Marketing is Dead. Long Live Marketing

“You know, they’re going to finish the MLS season in one month in Orlando at Universal Studios, right? And they’re going to finish it off in just one swift World Cup style tournament. I believe they’re going to do same thing with the NBA at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando at the similar time,” commented Matt Roberts, head of marketing NAM at Amdocs.

“It’s almost like when you watch those dystopian films from the 80’s and rather than go to full-scale war, they have the two leaders just battle it out and whoever wins, you know...” replied Alex Shifrin, president of LP/AD.

Alex Shifrin believed that this was, in fact, the plot to Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Two Tribes’ music video. Still. A good warmup for a 45-minute chat. A few minutes later, Robert DeNiro’s Rupert Pupkin (King of Comedy) would be referenced and mixed up with Artie Fufkin from Spinal Tap. With those references out of the way, it was full steam ahead.

The Great Indoors. Not necessarily where we want to be, but it’s been reality for the better part of 2020. Thanks to technology though, it hasn’t completely sucked. Just imagine your great-grandparents a hundred years ago struggling through the last global pandemic without Zoom or Fortnite. 

Not only has technology been saving our bacon, but it’s actually opened up entirely new possibilities, particularly within the world of marketing. Matt Roberts, head of NAM Marketing at Amdocs, has been reflecting on the role technology has played as we navigate our situation and rediscover its magic in his podcast, The Great Indoors. 

In the latest episode, ‘Marketing is Dead. Long Live Marketing.’ Matt speaks with Alex Shifrin, president of LP/AD, about how the pandemic has transformed the way companies communicate and how brands are approaching creativity. "I think you have to look at yourself and realise whether you’re a destination brand or whether you’re not,” says Alex. "Let’s say you’re Yeezy shoes or you’re Billie Eilish. You’re a destination brand. Billie Eilish could drop a new single anywhere and people will go there... If you are a B2B brand that needs to pull people in, you should go to where people are, rather than wait for them to come to you.”

We’re now seeing, for example, how previously untapped digital environments are evolving as marketing channels. Fortnite has become a weekend hangout place for people. "Because people happen to be in this virtual space, it’s being repurposed for virtual marketing and engagement opportunities. It might just be that these unexpected places [are] where even B2B brands are going to find themselves advertising at some point soon, because that’s where people are congregating."