Megatrends in Marketing

The chief marketing officer's job is tougher than ever, yet charming like never before. Amidst a swell of opportunities around people and places, there lies the frightful reality of change and challenges. In today's ever-evolving business and consumer landscape, marketers face challenges that their predecessors didn't have to dare. Also, there is myriad information when it comes to megatrends in marketing. However, the 'real' megatrends are a matter of one's own analysis and vision, and of course the reader's own articulation of the content. It is a subject matter of interpretation.

 Simplicity: The complex ordeal of practising it

 

 

 

 

 

Choices are aplenty to the consumer of today; and delivering a unique positioning in a world of chaos of brands and propositions is quite a challenging task for a marketing professional. There was a time when we saw ambiguous messaging majoring in the interim, but pushing the envelope of simplicity is back to the fore. Brands & business, particularly new, are resorting to simple, minimal, clear and concise interfaces to communicate with audiences. Invasiveness in a call-out shall always remain a sharp weaponry, but the challenge today is to see how simply the brand can converse with its consumers. Maybe a naive trend of sorts but is re-generating a vast acceptance. Like in every field, even marketing is going back to the old days.



 Data: Making value from volume

This may come with a quizzical expression. But, data is a vital megatrend that is becoming the core of both old and new enterprises, especially in the startup space. With a burgeoning number of brands in products and services hitting the marquee, one of the biggest tasks for an avid marketer is deciphering the data to align with marketing objectives. Consumer data, owing to the unprecedented growth in mediums, has bedazzled some of the articulate marketers too and, thus, understanding the needs, preferences and behaviour in the current era poses a big challenge. Not just that, this is growing at a brisk rate, every single day. Creating value from the volume and variety is an uphill task, gaining precedence and measuring up for a drift, worth exercising well.

Media: The loudspeaker to 'that' idea

The convergence of social, mobile, cloud and non-cloud technological breakthroughs along with the traditional mediums is a huge assignment; even a deft marketer perspires at it. There is a growing demand for anytime-anywhere access, across multiple geographies for communication, activation and transaction. Technology is challenged every moment. True, it presents gigantic opportunities for marketers to take advantage of, but to allow a near unified experience in a cross-connected world, across a variable diversity is a significant encounter for any marketer.
In the pursuit to reach maximum consumers and cover all geographies, often a 360-degree approach is accepted. But, with recent studies on traction and ROI, one wonders if it is an overrated concept today. While time has confirmed that TV ads and sales continue to share a true-love relationship, does marketing really have to look for another partner elsewhere? Can non-360 degree approach make a bigger impact.....?