagne was a personal highlight). Look out for more cultural brilliance from Lore in 2021. 

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