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Marketers are not robots contrary to what automation and big data is predicting we will be like and should be aiming for in the future. In fact, my marketing team is all human, and we like it that way. We speak intelligently, we interact with technology, remediate challenges and develop ways to create emotional connections with real people. We also implement marketing programs and campaigns that reach the audiences we want for the right reasons at the right time. Of course, this gets results. This may sound like a super computer. Well, it is sort of… it’s what most marketing teams do every day.
Technology Doesn’t Rest, But…
We all know the technology that marketing teams use doesn’t take a rest and there are no coffee breaks. But there are things called corrupt files, hacks, stress, overheating, compliancy issues, reprogrammed APIs, bugs and you name it… and we typically just say, “that’s technology.” In today’s age of digital and big data, there is tremendous pressure to be more analytical and less pressure to be more creative in how we deliver our message and implement marketing. After all, our marketing should be s-m-a-r-t right? So here’s a few questions I think all of us marketing practitioners need to ask ourselves in all seriousness.
Do marketers have the ability and freedom to be bold with their ideas, create messaging that speaks with conviction and craft campaigns with creativity?
If I were to survey marketing leaders, I would venture to say more than half of them would say “no.” The other half would say, “yes, but…” Maybe the truth is, most marketing teams are up to their eyeballs in trying to gather data and reviewing online dashboards with the hope that all this information could direct every step, every message, every thought and every statistical click, view, and conversion.
A Different Breed of Marketers
The paradigm shift in thinking and action from years past requires a different breed of marketers that must think and act big data, digital and mobile first. Is it possible that as good as digital is and as immediate as mobile is, all of this could be changing the entire industry and culture of marketing teams? Let’s go one step further. How many CMOs are asking to review the content production, schedule or even the creative? – Not as many as you may think. CMOs are asking to review dashboards because their prospective customers are just numbers on a computer screen that could lead to sales.
This is not about to happen — it already has happened
As new marketers start a career in their twenties after college, more and more have strengths in social, mobile and technology. Less and less have the ability to craft a campaign, where reaching the customer with a compelling message is more than a touch point, it’s a relationship that all starts with a strong brand. This brand extends far beyond technology; it is a culture unto itself and is introduced into the lives of the customers. This breed of marketer is becoming extinct, all because big data and predictive analytics provide us with numbers that we ask the marketers ask for. Whoa… could it be true that it’s not the technology or analytics that are the genesis of the creative culture extinction but the marketers themselves that are pushing for more and more metrics? Is it possible we are causing the extinction of our own creative culture? Hmm…
YourBrandExposed is designed to look at digital with an eye into the future using a creative, analytical, innovative marketing perspective. We’re a consultative and tactical resource for companies looking to leverage the power of digital, web, social and content marketing strategies. Contact us if you’re feeling the digital squeeze on how to best market your company.
Scott MacFarland – Executive Digital Marketing
and Brand Strategist
HuffingtonPost | Relevance | Natcom Global
Linkedin | Twitter: @scmacfarland
Email: Yourbrandexposed@yahoo.com
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