2020 proved to be one of the most unprecedented and unpredictable years in history. Forevermore, marketing students will study the way brands altered campaigns at moments notice, embraced new technology, and dealt with social challenges as they surfaced. And they will also study the fallout and response to all of those activities in the years that followed, especially as it relates to marketing in the digital world to meet a new kind of audience.

“2021, aside from all of this exciting brand new technology, and all of the demographic shifts that are happening that are going to allow brands to do new things for the first time, it’s going to be a year of huge risk because a lot of consumers and employees that are at home with a lot of extra time, a lot of millennials and genZ that are going to be spending more time than normal on social media and on digital, which means a lot of the things that brands are doing right now is going to be scrutinized.”

Kai Wright is an author, advisor, and lecturer at Columbia University, as well as the Founder & Curator of blacklist100, so he sits at an interesting intersection in the marketing universe: both as a scholar and a practitioner. On this episode of Marketing Trends, Kai dives into the intricacies of 2020 and the ripple effect it continues to have on the marketing industry. Kai also dives into the social movements brands have had to respond to and what that response means to consumers.

Main Takeaways:

• All About the Ecosystem: Companies that took the time to invest in their digital ecosystems prior to the pandemic are now ahead of the game. Investing in that digital infrastructure allowed those brands to move quickly as the world shifted even more toward online activities, and gave them the opportunity to build trust with consumers and a sense of strong brand loyalty.
• The Next Big Shift: The next huge growth opportunity for marketers is not going to be commerce or digital, but rather it will be how they start shifting their messages to target minority communities and meet their needs more specifically. The U.S. Census estimates that over the next 40 years, 90% of the country’s population will be made up of three groups: African Americas, LatinX. and Asian Americans. Marketers who can pivot their messaging and target these audiences will see more growth than those who stick to their old ways.
• The Power of the SMB: Marketers need to have an understanding of the audience or community that they are targeting. The SMB market is integral from an economic perspective, especially the communities that operate around them. Ignoring or misunderstanding SMBs will eventually lead to withering away of that market and the surrounding communities.

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