Continuing on from yesterday's post:

The brands that stand for something will outperform the brands that either stand for nothing, or worse, try to fake it by aligning themselves with an otherwise noble cause. Good Purpose is good business. If I had anything to say about it, Good Purpose would become an anchor – if not THE anchor – of every client’s plan.

Youth and the young at heart will prevail. This will be true in business and life. If you think today’s world is just for geeks and kids, then you are about to get your lunch handed to you by geeks and kids. Think like a geek and act like a kid. It’ll keep you young (and in business).

Quality will rule over quantity. Many in the world of social media are obsessed with how many friends, fans and followers they have; in 2009, we will see that become taboo as people create personal filters within their own networks to keep out all but the highest quality people – those whom they find add real value to their personal conversations and communities.

Mobile carriers will get out of their own way and find a way to work together to enable marketers to execute national mobile programs. This is just as inevitable as is the fact that mobile devices will become our first choice device for all computing and communication. Hard to say if it will happen in 2009 or not, but we are an information on-demand culture, and mobility is a driving force in meeting that need.

An increasing number of companies will create a C-suite level role for a lead Digital officer – someone who reports to the CEO or CXO who helps transform the entire business (and culture) from closed and controlling to open and collaborative. Social media is about social, not media; it’s about people newly empowered and excited by technology; not the technology itself. And it starts from the inside out, so employee engagement is as important to consumer programming as is the brand work itself.

Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but we are the world we create.

Happy Holidays to all!