Because of science and regulations. Is all marketing becoming the same because of science and rules?
Selesti Content Marketing Director James Gill writes:
I grew up in the 1980s. On the roads, I saw new cars like Ford Escort XR3is and occasionally a lovely Jaguar XJS convertible. I also saw older cars like the Austin Allegro, Mini and the odd 1970s 911. Such a variety of shapes and sizes.
I lived in London from 2001-2012 and barely noticed a car. Upon moving back to Norwich, I noticed that all the cars on the road looked the same. My petrolhead dad informed me that it was because of:
- Advances in the study of aerodynamics meant that all cars we becoming an aerodynamic ideal.
- This was driven, in part, by increased demands for value and sustainability. Aerodynamic cars use less petrol, which was becoming more expensive for UK drivers. And, as a hydrocarbon, petrol is bad for the environment, so using less suits everyone.
- The second main reason is regulations around things like the height of lights and the size and shape of bumpers.
- Another reason is that many car companies used the same wheelbases and even chassis for multiple marques and models to drive efficiency and productivity.
Is the same thing happening to marketing? Were there more interesting, distinct, creative marketing campaigns from more companies ten years ago?
- Are advances in tools, automation, measurement and algorithms directly efforts without the need or space for creative, leftfield, innovative, cut-through ideas?
- Are business demands for increased ROI killing new ideas due to their inherent risk and uncertainty?
- While the automotive point about government regulation doesn’t map onto marketing, is there a parallel with the monopoly of a small number of platforms that are ever more prescriptive with their assets? For example, in Google Ads you used to be able to create a whole sentence as your ad copy, now you simply create 20-character clauses for it to algorithmically order and prioritise. We used to be able to break down the barriers between text and design with clever flat images, but in many platforms, everything needs to be dynamic, which limits design. Maybe there’s a point to be made about GDPR, but it doesn’t seem that this is the driver of limited creativity in marketing.
- The final point is of course the point above. While there are more channels than ever the formats are limited so a million companies will all be using the same channels and formats - most of which are the less creative channels. And this seems to be coming at the expense of more creative channels: events, experiential, PR and creative outdoor.
Have the technocrats and managers finally eradicated the need for creatives - writers and designers - because the tools have removed 80% of the creativity and deliver the final 20% themselves?
As I write this, I not only feel bad, but like I might be about to undermine my whole point by thinking of some great channels for creativity and individuality that serve to help build brands and engage audiences:
- Video?
- Podcasting
- Thought leadership
So, do you agree or disagree? Of course, there will always be the Nikes, Greggs and Burger Kings who do brave creative campaigns that cut through and win awards, but, you know, for the rest of us, the 99% of marketing professionals, is marketing becoming more similar for most brands? Are most brands using the same channels in the same way?
