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3. Greater integration of Video into all websites. Yesterday, I visited the homepage of CRM juggernaut, Salesforce.com, and was immediately struck by how quickly the video flash piece engaged me. Video is not just for TV and YouTube anymore. The ShaveEverywhere site proved that the use of video within viral sites is hugely engaging and effective in converting sales. We will see more large, medium, and small businesses integrate video into their primary and campaign websites in 2007. One trend we will likely see will be an increase in the use of “Webisodes”, where 3-5 minute daily or weekly video clips will entice users to come back to sites for more all-web programming.

9. Viral campaign websites will have a purpose. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been forwarded hundreds of quirky sites that are experimenting with the whole viral marketing thing and that have no further purpose whatsoever. There are no calls-to-action or indications as to why these sites exist. A few examples of pointless viral sites include: Patron’s SimplyPerfect, eROI’s WearShortShorts, and the pointless but popular CareerBuilder Monk-e-Mail/. Next year will feature more substantial viral campaign sites like Philips’ ShaveEverywhere, Kettle Foods’ PassportToFlavor, and Snakes on a Plane.