Avoiding obsolescence: A marketer's guide

Technology can feel like it's moving faster than the speed of light these days - and its incumbent on us to keep up. Alex Hayes, Principal at Clear Hayes, explains to ADMA why upskilling and tapping into industry knowledge are the best tactics to stay ahead of the game. 

"It feels like we've always been in transition with technology and one day we're going to get there. But that's never going to happen and we're always going to feel like we're in transition to something else."

This comment from media consultant Hal Crawford on the Tech Fuelled Future of Media panel I led at this month’s Advertising Week APAC really resonated with me. We tend to have a bias of looking at the future as a destination where everything will be settled. 

But clearly we all need to accept that’s never going to happen. Progress, like death and taxes, is inevitable.

But keeping up with change can feel exhausting, especially as you get older and much of the technological and societal evolution isn’t necessarily aimed at you. 

And when you work in an industry like marketing, where being on the bleeding edge seems to be a prerequisite, it’s inevitable you will get worried.

Even marketing itself is under pressure. Renowned marketer Raja Rajamannar, CMO of Mastercard, observes the marketing boss is now often pushed down a level from reporting to the CEO. As he laments, with other roles like Chief Customer Officer and Chief Product Officer now taking precedence, “what’s left for marketing”?

Staving off obsolescence might seem like a grim prospect, but there are ways we can continue to make ourselves indispensable in the face of rapidly evolving technology. Foremost among them is upskilling.

The importance of keeping our digital skills up to scratch is a key reason why Clear Hayes works with events like Advertising Week, and important industry bodies like ADMA. It’s an organisation that does absolutely instrumental work in preparing marketers for what’s coming next. 

I found myself nodding along when ADMA’s CEO Andrea Martens told the Advertising Week audience what motivates her most: “The opportunity I've got in my role is to help build capability on behalf of the industry. Our responsibility is to make sure we're setting up data-driven marketers for the future - to make choices that are right for their customers and consumers in general. 

“We’re really focused on making sure that the industry is prepared for what is coming and addressing the changes on the horizon.” 

None of us can see the future - that’s what makes it scary for some and exciting for others. Generally I find the optimists are the ones who have taken the time to educate themselves about emerging technologies and ways of working.

As is proven time and again, those who have sound foundational knowledge and understanding of marketing as a discipline will be able to cut through the noise to understand where the opportunities lie for them. 

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that planned obsolescence doesn’t exist. It’s those who don’t plan who risk becoming irrelevant.

You can read the wisdom of Andrea and scores of other thought leaders from Advertising Week in Clear Hayes’ comprehensive Trends Report.