Marketing caught in the Net

Listening to Don Tapscott at the IDM lunch recently, it struck me that marketers have been flash-mobbed by the new Net generation of consumers. Right under our noses, while we were earnestly going about our 4 Ps, they’ve transformed the communication landscape and are now flaunting it wildly in our bemused faces. It’s a communications rebellion.

Marketers need to accept that, in order to keep the relationship alive, we have to start listening and even – shock, horror – trying to understand the consumer. It’s through insight-driven, respectful use of data that marketing communications will continue to hit the mark, engaging with people on a level they appreciate and welcome.

So where does that leave us, when Douglas Bowman, Google’s lead designer, recently quit, saying data had become “a crutch for every decision”?

Claire Rogerson, marketing manager, Rapp