Avenue A | Razorfish recently published the “2008 digital outlook report“. On 164 pages they present what happened in 2007 and what they think will happen in 2008 in the digital media landscape.

For many consumers, an engaging advertisement still powerfully influences their decisionmaking. But even more powerful, are the opinions they share with each other through trusted blogs and social networks. A mother in Topeka, Kansas, or a teen in a London flat can become trusted authorities, influencing more decisions than the best formulated professional branding campaign that an advertising agency can offer. Consumers are turning to a seemingly endless source of specialized media – so much so that commonly accepted best digital best practices have very short shelf lives. Yesterday’s solutions simply aren’t adequate to solve today’s problems. Is it any wonder that most businesses are coming to the hard realization that they aren’t organized effectively to respond to change?

Avenue A | Razorfish’s 2008 Digital Outlook Report examines where that digital spend is going. We provide direction on how marketers can align their organization to respond to the new digital environment, as well as a framework for effectively managing emerging channels and social media. And we give you some interesting new insights into consumer behavior.

The chapter “ten digital media issues to watch in 2008″ is especially interesting, so watch out for:

1. The move beyond media buying
2. The impact of a recession on online advertising
3. The redefinition of online media measurement
4. A limited increase in average CPMs
5. The fallacy of the “digital upfront”
6. The slowing of ad network acquisitions
7. A breakout year for mobile—but not for mobile advertising
8. Nokia’s emergence as a key player in the digital marketing industry
9. The continuing lack of video ad standards
10. The Internet’s impact on the 2008 presidential election

For me personally issue 8 “Nokia’s emergence as a key player in the digital marketing industry” provided new insights.

Nokia made two important moves in 2007 that will impact digital marketing in the coming year. It acquired both Enpocket, a leading mobile advertising and marketing services firm, and Navteq, a leader in navigation data and systems software. While there have been no formal announcements from Nokia about how its assets will fit together, it is clearly going to be a company to watch in the coming year. Nokia appears to be vying to expand its own business outside of consumer mobile devices and into the software and services that consumers are able to use on those devices.

Nokia now has assets that may accelerate the use of smart devices that use location-based services that know where we are. The potential benefit for marketers is the ability to deliver relevant, geographically contextual advertising opportunities to customers. Accomplishing this feat in the U.S. today, while not impossible, often involves orchestrating a small army of carriers, devices, marketing services providers, and agencies whose interests are not always aligned.

Download the full report.

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