Technomarketing
It’s probably the world’s greatest understatement to say that technology and automation have had an impact on marketing. Just to be real here we could easily take the words ‘marketing’ out of that last sentence and replace it with just about any other noun in the dictionary and still be spot on (I tried this with the following words – dating, ice-fishing, baseball and oral hygiene – still spot on.)
The digital space already features a fair amount of automation when purchasing it. You almost always interface with a computer screen when you make a digital ad purchase. There is a human backdrop but not a prolific one. Yelp (and others) have sales people but ask them to leave their office for a meeting and you’ll get that awkward silence you haven’t heard since you asked that tall pretty girl for a slow dance in 8th grade.
Even back in my day when I was selling advertising there was talk that instead of meeting with a sales rep to discuss your needs, strategy and market conditions, you’d simply log on to a website and order what you want.
Better? I think not. Inevitable? I think so.
I will tell you that this trend does make having a marketing director and or an ad agency a must. As media becomes more fragmented, disjointed and commoditized having someone who knows what’s best can make all the difference.