Why Changing Marketing Matters To Me

For me, it started when AB InBev won the Creative Marketer of the Year award at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Within mere days of this victory, influential TikToker and former Bud Light influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, took to her channel to discuss the fallout from her surprisingly controversial collaboration with the brewer. In it, Mulvaney explains that, despite death threats and public backlash, the brand team did not once contact her. After the post went public and the backlash began, Bud Light seemingly severed all ties with Mulvaney. Because of her partnership with a brand she was now endangered. And what did Bud Light do in the face of that?

Nothing.

Sure, there's room for debate on how Bud Light should've navigated this. But here's the bottom line: they messed up. Big time. It's not as much about the brand’s actions for me; it's about the absence of humanity by the brand team in leaving Dylan stranded. A simple check-in would've sufficed, a phone call from one member of the team to offer words of private support and care, but, according to this TikTok, nope, nada. Naturally, I vented in a post that, unexpectedly, went a bit viral.

Duncan responded and let me know that he had been nodding along with me on this rollercoaster. In Duncan, I found someone who shared my despondency over some of the latest happenings in our industry. News story after news story that made it seem like marketing was in a race to the bottom. Out of our gripe session, Changing Marketing was born.

So why does this work matter so much to me? It boils down to one thing: paving the way for the next marketing generation.

In pursuit of success, marketers seem to be forgetting our shared world, that our work exists outside of screens. Ads shape thoughts, people! Misuse that power, and suddenly marketers are just puppet masters. Not the lesson I want for up-and-coming creative pros. They need to grasp the weight of this gig. If we don't play our cards right, the world gets a bit crummier because of us. No pressure, just a hefty responsibility.

This belief fuels the fire at Changing Marketing. In essence, this is our way of saying, "Enough's enough." It's a call to ditch the shady stuff and opt for a marketing world that's not cutthroat but motivating. Not wasteful but sustainable. Not stuck but evolving.

We're not proposing a revolution that tosses out everything we know about marketing. Instead, Changing Marketing is an evolution, a progression towards a more mindful and responsible industry. It's a call to all marketers, whether seasoned professionals or newcomers, to reflect on the power we hold and the responsibility that comes with it.

And as we dive into this journey, let's acknowledge the challenges and complexities that lie ahead. Changing marketing won’t be done with a quick fix; it’ll take gradual shifts in mindset and practice. But in that pursuit we’ll be fostering an environment where creativity thrives without compromising ethics.

So, fellow marketers, let's embrace this challenge together. Let's challenge the status quo and rewrite the narrative of our industry. Changing Marketing isn't just a movement; it's a declaration that we can do better, that we can elevate our craft beyond the confines of profit margins. We’re creating an industry that future marketers can be proud of.

Who's ready to join the movement?