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OPINION | DIGITAL MARKETING
The Death of Sneaky Marketing?
Let’s talk about trust, baby
I’ve been a B2B marketer basically my whole career, and for pretty much that entire time, I’ve hated it. Why? Well, for the same reason everyone hates marketing (and marketers). We’re snake oil salesmen…right?
This is personal. It’s why I rarely talk about my career. It’s why I write instead about stupid things like the dead squirrel in my living room or my awkward run-in with a stripper. There are already too many marketers writing about marketing. But big things are shifting in my industry, and I have an opinion. So now, I write.
I wish I was special…but I’m a creep
As digital marketing took hold and then took over, marketing shifted from being seen as primarily a creative function to a more scientific, data-focused one. This is something I really liked. What drew me to marketing in the first place was the opportunity to engage both sides of my brain to solve problems.
But what also happened was the internet got super creepy. And not in the ways you might immediately think (I mean, those definitely happened too). It got creepy in identifying people and following them around, tracking everything they do and battering them within an inch of their life with stalky advertising. I mean, who hasn’t talked about something and later that same day been served an ad from that brand or product? Suddenly, algorithms knew what you wanted before you even knew you wanted it.
As a science geek, I am in awe of the fact that we can do this. I’m so intrigued to see where machine learning can really take us. But I’m also super hesitant to see such powerful tools in the hands of people who just want to sell things — myself included.
When I was just a doe-eyed youth starting out in my career, I didn’t choose marketing because I wanted to use some hidden algorithm to trick unsuspecting people into buying crap they don’t want or need. I actually thought I could use my skills to help businesses tell their story and grow…you know, on the merit of their vision. Color me naive.
