The Changing Face of Marketing

This year marks my 35th year in the marketing space, and this month the start of the 23rd year of my own business. The decision to spread my wings and go out on my own was sparked by a car accident in which I shouldn’t have survived (I drove under the back of a truck). I decided, as you often do when your life flashes before your eyes, that life was too short to keep wondering, so I stepped out of the safety of a monthly salary and into the unfamiliar void.

So now, after 22yrs in Longjump, I stop to consider the pros and cons of this decision, and more importantly, muse on what has changed in the world of consumer behaviour, brands and marketing…

There is no doubt, the big issues on peoples’ minds right now are cost of living and sustainability/the environment, driving decisions like never before. But in the super-fast pace of life today, these choices are not necessarily linear, nor predictable. Convenience can still drive choice over both price and environmental factors, but the winner is the brand that can deliver it all.

We’ve also seen a shift in the definition of loyalty. Once upon a time, people were loyal to a brand that had delivered consistently over time. Then it seemed, buying loyalty (through programs) was the way to retain customers ‘loyalty’. Today loyalty must be earned like never before. Today, loyalty means transparency. It means collaboration. It means opening a two-way conversation with customers. It means social responsibility, and it means offering real and relevant value. Businesses and brands are scrutinized, and their practices put under the spotlight before consumers will offer their (most prized) loyalty.

For too long, big brands with their big promises could lure consumers with their push marketing, but today’s consumers have easy access to small, niche and entrepreneurial brands that have shifted the nature of the brand-consumer relationship, offering a new kind of relationship – one of connection, accessibility, transparency and often, an opportunity for collaboration. Brands that continue to win will be those that allure consumers through connection & relationship and bring genuine meaning to people’s lives. Truth in marketing has never been so powerful!

So as I head into my 23rd year at Longjump, I seek to help build more powerful brands through truth and transparency, helping businesses unlock genuine relationships with their consumers and impact the world for good, not just grow profits. If that’s your passion too, let’s chat…