The Futurist: Putting the human heart back at the centre. Iconography, for example, one of the oldest marketing tools in the world, could make a comeback. More importantly is ROI the right, or only, measure? Good marketers will step back and realise people follow their heart when selecting brands. David Ogilvy’s dictum was right after all: “The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.” Marketers need to think more about the relationships their brands should have with their customers. Trust is a key part to this relationship. The smart marketers will be focusing on behavioural psychology as the future of marketing. Evolving research approaches will become an even more important tool in managing this. We know, for example, that consumers are twice as likely to buy from a brand if the message is aligned with their personality. If we want to create the best tech innovations then we have to place the human condition at its centre first.
Predicting the future of marketing is a near impossible task, given the fast changing technologies and often at times unpredictable nature of consumer behaviour. All I know is that there will be more and more marketing in so many fields as the abundance of resources means more will be commoditised, and messages drowned out, and
consumers alienated.
Brands with clear direct messages, and which project strong values that capture the Human spirit continue to win through. Think of the John Lewis Christmas ads, which British consumers longingly wait for every November. This year it stars bouncing dogs, foxes, badgers, squirrels and hedgehogs. The questions faced by every marketer is how can we create smart cut through marketing in a world constantly bombarded by information, news, social, paid and earned media. Iconography, for example, one of the oldest marketing tools in the world, could make a comeback. How do you measure ROI to ensure the biggest bang for your buck?
More importantly is ROI the right, or only, measure? Ask our Singapore customers this year whether they remember Caltex’s flash gif file Facebook post, or special card discount, or even our new loyalty programme, and the answer will probably be “No, but I really liked your blow up Pump attendant waving us into your stations.” The problem for a marketer is how do you measure ROI, on an inflatable doll?
We have become ROI and KPI dominant, wanting to measure everything. We show all kinds of measures that highlight how our new Facebook campaign, or programmatic buy, or price discount, or new AR game achieve good numbers; but…
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