As part of unLOCKEd’s 10th Anniversary series, we wanted to discuss how the marketing landscape has changed since we started our business. Marketing looks quite different than it did a decade ago, and unLOCKEd is committed to keeping up with those changes to offer quality marketing services to our clients. With that being said, here are some key areas where we have seen the marketing landscape change.
Mass Communication to Personal Conversations
Mass communication is the idea that the more people your marketing reaches, the better. Companies would put out their sales pitch on as large a scale as possible, assuming anyone could be convinced to buy their product as long as they reached them.
However, new technologies and social media have created much more personal conversations between companies and consumers. In an oversaturated digital world with a wealth of competition, getting your ad in front of people isn’t enough – they need to be the right people. Audience targeting has allowed brands to cater their advertisements to specific audiences or customer segments. This allows the ad to have a more significant impact on the consumer and avoids wasting money on advertising outside your audience. This form of marketing is much more personal and leverages new technological advancements.
Lasting Partnerships
These personal conversations between companies and consumers have led to lasting partnerships and brand loyalty. While brand loyalty is not an entirely new concept, the way many companies go about it has changed.
Rather than locality creating trust and dependence, brands create this through their marketing efforts. With national and international brands and plenty of competitors, brand values and ethics are what win most consumers over. Customers look for those personal conversations to create a connection and relatability that they want to come back to time and time again. Brands appealing to consumers’ lifestyles or ethical concerns create trust and lasting partnerships.
Impressions to Engagement
The final area of change we will discuss is the shift of focus from impressions to engagement. Similar to mass communication, impressions rely on a consumer simply seeing content or advertising. However, due to audience fatigue and advertising oversaturation, this is not enough anymore.
It is easy to forget simply seeing an advertisement. On the other hand, engaging with content, especially content that feels personalized, can have a much more lasting impact. This has led to a change in the type of content and advertising companies put out in an attempt to capture their audiences’ attention (and retention). Further, this change has required companies to change the metrics they collect and report on to better understand what resonates with consumers.
The marketing landscape changes daily, so it looks quite different after a decade. unLOCKEd has adapted to these changes and more to stay at the top of the marketing game and offer quality service to our clients!
Author: Sarah Murphy
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