Traditional Marketing R.I.P.

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Is Marketing Really Dead?

Bill Lee, President of the Lee Consulting Group and Executive Director of the Summit on Customer Engagement, recently declared that traditional marketing — including advertising, public relations, branding and corporate communications — is dead.

In his article for Harvard Business Review, simply titled “Marketing Is Dead”, he even cites several studies which confirm that traditional marketing communications are just not relevant in the “buyers decision journey.”

And while many people in traditional marketing/advertising/public relations roles and organizations may not realize this, Lee says “the evidence is clear.”

Popular Video Marketer Mia Davies recently gave here two cents on the issue in a webinar in which she stressed that the new breed of marketers should be taking more of a “social” approach to networking online, not just hit people up with their MLM products and/or business opportunity.

“The idea that traditional “marketing is dead” is not news to those of us who have been in this new social marketing approach for some time now and getting massive results from it. None the less, it’s powerful that the most respected players in the business world, including Harvard and Forbes, are finally saying it like it is and facing the cold hard truth about marketing. This is a turning point.” Mia says.

In a followup piece to the Harvard Business article, Forbes Magazine contributor Scott Goodson writes, “In the past few years, I’ve become convinced that traditional marketing has given way to “movement marketing” and that this is the new way forward for anyone trying to gain market share and earn customer loyalty.”

The way Goodson sees it, this new approach to marketing provides a way for business to connect more deeply with culture, address social issues, get close to customers and their deepest interests, and maybe even be part of something worthwhile and important.

So, what exactly is a “cultural movement?”

Goodson states: “(A movement) involves a like-minded group of people banding together around a shared idea or passion, and usually trying to bring about some type of change . . . For almost every passion you can think of there is a movement.”

And while the notion of people forming “movements” is nothing new, this proliferation of mini-movements is something new—fueled by changes in today’s media.

The Internet, and in particular the rise of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, has made it incredibly easy to find and connect with like-minded souls.

And this same technology makes it possible for a group, once formed, to organize, plan, and take action.

In short, the key for those who want to incorporate social media into their marketing strategies in order to capitalize on this new era in marketing, they  MUST stop talking about themselves and their products, and start listening to what people are talking about and are passionate about.

And YES that big idea that you do decide to align your brand with, should be one that fits your corporate identity AND projects values you really believe in without being phony about it.