Immortal Content and the Illusion of Control

Ance Jaks, Senior Project Manager at Olsen+Partners, notes:
"Fragmented, less trustworthy, and driven by AI innovation—that is the state of communication today. More than ever, a human, experience-based vision from communication professionals is essential."

1. Control over communication is an illusion

As communication professionals recognize how widely brand voice and messaging are interpreted across media, social platforms, influencer channels, and AI tools, they are beginning to build more fragmented brand systems and increasingly rely on data-driven testing in brand management.

Fake news and fraud

Major brands have long faced identity misuse for customer fraud. Ahead of the Latvian parliament elections, a significant rise in fake news and fraud is expected, as Russia attempts to destabilize society and foster distrust. Monitoring must be strengthened, and teams must be prepared to respond quickly by exposing false information.

AI doesn’t know what the brand wants to say

While brand visibility in Google search could previously be optimized with precision, most companies are only beginning to understand GEO – AI-driven search principles. This requires not only revisiting SEO/GEO strategies but also a conceptual reassessment: what does AI currently “know” about the brand, and what does the brand want it to communicate?

Testing increases fragmentation

The era of perfectly polished and strictly defined brand—especially sales—materials is over. Today, AI-generated variations and adaptations are actively used, making campaigns more effective, but also more fragmented and less controlled. Avoiding this comes at the cost of efficiency, so brand owners must accept increasing visual and messaging fragmentation.

DEFINING THE BRAND CORE

The pressure from AI tools and ad testing requires simplifying and adapting brand identity, creating a strong, memorable core with:

• one dominant brand color
• a simple symbol visible even in small ad formats
• a universal long-term slogan/tagline

ADDITIONAL APPROACHES BRANDS ACTIVELY USE:

World-building through visual style

Materials incorporate varying symbolic elements that create a cohesive visual system for informed audiences. A recurring element, expression, or environment helps tie together the growing volume of content with the brand.

Archetypes

In a world of AI-driven variation, a single brand persona is replaced by an archetype—endless variations of the same type, such as the caring father or the adventurous youth.

2. Sensory Experience as Part of Communication

Fatigue from screens and technology has created a new wave of experiential marketing – both consumer brands and B2B companies are seeking new in-person ways to engage audiences and remain memorable.

Pop-up sales and experiences

E-commerce brands are increasingly using pop-up formats to create real-life interaction with existing and potential customers and partners. In this format, it is not only about the opportunity to physically experience the product, but also about delivering added value—such as aesthetic enjoyment, additional information, or an exclusive experience.

Industry and niche events

In B2B communication, industry events dominate as a tool for building and strengthening partner relationships. In international marketing, sponsored visits are becoming more popular, bringing potential B2B clients to experience both the company and the country’s tourism offering. Consumer brands, meanwhile, create experience-driven content together with influencers. Cross-marketing activities are also on the rise.

Sensory experiences

The importance of sensory experiences in communication is increasing—from audio branding to brand-curated Airbnb experiences, inviting audiences not to buy, but to experience the brand. Non-standard point-of-sales solutions will become increasingly important.

For more complex B2B projects, demo materials and 3D models are being developed, and direct marketing is also making a comeback.

TIPS FOR COMMUNICATION

SEARCHING FOR TOUCHPOINTS 

To leverage experiential marketing activities, it is essential to define existing and desired in-person touchpoints with the target audience. It is also important to narrow the target audience and tailor the experience to a niche rather than everyone. Touchpoints do not have to be directly related to the product or service or its place of purchase—they can also be linked to the brand identity, for example, a gym for healthy food products. By identifying unexpected touchpoints, new ideas will emerge for integrating brand experiences—whether through events, sound, environmental objects, or other formats.

REVOLUTIONIZING ROUTINES 

A way to enhance sensory brand experience without direct contact is by creating strong associations with existing audience habits. By positioning a product or service as part of a daily routine—only improved and more satisfying—it is possible not only to strengthen customer loyalty but also to create a cultural phenomenon.

One of the most successful examples of association-building is KitKat, which, with its “Take a break” slogan, encourages us to take a short break during work.

3. META’s AI assistant Manus

META has introduced an additional tool – an artificial intelligence assistant called Manus, designed for creating engaging content and enabling more efficient media planning. Manus operates using a prompt-based system similar to ChatGPT and other familiar tools. It is not yet fully integrated into the META system, but it clearly signals that the era of manual media planning is coming to an end – humans will not be able to compete with AI optimization capabilities.

For now, Manus is not entirely smooth in its operation, and the free version has a limited number of “credits.” Additionally, not all Meta innovations tend to have a long lifespan.

Content creation

Manus offers the ability to generate detailed social media content plans by analyzing existing posts and incorporating best practices in social media marketing. At the moment, it works quite slowly and heavily, so achieving results requires patience.

Ad integration

Manus is integrated into Meta Ads Manager, currently providing additional analysis of campaign performance, reached audiences, and optimization opportunities. It is located under the “Tools” section, but is not yet available to all users.

Competitor analysis

Potentially the most interesting feature of Manus is its in-depth analysis of selected competitor pages – summarizing industry or specific competitors’ published content, posting times, results, and the factors Manus identifies as drivers of post success.
At the moment, Manus cannot fully process all pages, so results are somewhat generic and based on global trends. However, it is worth investing in diversifying communication, which will help both differentiate your brand and prevent competitors using Manus from gaining easy advantages.

4. Spring Design Trends

Spring traditionally marks the emergence of new design trends in advertising as well.

The final act of minimalism

The series “Love Story. John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” has sparked a new wave of minimalism and 90s fashion, which is likely to influence fashion and design trends throughout the summer. It may become the swan song of minimalism, as maximalism and kitsch have already been pushing strongly into design trends over the past year.

Naivism

The carefree spirit of summer will be particularly emphasized by the naivism trend, which will be visible in both campaign design and social media content.

It is important not to confuse naivism with childishness—the trend works only when used in contrast, signaling the desire of Generation X, now in their mature years, to reconnect with their inner child.

Blueprint design

In uncertain times, the demand for structure increases, and this is exactly what the blueprint design trend offers. The “recipe” of products and processes combines detailed, content-rich breakdowns—including the search for “secret ingredients”—with fine-line illustrations.

Moving visuals

On social media, videos are trending in which part of the content is in motion while another part remains static, like a photograph. This trend can be effectively used in advertising, for example, to highlight enduring values; however, it is likely to lose relevance by the summer.

ADAPTING VISUAL COMMUNICATION

In Latvia’s small market, design trends must be adopted quickly—whoever uses them first effectively “claims” the niche. This is particularly true for naivism and blueprint design, which can become central solutions for summer campaigns if a brand is first to introduce them.

The moving visuals trend can be applied more broadly, and minimalism along with 90s aesthetics is also a wider trend that brands can interpret in different ways.

As always, trends add a timely accent to a brand’s overall visual identity and can help attract consumer attention, but they must not overshadow the brand voice—no matter how fragmented it may become in an environment of decreasing control.

5. Current TikTok Video Trends

In April, TikTok starts to reflect summer vibes—more carefreeness, a strong sense of individuality, and a desire to enjoy life. This trend may evolve not only into summer lightness but also signal something more serious for the economy and businesses: there is a growing tendency to avoid sacrificing for long-term gains and instead focus on enjoying the present, including through spontaneous spending.

HOLD TO RUN FASTER

This trend dominates Instagram Reels, using the platform’s built-in speed-up functionality, but is not applicable on TikTok.

It involves adding familiar game console-style buttons.

It can be used to reveal a message or accelerate a process, for example, showing the unboxing or consumption of a product.

MY TOP PLAN

This trend uses a simple three-slide carousel to demonstrate how easily life plans get disrupted.
The humor comes from the contrast between serious life goals and an unexpected twist that was never considered in those plans.

For brands, this is an opportunity to showcase an unexpected turn in product/service development or everyday office life.

Recommended audio: Dominic Fike – “White Keys”.

FREE BIRD

One of the audio tracks increasingly used in videos is Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.”

This audio is used across different types of content. Brands create “day in the life” videos, showcase behind-the-scenes moments in offices or production, or highlight dynamic team members.

THE SOUND I HEAR WHEN

Reflecting a broader trend—especially among Gen Z—to listen less to others and reject socially imposed norms, the “The Sound I Hear When” audio allows both individuals and brands to express what they consider irrelevant.

White noise is regaining cultural relevance as a way to signal attitude toward society. However, it’s important to note that many Gen Z users do not associate this sound with radio or TV, as they have not experienced it, so careful consideration of context is necessary.