It’s a “Post-Advertising” Marketing World — Here’s How to Navigate It
Is your brand positioned for success in the new decade? To help you answer that question, we offer our insights from the recent JEGI | Clarity Media & Tech Conference.
By Kyle Crafton
The 2020 JEGI | Clarity Media & Technology Conference, thematically titled “Radical Reinvention,” brought leaders from across the spectrum of publishing, tech and the agency world together in New York City in January. Like any conference, there were plenty of buzzwords and bold predictions from the dais. The opening keynote delivered by Accenture Interactive CEO Brian Whipple, however, stood out as a broader and more insightful breakdown of exactly what’s changed in the business of marketing.
Whipple offered salient advice to guide marketers trying to grow their brand in the new decade. These three pointers stood out to us in particular:
2. Pay attention to your values. By 2030 (just 10 years from now), millennials will be five times richer than they are today — more than $68 trillion of Baby Boomer wealth is in the process of being transferred to this younger generation. It’s a generation that cares — deeply — about ethical values, and that considers human impact when weighing which products to consume. Whipple notes that 62 percent of all consumers are attracted to brands based on their ethical values. Therefore, whether or not you pay attention to your values, your customers will certainly be doing so.
3. Diversify your agency mix. Working with only an ad agency is not going to provide brands with enough insights or capabilities to ultimately compel their growth. Instead, Whipple suggests that the “sweet spot” of creating positive consumer experiences (and thus long-term brand viability) comes from utilizing a blend of marketing partners: creative agencies, traditional consultants and technology providers. The intersection of expertise among these groups will provide the strategic guidance and execution firepower to ensure that all consumers — and particularly those with a growing share of purchasing power — will connect positively with a brand.
Change may be the only constant when it comes to advances in technology, marketing and media, but with an eyes-wide-open approach to understanding how consumers are making purchasing decisions today — as well as the importance of those consumers in the long term — brands needn’t be blindsided by every twist and turn in societal trends. With the right partners in place and a clearly articulated ethical stance, brands can be well positioned to grow and prosper despite an ever-evolving generational and behavioral landscape.