What’s Really Shifting in Marketing Today

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Over the past 24 months of deep strategic consulting work, a recurring theme has emerged: growth is no longer about chasing easy wins—it’s about navigating complexity with precision.

In today’s market, brands aren't hunting for gold; they're picking up pennies in crowded, fragmented spaces. The playbook from five years ago—where any niche could scale overnight—no longer applies. Now, leaders come to me asking not just for tactics, but for clarity: How do we move forward when the old ways stall and the new ways feel chaotic?

That question led me—and my team—to shift from merely discussing frameworks to embedding within organizations. At our firm, we work from audience strategy and product innovation through to content and communication, helping businesses build what we call their "signature playbook."

What follows are insights drawn from real work with companies at the billion- and multi-billion- revenue level. They reflect the core challenges—and opportunities—facing brands today.

1. Product isn’t king—the consumer’s “Job to Be Done” is.

Everyone talks about the importance of product, but few articulate what makes a product resonate today. A great product starts with a sharp, human-centric insight: Audience Need × Value Innovation = High Value.

Take headphones. For years, competition centered on specs: longer battery, better sound. Now, we see category fragmentation driven by specific consumer scenarios: open-ear designs for all-day comfort, sleep headphones for partners of snorers, AI-enabled models for meeting transcription. Each solves a distinct “job” in the user’s life.

When you focus on the job, not just the product, you move beyond feature parity. You create solutions for moments that matter—and that’s where differentiation and loyalty begin.

The best products do more than solve a task; they help users step into an aspirational self. As one investor put it, consumption is ultimately about reconciliation—between who we are and who we wish to be. Products that deliver both functional and emotional value don’t just get bought; they become beloved.

2. Modern marketing is “scattered in form, united in spirit.”

Marketing’s core role hasn’t changed: it’s about communicating value to drive behavior. But how we do that has transformed entirely.

In the past, a Big Idea could be broadcast everywhere. Today, we start with a key consumer moment—a pain point, an itch, a pleasure point—and build content that speaks directly to it. That core insight then fuels expression across an ecosystem of channels, formats, and interactions.

A great example is how McDonald’s anchors itself in the “Inner Child” insight—the idea that everyone has a child inside seeking joy. From that single thought, they create memes, songs, TikTok skits, digital ordering flow, and in-store experience—all aligned, yet tailored to each platform and moment.

The shift is from one message for all, to one insight expressed everywhere in tailored ways. That requires not just creativity, but orchestration: sharp insight to core content to endless adaptive iterations . It’s fragmented by touchpoint, but unified in purpose.

3. From “Category First” to “Cohort’s Only.”

Brand building has always been about creating a mental imprint—what you own in the consumer’s mind. But how you earn that imprint has evolved.

Before, competitive advantage often came from being the leader in a category, leveraging scale for cost and share. Today, with fragmented attention and rising individualism, it’s more powerful to be the only choice for a specific group of people.

This is what we call Cohort Strategy: deeply understanding a defined audience, meeting their functional needs, connecting with their emotional drivers, and ultimately representing a set of values they identify with. When you become their “only,” you create a moat no competitor can easily cross.

A brand becomes like a tree—rooted in a community, growing through continuous dialogue and shared identity. It’s less about shouting your category rank and more about being chosen, again and again, because you resonate.

4. The timeless anchor: Be human-centric.

Amid all this change, one principle remains constant: marketing, at its heart, is human-centric. It’s about seeing people—not as segments, but as individuals and communities with fears, desires, and unmet needs.

The tools and tactics will keep evolving. But brands that succeed will be those that return, consistently, to this truth: understand your people, solve their real problems, and make them feel seen. That’s how you create value. That’s how you communicate it. And that’s how you build something lasting.

In the end, the strongest strategy isn’t found in a template or a trend. It’s found in the willingness to look closely, listen deeply, and care genuinely about the people you serve.

Moun is a strategic digital marketing consultant who works with organizations to redefine growth through audience-centric strategy and integrated marketing.

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