The Future of Marketing + Advertising

So here are the slides from the presentation I shared with everyone at work on Friday during our monthly, "What's Next" lunches. These lunch sessions are one of my favorite things about working at space150. It's fun to see what people are interested in and what makes them excited to come to work every day. Not only that, but with my having only been here around six months, it gives me more insight into the people presenting, which helps me get to know them better. Anyway...

Quick background on these lunch sessions: Each month, three or four people are called upon to share either what inspires them or what's going on in a specific area. So far, I've seen some of our creatives talk to what motivates them and share trends and up-and-coming names in art and design; some of our tech team talk to emerging technologies, showing off what they can do and how they're relevant to our clients; and finally some of our modern media team share the newest ways we can help people find what they're looking for more easily and get more relevant information in front of them for our clients. Like I said, it has all been very fun to take part in as well as quite inspiring and energizing.

For this one, I was asked to share what's going on in marketing and where things are moving. What you'll see/did see is that I ended up using a little bit of what I've been posting about here and some of what has been getting covered both within the trade pubs and on blogs to give me the outline. If you follow the plannersphere and other social media and marketing blogs, then this probably won't be much new, but it might connect the conversations a little more. Or maybe not.

Mostly just wanted to share it since I did put a bit of time into pulling it together and was inspired by many of you who've been writing about similar subject matter. Also because what limited free time I did have last week went into putting it together instead of writing on here.

Note: Most of the examples in it are the more covered ones used to support the topics they're associated with. With limited time, I opted for the easy-to-find examples. Sorry about that. One that isn't as covered across the blogs and in the press yet is the My Vegas site. For more info on it see David Armano's post.

As always, if you've got any thoughts, questions or comments...

Comments

[Oakie]

I really like the lunch session idea. I really enjoy reading your presentation and your sense of humor. Great post.

[Sam Ismail]

Paul this is really really awesome man, very concise and straight to the good stuff. A really great overview of what more people should 'get'.

Mad love dude, mad love

[Frank Martin]

Outstanding presentation - as a researcher, I am continually looking for ways to persuade clients to use the new media to connect with customers - the goal is the same - but the methodologies are dramatically different now.

That said, focus groups are *still* a very effective tool for listening to customers and prospects - no they won't help design new products (with new technology customers really don't know what they want, sometimes even when they see it) - but they will help jumpstart team creativity, and develop ways to communicate with the target market.

[Dave Knox]

Amazing presentation Paul. It is really great to see this type of thinking coming out of the agency world. Us clients are slow to turn the ship and embrace these ideas but we need thinkers like you to keep pushing us. Killer stuff

[Valeria Maltoni]

I should have come to Minneapolis to listen to your presentation : )

When I speak about these things with the previous generation of marketers, I can see a curtain coming down in front of them. It's like Linus' blanket, a need to grab onto what used to work. It may take a full generation of business people (not only marketers) for companies to finally get it. And it will be consumers (ironically, us on the other side of the table) to bring about that change.

[David Armano]

EXCELLENT consolidation of thoughts. I'm sharing with everyone I know.

[paul isakson]

Oakie - thank you very much. I tried to make it a bit fun for people so they'd stay interested. The lunches are a great way for everyone to share ideas and information. I think everyone leaves them inspired no matter who presented.

Sam - thanks for the mad love. Very appreciated. I only had 15 minutes to present, so I had to keep it concise. Feels like I should have included some slides on relevance too, but I guess that'll be next time.

Frank - thank you as well. I absolutely agree that focus groups are still a valuable tool. I have defended them in the past and will continue to in the future.

They've gotten a bad name because people started using them for all of their "consumer research" instead of what they're intended for and really good at uncovering.

That was my talking point on the slide listing out the "traditional" ways to do research - that all of those still had a place and time. All are valuable in the right instances. We still use them when they're appropriate and I know several others who do too. Thanks again for your thoughts.

Dave - Wow. You don't know how much I appreciate that you left your comment here. Thank you. It's great to know that you and organizations like yours are looking at things this way too. It's going to take a collective effort from all of us, but especially the bigger clients and their agencies to turn the ship. Once a few of the bigger marketers do it, the rest will follow suit.

Valeria - I'm very flattered. Thank you. I agree that it's going to take some time. I'm encouraged by hearing from friends getting their MBAs and Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications that they are teaching this kind of stuff at their programs. And I'm encouraged when someone like Dave is thinking this way too.

David - Funny. I was leaving you a comment around the same time you left yours here. Thank you again.

[Gavin Heaton]

Awesome presentation, Paul. Thanks for sharing. Reminds me a little of "Content will kill your agency":
http://www.thekaiser-edition.com/?cat=81

[amelia]

About this time last year there was a big UK ad-storm about the question of whether "blogging was killing planning."

http://www.ipa.co.uk/news/news_archive/displayitem.cfm?itemid=2035

John Lowery from Grey was leading the anti-blogging brigade. I think that he missed the point about blogging and the planning community that is being built through blogs and social networks. It's ideas and thinking just like the presentation that you posted that heartens me and reminds me just why I am so fascinated by the job that I do.

I really believe that We Are What We Share. And that the collective intelligence that we can harness through blogging will make us all smarter and better equipped to create the kind of future that we want to work in.

Thanks for sharing.

[Bill]

Paul - great presentation! Wish you would have video recorded your presentation to share the insight beyond the slides...oh well! ;)

Regarding that focus group point that has been commented on, I could swear i saw in a recent Forbes article that Apple doesn't focus group anything. (This is either A: old news to all of you reading this, or B: a total mis-read on my part) Thinking about that forbes article, your presentation really help[ed make the full connection for me when you talk about the product IS the marketing.

[Cameron Maddux]

Paul,

This kicks ass. It reminds me of the Marty Neumeier stuff, concise and memorable. A nice jolt.
I was trying to think of a good project to assign my Marketing class. I am going to show them this presentation and have them build an idea off of it. I'll let you know the results.

Thanks.

[Ryan Moede]

Paul - thanks for so clearly summarizing where digital is at today. I've already passed your presentation to several in our office as it is in-line with the conversations we're discussing.

[Eric]

Paul, Great preso for sure. Like Gavin's comment above, it made me think about what this all means to the ad industry. Wrote a post in response. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

[Marcia]

This is an awesomely simple and clear presentation of the truth that's been coming at us as marketers and branders for at least 10 years now. Thanks for making it so fun. I plan to share this with my Vis Comm classes at Herron School of Art and Design.

[Misha Cornes]

Great presentation Paul. You got picked up by some industry publications too. Very concise (and entertaining!) thinking. I'll be sharing this around!

[Martina]

Paul, thanks for sharing this presentation.
Would be great if clients and agencies in Italy will download it and learn it by heart. This is the way marketing is going. Too bad only a few in my country understand it (for now?). This week I should meet mr Edwards, his statement became my marketing motto, not just because I work for Nike, but because I strongly believe it's true.
Again, thanks for the great post.

[GordonG]

Sorry if I'm up the creek, but I can't find any presentation/slides or link to a presentation in your post. Has the link been removed?
G

[Dino]

Great stuff Paul! Love it.

[Ted Zahn]

Great insight...presented beautifully. Will be sharing this with our team. You've got a new reader.
TZ

[Rob]

Absolutely brilliant. I'll be posting about this at my blog for experience.com. Current students and recent graduates of marketing programs NEED to see this presentation. I'll be coming back to check the blog frequently. Awesome work.

[Lawrence Kimmel]

This is a wonderful presentation. I did a keynote presentation at El Ojo in Buenos Aires in November '06 that was incredibly similar. It's gratifying to see others agree with this perspective!

[Michael]

Intelligent, fluid and simple presentation! There are all thing I've followed over the past couple of years but you put all the pieces together to make it so clear. Kudos and thank you!

[morgan mcalenney]

good deal Pablo. i'll send you a deck to spruce up for me...

[Deidre Sullivan]

Fantastic Presentation. Thanks for sharing it.

[Ed Kohler]

But listening is hard work. Can't I just scream at prospective customers instead?

[Brittany]

Great presentation! I think the idea of monthly lunch meetings is fantastic! It brings together people with common interest- the success of the company and food! The presentation was so great- a genius mix of humor and examples. As an integrated marketing student this type of presentation makes me very excited to begin interning and working in the industry- thank you so much for sharing!

Brit
funfreestuff10.blogspot.com

[Florian]

Great presentation!

In the spirit of thinking out loud, once you agree that insights (or in other words: interesting problems) and collaboration are the key to sucess, you quickly end up asking:

How are we going to collaborate? What's our common language?

Currently, the best answer to this question comes from the world of design/innovation:

Start with people, define interesting problems and cycle quickly through prototyping and evaluation until you find the "best" overall solution.

In that sense, not only is there no future to "advertising", there might also be no future to "marketing". There might however be a great future to people-centered design/innovation (or for that matter service design?).

Again, nothing new in itself, but it seems to me that many times engagement, utility, etc. end up as empty words that keep us from going the whole distance.

[paul isakson]

All - Thank you very, very much for taking time to read, share, link and comment.

I really didn't expect it to do what it has done, but I'm glad so many are finding it useful. I would love to reply personally as I was doing early on, but I can't keep up with it all as well as stay on top of the day job right now.

I really do appreciate all your kind words and your sharing it with others.

Feel free to email or comment more.

Thank you, Paul

[Ryan McRorie]

Insightful presentation shared with me by your friend Stacy - content/utility trump "badge factor"; well played. Thanks for posting, I will share it with others and claim it as my own - kidding.

[André Galhardo]

Innovation embedded. I'm working on that - let's invent new concepts. Thanks for sharing.

[Tom O'B]

Hi Paul:

Great presentation - and right on topic for many of our clients. (We do online anthropology - listen to the conversations, analyze to uncover hidden motivations and drives)

Thanks - TO'B

[Michael Seaton]

Damn, that is a nice presentation. Great visuals, nice build. All the right points to back up the key message.

It is a work of art.

[Terri in Tokyo]

excellent, thank you for sharing this.

[Uwe Gutschow]

thanks for sharing this. great presentation I found on slideshare that really sums up what needs to be done right now.

[John Barden]

I think this was a very good read, thank you!

[David Jones]

I'll think of this the next time I sit in a joint agency meeting where 90% of the time is spent discussing what goes into the TV ad that will air for six weeks.

Why is the remaining 46 weeks of the year seen as the easy part?

[Leland M]

Damn dude. Clearly this presentation struck a chord with people! Great content well packaged. Nice job dude.

[Jon]

Enjoyed the article, found the slideshow interesting.

Was amazed that you included a quote from Akio Morita of Sony, the corporation who just "Knew" we wanted rootkits on our computers...

Consumers do indeed know what they want. The problem with online marketing is that too much emphasis is placed on "implicit" information, and not enough on "explicit". Until marketing moves away from the nearly exclusive use of clandestinely captured data, all I see is smoke blowing with the breeze. Where is the transparency? Looks like the old ways just being adapted to the new technology, to me.

The concept of consumers not knowing what they want is so 1950's.... Consumers are not that uninformed little child who has to be led to the pond and told where to drink. Marketing needs to grow up. The consumers are doing just that.

I agree with you that value is new currency. I wonder how much value a consumer would assign to an app that allowed choosing ad types? Want a Google killer? Present the online world with the ability to get self-targeted ads on any page they visit, with controls to modify "on-the-fly" which ads they want to see. In short, explicitly ask them, and then provide what they ask for.

Great value on this site, in my opinion. (as I add another RSS feed...)

[Marketing sussex]

Interesting subject

[xgeronimo]

This is an excellent slideshow! Your main point is that marketing new content will replace classic advertising. But I think that this new content has to be created in the first place (and to be creative enough to catch the attention of consumers). To me the word "marketing" equals "tools" and marketing by itself doesn't create the content (at it's best it can creatively use new forms of distribution channels). So, I don't think that marketing will replace advertising (as a prime content creator), but maybe the word "advertising" will be replaced by "lovertising" (ideas that spread love)? :)

[bhatnaturally]

Brilliant presentation. Thanks for sharing this. Wish I could have listened to the presentation to imbibe what you had to say in terms of elaborating a point. Even in traditional media led markets like India (where I work) this is so relevant.