Anti-Marketing: The Future of Marketing
A shift of values among audiences and telling the truth
When was the last time you trusted the news?
When was the last time you believed what you saw online?
Deep fakes. Unregulated AI. Gaslighting. White washing. Green washing.
I said it.
Let’s be honest: audiences are more skeptical and jaded than ever. Yet, the marketing trend for the last 100 years has been “let’s shout it louder.” So, we run more ads. We buy more billboards. We pay more so that they can’t hit the “skip” button.
What worked in the past?
When we retrospect on the “Ad Men” of the 40s and 50s, we see huge spends on campaigns that were as simple as “Drink Coca-Cola.”
Image Source: Here’s a great video showing the evolution of Coca-Cola ads over the years.
It wasn’t long before agencies realized that sex sells, and so the predominant marketing playbook has been to use attractive people with white teeth to sell products.
The playbook stayed the same but the radio became TV and the TV became the internet.
Radio
Casey Kasem used to be the arbiter of famous musicians on the radio because the radio used to be an important sampling tool for the market. You would never buy a new album, even from a band you liked, unless you could hear some of it first.
We know what happens next. Digital streaming services disrupted the market and over the course of a few years, the music industry had to adapt with partial releases, subscription access, and licensing monopolies.
Television
Music took to the TV. CNN, NBC, FOX, and ABC bought up the exploding number of cable TV stations in a real estate land grab. That was fine for a decade or so, because TV commercials had been around for a long time and now advertisers could buy ads for more specific audiences because more channels meant more narrow targeting. Run your ad for a new tennis bag while the US Open is on ESPN. Why would you waste money putting that ad anywhere else?
This part of the evolution of ads could be it’s own thesis because it gets really complicated and nuanced.
The Internets
Basically, CNN, NBC, FOX, and ABC were the top channels/properties. But then, in just a few years, all of the eyeballs shifted to Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, YouTube, and now TikTok.
Despite all of the tiny marketing changes advertisers made to adapt to these new platforms, the philosophy was the same: it’s basically just a digital billboard. So, just do what we know works and put a hot chick on it and we’ll make money.
While that’s true, a billboard still only works if there’s traffic driving by it.
So, advertisers paid for billboard space on majorly trafficked websites. So, the goal for lots of website became: how do we drive a ton of traffic to our site and sell ads to advertisers?
When the Facebook newsfeed was invented, advertisers realized that they could just interrupt someone’s news feed with an ad—just like they would with a TV commercial. You may not even recognize this now, but if you open the Facebook app on your mobile device, you’ll see that the first thing you see is a post. The second thing you see is an ad.
Facebook wired up to Oracle’s global dataset and now has, in my opinion, the most powerful advertising tool in the world.
It has the largest reach and still has the most advanced audience targeting tools in the industry. Oh, and then Facebook bought Instagram.
But despite all of this insane power, these ads are still really just “smart” billboards.
The very real downside to this is that they are more interruptive than billboards. They interrupt you more than a billboard because your phone is in your pocket and you’re looking at it all the time. They interrupt you more than a billboard because the billboard can send you a notification, and Facebook and everyone else are spending a lot of money and time and energy to have some very smart people figure out how to make sure you never leave their app.
But don’t worry, it gets worse.
The #1 Driver of Engagement Today
What’s interesting is that “sex sells” is no longer the dominating playbook. What’s more profitable than sex?
Rage.
This is troubling because even people who don’t want to leverage this system are still part of it and participating in it in some way. Some of them write divisive digital ads or host controversial podcast guests—but the outcome is the same.
Profit from anger.
Audiences are more skeptical, distrusting, and jaded than ever. The 24/7/365 news cycle is burning out viewers who are turning to puppy memes and “low-stim” kids cartoons to chill out.
They’re also burnt out by interruptions that exploit their attention and robs them of their time.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are sitting back, looking at the minefield of marketing out there and saying “gee, I really hope we can be creative and successful enough to get in front of the right people and also not get cancelled.”
Cake.
So, why am I telling you all of this?
If we want to grow our triple bottom line, we need to find the antidote to interruptive rage marketing.
In order to do that, we have to do something so simple it’s going to seem silly: we need to listen. We need to listen to the very important shift of values and behaviors that’s happening across markets.
There’s a shift in values and behaviors of audiences.
Audiences are now more likely to look to influencers they trust for recommendations. They subscribe to “curators” they trust to share new information or products because the world is too noisy to listen to everything.
Audiences look for signals of trust but as more companies abuse jargon and buzzwords, audiences must evolve and filter. Words don’t mean what they used to mean and some words mean nothing at all anymore.
The words “we’re a for-purpose company” are too fluffy.
The word “leadership” is poorly defined.
The word “evidence-based” is controversial.
The word “literally” now means literally and figuratively.
Side note: go read Merriam Webster’s post about the evolution and use of the word literally because it is precisely the right tone and pacing for new, younger readers. Well done, MW. Well done.
Why is this happening?
What’s happening is a wildly, unpredictably rapid evolution. What’s happening is that audiences are developing a protective enamel over their beliefs because they can’t trust new information. What’s happening is that audiences are doubling down on core values and belief systems that they know in their hearts to be true.
What’s happening is that audiences are trusting their guts and experiences more than they trust expertise or governance.
So, how do I develop a marketing approach?
The first thing here is to realize that the only sustainable antidote to this situation is to build relationships with customers.
How do we build relationships? Consistent authenticity over time. Trust is built. Respect is earned.
“No one in the history of the universe has ever said: ‘I’m so well liked and I’m so well respected, but I just can’t make any money.’”
- Seth Godin
Once we admit this, can realize that a marketing approach cannot be a “set it and forget it” solution. Unless you’re selling inexpensive goods that don’t require a high trust buying cycle, like ballpoint pens, or sneaker laces, or fridge magnets—you are working with a burnt out buyer.
But beware, even if you’re selling an iPhone charging cable, buyers know that choosing the wrong one can ruin their expensive phone. Even if you’re selling stickers online, buyers know the difference between custom die-cut and those cheap, thin plastic stickers that fade and peel. The distrust is everywhere and Yelp reviews aren’t cutting it anymore.
Okay, so how do we develop trust and respect?
The same way we do it with any other relationship: consistently showing up with support for a long time.
I know this is a really unsatisfying, non-sexy answer. I know you were hoping for some revolutionary, jaw-dropping new neuroscience hack.
Sorry, but my job is to tell you the truth.
What does the future of long-term marketing look like?
The future of marketing is community development and anti-marketing.
Let me explain.
One year, on Black Friday, Patagonia ran a full page ad in the New York Times that showed their new R1 fleece. The ad read “Don’t Buy This Jacket.”
Patagonia is a brand that has been known to swim against the stream and stick to their values instead of jumping on marketing bandwagons or playing gimmicky, short-term sales tricks. Instead, they recenter on their mission, which is, as they say: “to save our home planet.”
Patagonia knew that fast fashion was becoming a huge contributor to climate change. So, it developed a supply chain that was fair trade and they developed products that were higher quality so they’d last longer. They even realized that if they launched a clothing repair service, their buyers could keep their gear even longer.
What they really wanted to tell their buyers was not to buy the new jacket. Instead, they encouraged buyers to get their old jacket repaired.
Let’s not pretend that Patagonia isn’t trying to sell new jackets to new customers—that’s super clear and there’s no delusion that you can be a clothing company that doesn’t sell any clothes. What this approach does well is:
Addresses the real, actual, measurable problem: fast fashion.
Suggests solutions that keep the company in business: repairing clothes instead of throwing them out and buying more, or buying more expensive, higher quality clothes that don’t need to be replaced as often.
Resonating like hell with their hardcore brand zealots by inciting a righteous punk-rock “fight the power” ethos.
This is a perfect example of anti-marketing that builds trust with the community.
What they were actually trying to say was “if you need it, it’s here and it’s an amazing jacket. If you already have a jacket, do the planet a favor and don’t buy a new one.”
This resonated with consumers and brought new, lifetime customers to their business.
I think we can all agree that when companies do things that benefit us, our values, or our work, we like them better. We end up developing a relationship with those companies. We want them to succeed and grow. We love companies that make great products. We love companies that have great customer service.
We like companies that deliver on their promise—but we fall in love with companies and tell all our friends about them when they over-deliver in ways that we value.
Anybody can run some Facebook ads on a high-margin digital info product and make some money. And anybody can sell a trash product and just buy more customers over and over. But what I’m talking about here is investing in a long-term sustained customer base of true-believers.
Patagonia says: “let’s band together by sharing this behavior of repairing our clothing instead of throwing it out and buying more.”
This rebellious act of ‘sticking it to the man’ not only strikes a moral chord, but it also unites people on the same mission. As soon as you see someone else with worn out, patched up Patagonia gear, you’ll know they’re part of the tribe.
This is anti-marketing that builds community. And that community is full of customers for life who will rally at political gatherings and protests and put their bodies on the line for the cause. That’s powerful.
Anti-marketing doesn’t mean you have to tell everyone not to buy your product. Anti-marketing is just show everyone why you are in business and how your product helps everyone get there. And if you’re not there yet, show that too. Show where you’re going and how you will get there. And then deliver on the promise. Trust and respect are functions of consistently showing up over time, remember?
If you want to nerd out and go deeper into the purpose of a business, here’s a post that I wrote a few years ago on The Free Market (in Strategic Altruism).
The Secret To Good Marketing: The Golden Rule
I don’t know about you but I don’t like being interrupted. I like opening my phone and doing exactly what I intended to do. I don’t like the feeling of opening my phone and then realizing 37 minutes later “oh no, why am I still sitting on the toilet?”
What if we marketed to people in a way that enriched their lives?
What if we marketed to people in a way that made them feel like they were part of something big?
What if we marketed to people in a way that made them so happy that they couldn’t wait to tell their friends about their buying experience?
Call me silly, but what if we could find a way to market to people the way they wish to be marketed to?
If we think really hard and empathize with the people in this world who we call buyers, audiences, avatars, customers, and cart abandoners, the answer is actually pretty obvious: real, authentic, human connectedness.
Now before you strap up and acoustic guitar and light the campfire, let’s talk about what this means.
Buyers, customers, and audiences are people. We should treat them the way they would like to be treated.
Right now we live in a world where we are more divided than ever, more angry at each other, and feeling so unheard that we are yelling so loud at each other that we forgot to listen.
What we need are real, authentic, human connections. What we need is trust and respect. What we need is companies that are willing to live by their values.
“Get out of the building and go talk to customers.”
- Steve Blank
This human connection isn’t a “like.” It’s not a “❤️.” And it’s definitely not your logo on the back of some 8 year-old’s Little League jersey.
Human connection looks like a community of people getting together to do things they love. It looks like a conference of generous people who share thoughts and ideas. It looks like a Community of Practice where people problem solve together.
There are lots of different ways this could evolve for you, here are some thoughts to get you started.
How To Do Community Development Anti-Marketing
Show up in your buyer’s community and contribute in a way that’s unique to you and your business or brand. It’s that straightforward. Share expertise. Share resources. Chip in. Participate.
If there is no community or central place, then you are either in a black hole and your business won’t survive, or (more likely) you should just create one. And if you’re first, you’ll likely be heralded.
Here’s a quick hit list to get your brain thoughts flowing:
DO:
Show up to relevant events and volunteer. Send your best people.
Measure the impact of your contributions.
Make sure your contributions are public when possible. On your website at a minimum.
Create a “Community of Practice” (CoP) where there is none.
Be yourself. I promise you won’t die.
DON’T:
Do things that are only good for you.
Talk about yourself first or without others asking.
Use self-centric words like “our” or “we” or “us” in your outreach.
Pretend that “likes” are engagement with your community.
Pretend to be more outgoing or extroverted if you aren’t.
Some excuses you might make to avoid community development:
“We can’t give our product away for free, we’re not a charity.”
That’s true and you shouldn’t. What you do adds value. Instead, you might give your product to those in extreme cases who need it—or even better—you might highlight and lift up those customers who are doing innovative, important, or useful things with your products. Your job is to use your resources to make your customer the hero.
“We don’t have any resources to give.”
If this is true, then you probably have other unidentified business problems. This is not something that will yield a sale the first time, this is an investment. If you can’t survive 6 months of investing in your community then you need to raise your prices or cut costs or solve some other fundamental business problem first.
“We can’t launch and manage this. We don’t have the time.”
I hate to break it to you, but if you can’t see the value in spending company time investing in your community then you should just stop reading this right now and go back to business as usual. No one has enough time. No one has enough money. So, we can’t let that stop us. You’ll need to find and make the time. Either by reprioritizing resources, or generating more.
The Future of Marketing
The future of marketing is non-interruptive, community-driven anti-marketing.
Let’s say that again because it’s a lot.
The future of marketing is non-interruptive, community-driven anti-marketing.
People want authentic, no B.S. realness that they can believe in. And they want it from people they trust and respect.
Trust and respect come from consistently showing up and delivering on a promise to improve the greater purpose of that community.
The long-term success of your business will be built on the relationships you develop and the respect you garner from your community of buyers.
Give the people what they want.
What is Antipattern Media?
Antipattern Media is a creative agency the helps social-impact driven businesses grow their triple bottom line.
We believe in “mixed martial media,” which is the use unconventional, multidisciplinary techniques from old school direct response marketing to guerrilla marketing to community development to modern digital advertising.
Unlike most creative agencies, we combine outside-the-box thinking with real, measurable outcomes you can trust, like “return on ad spend” (ROAS).
Ways to engage us:
Diagnostic Report & Roadmap - We’ll run our multi-point diagnostic and provide you with a roadmap for growth.
Fixed Scope Project - We’ll scope a project with a specific outcome to a deadline and budget that works.
Retainer - After we run the diagnostic and create your custom roadmap, we’ll execute for you. We will be the functioning marketing arm of your business.
Engage with Antipattern Media: