The Mind-boggling Future of Marketing

Akanksha Chandan
6 min readSep 22, 2022

Distinctive marketing strategies for the years to come.

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The technologies that are evolving recently are disrupting almost everything around us. Today's consumers are more distracted and the reduced attention span makes it harder for brands to get noticed.

Much has changed in terms of human behavior as we are transforming digitally. Along with our day-to-day lives, we have got a lot more to do. In fact, we have started spending more time with gadgets than with human beings. And this drastic change has also affected the way we want to market our products and services.

Why we can’t Fight Shy of New Trends

Even today, when we read about marketing strategies, the basics remain the same. From grabbing the Attention, to generating Interest, making the prospect Desire, and finally making them Interact with the brand; everything remains the same, only the ways to do it have changed.

People today get bored so easily that we as brands have to keep brainstorming and coming up with out-of-the-box ideas. The frequency of introducing new strategies has also increased because we ain’t like outdated things. Companies need constant innovation not just in their product or service but also in ways of communicating with the target audience.

Starting from the established brands (because they got the money to spend), eventually the newest brands also need to invest in new marketing tactics. But, the time of implementation also matters. You need to hit the iron when it’s hot. Not following the trend is still better than being too late into it. People won’t understand why you couldn’t do it on time, they will just consider you slothful. And, that’s a bad bad impression to make.

Marketing Strategies for the Tech-Age

Moving forward, let’s explore some mind-blowing marketing trends emerging across the globe.

There are already several articles on the internet where you can read about the implications of AR-VR, IoT, and AI in marketing. So, I have compiled a list of some unique marketing concepts that you won’t find in one place. Let’s dive into some interesting marketing concepts,

Neuromarketing

It’s strange how the things that existed since the beginning are also somehow a part of the newest marketing strategies.

Everything that we experience makes our brain respond in a certain way. Till now we were assuming what our customers might be thinking/feeling based on how they interact with our campaigns. But now, we have the opportunity to find out what’s actually happening inside the mind of our customers. We can identify things that even the customers themselves don’t know about.

According to Harvard Business Review, “Neuromarketing” loosely refers to the measurement of physiological and neural signals to gain insight into customers’ motivations, preferences, and decisions, which can help inform creative advertising, product development, pricing, and other marketing areas.”

Let me try and explain it in simple terms.

Consumers make most of their decisions subconsciously. Still, almost all marketers use traditional ways (surveys, feedback forms, user journey analysis) to conduct their market research. We have to accept that consumers can’t consciously express why they make purchase decisions. So, is it logical to rely on what they say to inform our marketing and advertising efforts? Because the conscious responses can be manipulated also. Simply put, neuromarketing is the only way to gather information directly from the source of human decision-making: the brain, the subconscious.

There is a lot more to explain and it would take a separate blog dedicated to neuromarketing only. Meanwhile, you can check out this course for educating yourself: An Introduction to Consumer Neuroscience & Neuromarketing

In-Game Marketing

I’m sure most of you are already aware of this concept. But, what you’re probably not aware of is how rapidly this industry is booming. According to some recent reports,

“The in-game advertising market is growing at a breakneck pace. At the end of 2024 the industry is expected to be worth $56 billion USD.”

For those who are new to this; Marketing via Banners, video ads, audio ads, and mini-games that present a certain brand in a computer, mobile or console game are types of in-game advertising (IGA). Obama’s election campaign is one of the best examples of in-game marketing,

The IGA concept is more than a decade old as Barack Obama’s election campaign went virtual in the year 2008. The campaign was run on computer games like Guitar Hero III, Madden NFL 09, NBA Live 08, Burnout Paradise, Nascar 09 and Need For Speed Carbon, reminding players to vote for him. Later in the year 2012, he repeated the same strategy.

For more such references you can read this blog: 7 Great Examples of In-Game Advertising

Metaverse Marketing

Metaverse is one of the most talked about concepts these days. It has been the topic of discussion since the rebranding of Facebook.

So, what is Metaverse?

It is a virtual ecosystem for everyone where we can explore, work, and play. According to Forbes, “The term Metaverse is used to describe a combination of the virtual reality and mixed reality worlds accessed through a browser or headset, which allows people to have real-time interactions and experiences across distance.”

There are people who wonder why would anyone practice their day-to-day routine in the Metaverse. Why would they shop for something that they cannot access in the real world? The concept is irrelevant to some of us but, it is among the most exciting things to do when we talk about Gen Z and Millenials.

Do you know?
Gucci is selling digital bags that are more expensive than the physical bag.

Sounds crazy, right? But, there are several reasons companies are eyeing the metaverse. It enables companies to engage with customers in different ways to stand out. But, one of the main reasons companies are targeting the metaverse is to reach Gen Z and millennials.

Read this blog to learn how brands are doing it: 20 Brands Leaping into the Metaverse

Drone Marketing

Drone marketing or advertising is primarily done with the help of drone light shows. Whether it’s a company logo, brand messaging, or even a QR code — drone light shows can light up the sky with images up to hundreds of feet across.

Although, drones have been used as a tool for marketing events in many ways previously. It’s drone light shows that created the most hype. This epic concept is not just to promote a regular brand but is also being widely used for promoting TV shows and movies.

Read the complete blog here: The Sky’s The Limit For Your Brand Event

There are several other ways in which drones can help us in our marketing campaigns. For instance,

In 2014, Coca-Cola partnered with Singapore Kindness Movement to launch “Happiness from the Skies,” a campaign designed to give back to the Singaporean migrant workers who were building the city’s high-rises. With a fleet of drones, Coke delivered cans of soda and handwritten “thank you” notes from the community to these workers in the sky.

The companies then documented their campaign in a heartwarming YouTube video.

Unlike the Metaverse concept, this is easier to understand but people still find it very exciting because it’s new for them.

Not every brand is using these marketing concepts, only a few established brands have been able to invest so much. No wonder, these marketing strategies are going to make noise until we all experience it (and get bored of it).

I’m excited to experience all of this, are you? Share in the comments below!

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Akanksha Chandan

MBA — Marketing & International Management | Senior Marketing Specialist | Sprouting Interest in Psychology