We know you just can’t bring yourself to log off for the holidays before seeing the results of our (third annual) reader survey on 2022’s overlooked and overhyped trends. So let’s get into it.

Meta on my mind

This week, Meta reaffirmed its commitment to the metaverse. In a blog post, its CTO said the company will continue allocating 20% of its costs to Reality Labs, the division dedicated to its metaverse ambitions.

Marketers don’t seem as bullish, though. At least the ones who read our newsletter. According to our survey, which more than 450 of you answered, 50% selected the metaverse as the year’s most overhyped trend out of 12 options. Among the reasons shared:

• “Companies still struggle with getting their employees to master Teams, Zoom, and Slack. The metaverse is going to be a long way off.”
• “It’s too costly, no one really knows what to do with it yet, and consumers haven’t adopted it.”
• “Not all brands can live in the metaverse. Just because it’s new and shiny doesn’t mean it’s a perfect fit for all...or even most.”

Signed, sealed, delivered

On the other hand, marketers do seem excited about something that’s a little less technological: direct mail. About a quarter of respondents chose direct mail’s comeback as this year’s most overlooked marketing trend, handing it the most votes. Only 2% described it as overhyped.

Rewind: This summer, Polly Wong, president of Belardi Wong, an agency that specializes in direct-mail marketing, told us it would help more than 80 brands work on their first direct-mail campaigns this year.

Here’s what you said:

• “Direct mail is marketing gone full circle. Because it’s not sexy like some of the other trends, I feel it gets overlooked.”
• “With the inundation of digital marketing, recipients are overlooking the common and finding interest in uncommon practices.”

Continue reading here.—MS

The time period since Elon Musk bought Twitter has been…something. Since late October, he’s laid off thousands of employees, allegedly converted office space into bedrooms in potential violation of the law, banned and unbanned the accounts of several prominent journalists from the platform, and polled Twitter users to ask if he should step down as CEO—among other things.

As all that’s been happening, brands have pulled or paused their ad spend, some likely at the recommendation of their agencies. But as the platform where brands like Wendy’s and Taco Bell became known for their social prowess potentially combusts, how have brands’ organic strategies shifted?

Break it down: According to new data from software company Emplifi, “there has been a dip in organic brand posting behavior for US and Canadian brands on Twitter” in 2022, with the biggest drop coming at the end of November after Musk took over.

• Its analysis of more than 2,300 American and Canadian brand accounts, ranging from Starbucks to Whole Foods to McDonald’s, found that while nearly 80% were tweeting at least weekly during mid-October, only around 60% were doing so in early November.
• Emplifi’s findings indicate the biggest drop in organic posting occurred in late November, following Musk’s tweet of a graphic image.

Kyle Wong, chief strategy officer at Emplifi, told us he believes that more US and Canadian brand accounts appear to have paused their activity than those in the rest of the world because discussions around hate speech on the platform “have to do with hate speech…in the United States” and therefore likely hit “closer to home.” Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that the rise in hate speech on the platform after Musk took over was “atypically high,” according to researchers.

If things continue to go in this direction, questions remain about what will happen to corporate accounts that have become integral to certain brands.

Read the full story here.—KH

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

B2B: Some predictions for the land of B2B marketing next year.

#Goals: A guide to setting and achieving social media marketing goals.

Ask away: Several questions to consider when creating a new logo.

Inventory overload: The holiday season is here, but retailers are still buried in inventory. How can marketers push those post-holiday sales into January? We break it all down in Retail Brew.

Here’s to ’22: Through the ups (whee!) and the downs (...ouch), 2022 was one for the books. Check out The Year in Review, a roundup of the content that reflects on it all. Sponsored by mntn.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

The holiday season is one of the most significant moments for retailers, bringing in nearly $800 billion annually.

But what happens after the holiday rush? Many businesses enter a so-called “post-holiday slump,” which can pose a serious financial challenge if they’re not prepared to combat it.

Don’t let that happen to you. Check out Retail Brew’s guide for quick tips on finding sales success in the new year.

Download it here.

A new Deloitte report took a look at financial well-being around the world at the end of a year that included “record inflation, rising interest rates, turbulent equity markets, global energy shocks, looming recession, and geopolitical events of varying scales.”

Financial blues: After all that, it’s no wonder that four in 10 respondents to Deloitte’s global survey said they felt as if their financial situation got worse in 2022.

• That share is about the same among US consumers specifically.

Look ahead: Consumers did not appear optimistic that their financial woes were likely to disappear soon. Those who said their financial situation worsened this year had “concerns that could take time to subside,” according to the report.

• That group was also more likely to delay large purchases and less likely to feel they could afford discretionary items.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• What’s the future of shock-value marketing?
• How Snap and New Balance used AR for a holiday campaign
• Brands are experimenting with deals and exclusives on BeReal