Marketing Trends in 2024

We’re a quarter of the way through 2024 and exciting things in marketing are already happening. At the National Peanut Board (NPB), we’re launching a long-term creative campaign called We the Peanut and we have a new chief marketing officer on board. Also, state groups are finding fresh ways to connect with consumers. In this episode, we’ll delve into 2024 marketing trends and speak with Ginny Lewis of Golin, Dena Malsom of NPB and Ashley Collins of the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association.

First, we spoke to NPB’s newest team member, Dena Malsom. Malsom was hired at the beginning of March as NPB’s chief marketing officer. As a marketing expert who has worked for companies like Cox Communications, Delta Airlines, Hardee’s Carl’s Jr., and more, Dena knows what to pay attention to when it comes to trends. Two trends she thinks are particularly important are A.I. and premium products.

Trend: Artificial Intelligence Is Here

“In marketing, I don't think you can talk about trends without talking about AI, Artificial Intelligence,” Dena said. “I know it's a buzzword, and it means different things to different groups, because it's really a part of I think everybody's world today. I know that in agriculture, AI is taking on its own role, and making huge strides in efficiencies and other things that I'm not the expert on. But in the world of marketing, AI also is playing a really important part. And so, for the National Peanut Board, I think we can lean on AI to be a great way to generate content that we can do more quickly and more nimble, that really resonates with the various audiences and takes advantage of trending opportunities.”

Trend: Premium Products Prevail

“Despite the economic concerns that are impacting spending power today, there's still a very strong interest for premium products," Dena said. "Consumers want something special. They want something new, you know. They're tired of the same old, same old, so they're always looking for the premium product, whatever that may be. And so, I think peanut needs to find its place in these growing food trends as an example. And I know we're doing a lot in those areas. But I was just reading in, I think it was Food Business News that one of the large manufacturer brands is introducing this cold foam creamer that sprays out like a canned whipped cream. And first of all, that sounds really fun and foamy. But it also made me wonder if a peanut-infused cold foam creamer would be something that is possible and maybe add a little nutrition as well. Hazelnut is common in creamers. Why not peanuts?”

Next, we spoke to Ginny Lewis, the senior vice president of digital at Golin. Each fall, NPB holds a national marketing summit for all of the state executives to attend where we present the latest and greatest in marketing. Ginny is a huge part of that meeting. Here are her thoughts on the trends to pay attention to.

Trend: Time to Get Niche

“People want to follow and engage with things that they're interested in,” Ginny said. “They're not interested in seeing generic content anymore. They're interested in what they're interested in. So, that means we have to tap into fandoms and niche groups and interests to really generate that engagement.”

Trend: Privacy is Back in Style

“Back in the day everyone would go on Facebook, and they would write a post about how they were feeling, what they were doing, what they were eating,” Ginny said. “And this idea, like you wanted as many followers as you can, and you wanted it to go out to a mass audience. Well, now we're seeing on the platform things like story shares to only your close friends. We're seeing communities like Discord and private channels really grow in popularity. We're seeing influencers create newsletters and try to monetize that way…You're trying to find like-minded people and have really intimate conversations with them.”

Finally, we spoke to Ashley Collins, executive director of the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association. Ashley said they are getting ready to kick off their 2024 marketing work. Here’s Ashley with her thoughts on an important trend that she sees.

Trend: Importance of Values and Transparency

“Consumers want to hear about the producer and connect their food with the person who grew their food, and the values that that person has,” Ashley said. “And also along with that is also the importance of transparency in what we do in our industry.”

In this episode, Dena dove into exciting trends like artificial intelligence and premium products, and Ginny spoke about how being niche is trendy on social media. Ashley reminded us of the power that peanut producers have in influencing consumer buying decisions as well. That peanut pride is reflected in our new long-term creative platform, “We the Peanut,” to celebrate and unite all the peanut love out there in unique ways. Listen to the full episode wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website.