What Does the Future Hold for Marketing?
Regardless of the continuous hype about social media and how so many companies are integrating it into their portfolios, we are missing what the long-term effects of so much new technology is having on our culture and marketing programs. We have created our own summaries from TalentZoo’s Gareth Kay, and his “4 signs where new age marketing may be heading.”
1. Brands will be built on cultural and social missions, not commercial propositions
Old style marketing was all about positioning and being unique from competitors. However, today consumers are becoming less interested in categories and more influenced in the cultural mission that brands offer. Companies are making their point of view and values of greater importance than simply their product in current marketing strategies. They are making a stronger push to have the customer “think” about the world they live in. If you Google a company’s slogan it is possible to see how companies today are trying to “sell” their products around a theme or value. For instance; Ford –Built for the Road Ahead; Panasonic – Ideas for Life; BAE Systems – Innovating for a Safer World. Ideals and beliefs are becoming the new form of marketing.
2. Marketing will be about what you do, not what you say
For decades marketing has been about companies talking about what they do rather than the actual doing. Marketing is rapidly becoming an ethos enveloping an organization. Corporations are integrating and using its ‘beliefs’ and ‘outlooks’ in its marketing approach. Marketing is no longer a sheltered arm of a corporation, but rather a corporate philosophy. Marketers must understand that ‘culture sells.’
3. Lots of little ideas, not one big idea
Removing the marketing approach of the ‘Big Idea’ is consequential for two reasons. As stated above, the big idea in reality is small in comparison to the corporation itself. Marketing lies in the realm of the corporation and its culture. Marketing will only become more interesting if it can break down the big idea and formulate many small consistent ideas. Second, developing many small ideas around corporate culture will allow one to see which ideas can flourish and which will flounder. The Internet has aided numerous corporations to analyze several marketing strategies at a much smaller cost than in previous decades. You used to know the web, but now the web knows you.
4. People first
Putting people first is becoming a marketing staple. As this may seem obvious, marketing is far too often seen with companies trying to convince people how great their product is rather than analyzing what people may want our how their product can add value to someone’s life. Kay uses an example of the “Tate Tracks campaign, created by Fallon London for the Tate Modern Gallery. They needed to increase the number of under-25s visiting the gallery and quickly realized that the conventions of gallery marketing show the art on display was unlikely to change behavior. So instead they thought about what this audience were passionate about music and created a campaign around art inspiring new, exclusive music.” By taking a different approach to marketing and making the people the priority, corporations may easily witness stronger campaigns.
Check out this amazing video from the Tate Modern Gallery:
Here is our takeaway from all of this: Creating Cultural Value = Commercial Value. Now let’s see what’s written for the future of marketing.
– Hugh from HSM
Hide & Seek Media is a creative marketing firm with locations in Boston, MA and Park City, UT. If you’re interested in learning more about developing your own creative marketing strategy, shoot us an email and tell us about your business and current marketing goals.
