Marketing meltdown

Apr 21, 2014 by Mark Baines Category: Brand Design

Very few B2B brands understand the consequences of what is happening in the world of marketing, because, I believe, so many of them are locked into the old ways of doing things.

Maybe they’re a bit inflexible, or their knowledge is based on their limited personal experience?

Basically, no matter where you are trading, you now have access to the same market as your competitors. Therefore it’s vital that you use every medium at your disposal, and that you differentiate yourself from them.

Because we are in the midst of two giant cultural shifts.

First is a technology slowdown. The next big thing is not coming any time soon. And I mean “technology” in every possible way.
Over the last decade we have marveled at all the gadgets and gizmos… stronger, faster, smaller, better, and sleeker. We’ve converged every device into every other device. It’s a phone, camera, TV, music player, garage door opener, periscope, personal assistant, and deodorant. We’ve created and downloaded lots of apps and whiz-bang features that surprise and delight. Technology was the message and all advertising had to do was dramatize the latest and the greatest and consumers responded. It was the “Who Made a Better Computer Mouse Trap” world of communications. We have come to the end of that. So much has been done, seen, and heard that something has to be truly amazing to get the littlest bit of attention.

In our industry, the debate raged over digital agencies vs. traditional advertising agencies. Creatives were divided based on how technologically savvy they were: Art Directors, Digital Art Directors, Writers, Digital Writers, Designers, Web Designers, Digital Designers and so on. That is no longer the case. Today’s writer is also a digital writer who can edit, build their own website, shoot and make video games. Creatives today, like their smartphones, must be able to do everything. And well.

The second thing I believe will have an impact on the kind of work we will do is globalization. The fastest growing brands are the brands tapping into the rapidly growing foreign market demand. So you have to promote your product/service to the world.

It’s a marketing meltdown folks!

The winners will be the brands who can tell the best brand story to the greatest number of people across the most media. Designers and design directors will be hot commodities. They will be needed more than ever as brands try and differentiate themselves from the competition, visually, and across the globe.

So wise up marketers: get the change – or it won’t be pretty!

Thanks to Jason Gaboriau, Executive Creative Director, CP+B (Los Angeles), for the basis of this rant.

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