3 trends reshaping the marketing industry

As heard @ C2 Montreal

To say things are evolving fast would probably be a cliché. But that is indeed the reality of the situation: The marketing industry must continuously reinvent itself as new technologies, trends, and consumption habits emerge. During the last edition of C2 Montreal, three predominant trends stood out as the ones businesses should start integrating right away.

Trend 1: Storytelling is good. Hypertelling is better.

Storytelling is the art of telling a story in a manner that captures the attention of the receiver, whether the message is coming from a person or a brand.

Hypertelling — as defined by Mike Yapp, founder and director of The Zoo at Google — is an immersive, non-linear experience where users create and determine their story. Transmitters are no longer in total control of the message; they simply supply the context and parameters with which the experience is built. It’s through this experience that brands find their residual benefit.

This approach can dizzy brands that are historically used to controlling the minutest details of their messages (just think of the number of approval levels a national or global campaign must overcome).

For Yapp, the solution is to redefine the role of the brand: “We can no longer see ourselves as designers or copywriters. We have to consider ourselves inventors.” New technologies, including virtual reality, are opening the door to new common ground where various parts of the equation find themselves.

Moving from theory to practice remains a challenge, but certain brands — such as Lockheed Martin — have already put their shoulders to the wheel to create contexts where users can share a virtual experience in person with many other users at once. This video will tell you more:

Trend 2: Environmental thinking, version 2.0

Having a green heart is a good thing. As we all witnessed at C2 Montreal this year, the idea of eco-responsibility has taken on a whole new meaning for businesses.

According to David Suzuki — host of The Nature of Things and a scientific icon incarnating environmental consciousness in Canada — climate change represents a challenge filled with potential for companies who’ll know how to take them on. In his words: “It’s an exciting opportunity to get this bloody economy right.”

Although environmental speeches have often been the prerogative of corporate social consciousness in the business world, Suzuki believes climate change is fertile ground to stimulate commercial creativity.

“Americans said at the beginning of the ’60s that they would walk on the moon within 10 years. They had no idea how they would get there, but they did. On the way there, hundreds of technological innovations saw the light of day and are still used today.”

This is where the opportunity lies: For brands who choose to take on this type of challenge — as colossal as it may be — the outcome will offer commercialization and brand equity potential that’ll be well worth the investment.

Wanna know how much time your company has left to get involved?

David Usher — lead singer of the band Moist and noted environmentalist — has developed a simple tool with a powerful message. Countdown2degrees.com outlines the amount of time left before humanity causes irreversible damage to the environment. We’re flirting with the point of no return, but it’s not too late. So what are you waiting for?

Trend 3: Doing more with what we already have

In marketing terms, we would probably talk about “resource optimization”. In the words of Massimo Bottura — chef and owner at Osteria Francescana, named best restaurant in the world in 2016: “We need to make the most of what we already have”.

The Italian chef is the mastermind behind the Milan-based Food for Soul project, where meals are created using leftovers. On top of the obvious community benefits of his initiative, his approach has had a clear commercial and environmental impact.

Whether we’re talking about food or human capital, the message is the same: These resources hold enormous potential we’re all missing out on. For a brand, that can mean millions of dollars left on the table.

“When we already have” also refers to the local roots of his company. As a business, we sometimes want to do everything ourselves or rush to the other end of the world to find something we consider of the utmost importance. For Mark Brand — social entrepreneur and cofounder of Save on Meats: “There is more genius in the neighbourhood than what you could possibly bring.”

Making the most of immediate connections and community relationships is therefore another way to “optimize resources”.

Recap

Historically confined to the role of broadcasting unidirectional messages, brands and their raison d’être have greatly evolved when observed from a marcom angle. Consumers now expect companies to provide experiences, rather than situations where they’ll simply witness something produced without their input: “We don’t want to know it, we want to feel it.”

We also expect brands to be much more than good corporate citizens. We expect them to be agents of transformation, actively involved in improving their community.

To find out more about the great ideas exposed during C2 Montreal, download your free copy of The Minutes — a collection of the most transformative quotes and ideas discussed during the event. While you’re at it, you can even reserve your tickets for the 2017 edition. And of course, I’d also be more than happy to answer any of your questions.