In the not too distant future, smart Internet-connected devices might make the buying decisions for their human owners. So how will marketers respond?
Marketing has become more complex and competitive with the proliferation of data and the abundance of consumer choice in the online and offline worlds. Yet its primary function remains: To communicate with consumers about products and services to meet their needs and wants.
But stop for a moment and consider the disruptive force of devices made smart through the Internet and what that will mean for the business of marketing. Here’s a big one: The rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) is set to change one of the core tenets of marketing: That the customer is always human.
Think about Internet-connected devices today, and what springs to mind are smart TVs and other gadgets that can update their firmware and send usage information back to the manufacturer; personal assistants or smart speakers which play songs and answer questions; and networked printers that can initiate service requests. The growing list also includes smart light switches, doorbells, security systems, fridges, sensors and trackers.
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In the third and final episode of our 3-part CMO50 video series exploring modern marketing and why it’s become a matter of trust, we’re delighted to be joined by Telstra’s former CMO and now digital services and sales executive, Jeremy Nicholas, and Adobe VP Marketing Asia-Pacific and Japan, Duncan Egan.
Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.
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