Although companies come and go, and brands undergo major makeovers from time to time, marketing will always be here to stay. It is easy to observe that marketing and advertising in today's world primarily consists of of digital techniques like social media platforms and online ads. Brands aren't just seen as the logo of a company, but rather the personality behind the products and services that are sold. Let's dive in deeper and look at the evolution of marketing over three time periods specifically.
The 1960s
Marketing and advertising in the 1960s was heavily made up of spokespeople that allowed consumers to put a face to the name of a brand. In today's world, we would call this influencer marketing. During this time period, people were finding themselves to have a lot more leisure time, which allowed for the exploration of brands and products. The most common channels of advertising were through television, photography, posters, newspapers, and simple print ads. The social and political change occurring at the time opened up a window of opportunity for advertisers, which could at times be seen as controversial.
Early 2000s
In January of 2007, the world changed tremendously. The original iPhone had been released, which completely changed the systems of marketing and advertising. The Internet was growing with Google right by its side, causing advertisements to be much more prevalent in people's everyday activities. Additionally, Google Analytics was used to actually measure these ads, which heavily increased efficiency. The creation of social media allowed for a two-sided market, in which consumers were prompted to say their own opinions regarding brands. Lastly, personalization became a major technique, and was made possible because of mass produced ads.
Future
Looking into the future, it seems that marketers will only continue to gain power over the consumer experience as a whole. The use of mobile devices, personalization, and the internet of things will be common trends in the marketing world, and artificial intelligence will be all around us. Virtual reality will allow customers to know everything they need to know about a project before purchasing. Marketers will care more about efficiency because they will soon have all the tools they need to be as efficient as possible. Lastly, relationships between customers and brands will continue to grow and flourish because of the strength of communication.