For one, we are 20 years into the 21st century. And the second can be found in the definition of modern.

Mod-ern (adj) relating to the present or recent times as opposed to the remote past.

Modern feels old as a descriptor of marketing because the best marketing strategies are built for the future. Yes, we have sales in the present, we execute marketing tactics in the present, we monitor results in the present, but the art, science, and strategy of marketing do not happen in the present. And more often, it does not happen with present-day marketing tools.

We see this in the planning and budget cycle. Great marketing strategy planning should start at least one or two business cycles out. Most importantly, it should be based on insights and projections of the future, not a rehash of the past. Indeed, in marketing the “remote past” is as short as 2 years ago, and in cases like the speed of social media platforms, the remote past can be as short as 6 months ago.

So if you develop a marketing plan using modern marketing, by the time you develop the plan, present the plan, get it and the budget approved, you may have a plan built on the past, and possibly even the remote past in marketing years.

In my experience, companies should be looking for marketing leaders who are not expert in modern marketing, but an expert in trend analysis, behavioral insights, market projections, and creative communications. More like chess players and puzzle solvers, artists and scientists.  Those who look at those abstract pictures and can immediately see multiple images separately and how they come together at the same time. Critical thinkers, transformational leaders who can put pieces together to project what’s coming or, more importantly, what could be coming with a great marketing strategy. And that is not modern marketing, it is the evergreen definition of marketing.

The reason we may want to add the adjective modern to marketing is that there is a need to recognize that marketing tactics and channels, the ways we reach and engage people, are changing rapidly and we need talented leaders and teams to understand these tactics and know-how to use them. Even in some cases, the marketing tool or channel itself may lend itself to a strategic idea to create a market and/or gain market share. Just as social media created a way to improve loyalty and retention marketing among the many new tactics that were birthed from its roots.

The next time you need to describe your marketing, be it to your team, investors or potential employees, I suggest it’s not modern marketing you are looking for, but experience in seeing insights to lead marketing and the customer experience in using current proven and developing communication mediums, channels, and technologies to engage with customers. It’s not modern marketing, but it’s the experience of uncovering and assessing new communication mediums, marketing technologies, and analytic frameworks, determining their role in the marketing mix and executing it quickly. It’s not modern marketing, it is still the evergreen best in class marketing skills that you need.

So rather than write a job description that says you want someone experienced in modern marketing, I suggest what you really want is someone experienced in bringing new marketing mediums, marketing technologies, and analytic frameworks to the business to grow market share and create new markets. You want someone skilled in present-day marketing tools and demonstrated expertise is uncovering new tools, channels, and uses.

Let’s put the term modern marketing in an archive and continue doing strategic, creative, transformational marketing that both adapts to human behavior and changes it.

Photo by Steve Johnson, Unsplash

This is the new normal so you can find multitudes of content when searching on this topic, as I did while helping my nephew. Several polls have shown that being a YouTuber is topping the “what I want to be” lists over the long-standing classics of teacher, athlete, musician, veterinarian, astronaut, etc. So that is not news. What is interesting is that kids no longer see this question as something that they will do only when they grow up. They see themselves doing things now, solving problems now, using knowledge to do stuff now. They are asking, why wait until we grow up? Indeed, my nephew didn’t see why he had to wait to get started, even if he changes his mind later when he learns about something new.

This puts a new spin on education and preparedness for careers. Yes, a 10-year-old can and is starting to think about what they want to do in life. A 10-year-old can get online and search for career or job areas and get all the content they can manage to take in. But they are still exploring the old-fashioned way, and they need guidance to do it. They look up and see what they see, then they search online. In the past, they would look up and see the professions they interacted with most – teachers, doctors, veterinarians, and the professions of family members. 

Now that list has expanded to YouTuber, vlogger, and gamer but there are still more career areas that don’t get a lot of visibility until you become an adult and start to look for a job. And then it can become, just that, a job vs a career and a passion. Think of the professions that will need their talent to solve our problems in sustainability and applying innovations in technology to improvements in daily life and work.

Kids need exposure to broader career options than what they see and it’s not too early to start broadening their perspective. Yet most of the videos on careers for younger kids still focus on the classics.

It is also time for the curriculum to have more learning moments that help a child link what they are learning to a world where they can find what they will love to do. Many kids still say, “I’m not good at math.” With math in every career, math problems in the context of a career might help a child find a passion, get better at math, and enjoy math. Even a Youtuber needs to understand how to optimize their channel management based on variable factors of time, costs, and income.

I’m a champion for putting more learning objects in a broader context of career exploration to expand a child’s breadth of knowledge beyond classic careers. As kids are thinking about what they can do and want to do earlier, are you ready?  Let’s start a conversation and share some ideas on how to help kids start to explore potential career passions, even at 10-years old. High school is starting to feel way too late with this bunch.