I missed this article when it came out, but I do agree with this piece from Steve Rubel. This is exactly why we started the Lab almost five years ago. We understood the need to create an environment where technology and marketing could come together, while adding the piece missing from too many of these conversations -- storytelling and experience design.
And I agree that this isn't a trendy occupation du jour, that we're only at the beginning of the impact of technology on marketing and advertising. Some of the geeks I know are already talking about marketing to avatars, what happens when people live in wearable computers and Augmented Reality for Advertisers. Oh yea, that's a presentation I'm making later this month in Amsterdam. Damn, I really am a geek! Although my SCOTTEVEST/SeV® probably already told you that!
Enter Geek Marketers. These cross-trained specialists are fluent in both worlds and bridge them. They are marketers by trade, yet they also have a hard-core interest in technology and social anthropology. As curious individuals, they are constantly studying how digital advances are changing our culture and media. Armed with these insights, they regularly apply them in a marketing context by working closely with brand teams to codify new best practices.
Geek Marketers create competitive advantage through rapid-fire testing and learning. The people I know in this role are shepherding the development, testing and measurement of all kinds of groundbreaking marketing programs. Their pilots span from the simple, such as building RSS feeds, to the complex, creating multifaceted community programs. Often they are paired with people like me, who are in a similar role on the agency side.
This may sound like the trendy occupation du jour, but something tells me the position has staying power. To be sure, the entire industry is innovating and everyone's technical acumen is slowly rising. Still, Geek Marketers are freed to live just a little bit further out on the edge than most. And with no end in sight for what technology can do to transform business, they can continue to play a key role.
Link: Advertising Age - As Technology Develops, So Does Role of Geek Marketers.
Comments