How digital technology will change the way brands market in the future

For those of you interested in new thinking and innovation especially around marketing and branding, I recommend ‘Co-Exist’, a section of the magazine Fast Company.

This week they ran a thought-provoking article by Tom Adams (Global Head of Strategy at FutreBrand) titled “The Brands of the Future will help you Consume Less.” In the piece, Adams argues that the evolution in digital technology and enhanced aggregation of personal consumer data will drive a major shift in the way brands market to and define their relationship with their consumers. 

At present, branded products and services know lots about us, but often it is relatively fragmented and piecemeal. They collect data through diverse means – web presences, online marketing, interactive games, mobile services and apps – and then use this knowledge to target and push ever-greater consumption – what Adams terms a single-minded focus “on increasing penetration and frequency.” In other words, they use the info they have about us to get us to buy more and more stuff that we don’t really need.

Adams argues that in the future, this model won’t hold. As platforms evolve to allow us as consumers to merge a range of personal data, including on how much we eat, spend, exercise, recycle etc, we will be able to create a “lifestyle dashboard” to produce a more holistic view of our lives and consumption needs. Adams argues that smart brands of the future will re-think their marketing and digital strategies to more effectively use this kind of profile data. Their approach will be to attract consumers by helping them “understand how much they consume, and what this means for their health, wealth and happiness.” 

This is more than enhanced personalization. It is helping consumers manage - and potentially change - their lifestyle. 

Adams believes the net effect is that we will in fact consume less, but may pay more for it. In addition, he believes that the new engagement model will build stronger loyalty to brands than ever before. 

In terms of who will be the providers of the “lifestyle dashboard,” Adams argues the most likely are current “aggregator brands,” which he defines as search engines, multi-brand retailers and software service providers.

With this in mind, the next time you visit Google to search for the new season’s lip gloss from your favorite brand, consider that in future Google may preface its list of search results with the question: “Ali, you already have 3 tubes of Chanel lip gloss, 5 tubes of Lancome and 3 of Dior…. do you really need another one?”