Old school marketing merely an illusion of control

I’m increasingly amazed at much of today’s marketing.

Many of the traditional marketers that I meet are quick to criticise PR people as snakeoil salesmen, yet a big question mark hangs over their own methods.

Traditional marketing often doesn’t bother listening to people or genuinely engaging with them.  For some reason, there is too often an assumption that marketers automatically know what people want to hear and see.

And, in reality, the ‘message’ mindset and methods or channels used by marketers are becoming totally inadequate in a changing media mix. Yet, in many areas, there seems to be a reluctance or inability to change and adapt – to understand that traditional advertising and newsletters may no longer be breaking through …. and to abandon the ‘my logo is bigger than yours’ thinking.

As someone put it very succinctly recently … “far better to be willing to engage people in actual conversations — which is what social media allows us to do. It humanizes communications — and gives us an outstanding opportunity to gather market intelligence as a value-add”.

As I’ve said before, social media is not simply another tool in the marketer’s bag, but a culture change.  And, of all people, it is particularly sad to see traditional marketers who either don’t get it, or refuse to move with the times.

Ian