Jofre Ruck

University of Utah
Consumer Essentials

April 10, y

The Future of Online

Marketing
After a lecture from my professor Andrea Thomas Ex. (VP of Marketing
for Walmart from the University of Utah). It got me thinking about the
history of marketing and how it is rapidly evolving each day. Less than a
decade ago, marketers had limited technology to measure advertising
investments. One of the biggest assets Internet was still in its infancy
stages and not able to measure what it can today. Instead there were only a
few ways to track the success of on ad online. As time has gone on, now
there is an infinite amount of information and large overload in the ways we
can analyze consumers, its called Big Data. Some of the major companies
have gained their success because they have taken advantage of the
technological advances, and have a better understanding of their target
consumer. These improvements have happened in the span of just a
decade, and each day it is changing rapidly. People are getting information
faster than ever, and live in a generation where everything is available to
them. I believe that the future of marketing will become much more
personalized and combine with the advances in technology. People are the
ones who are pushing the change and marketers are noticing this; and as a
result, are influencing the way information is given to them.
A Brief History of Online Marketing:
After taking a course of the history of digital advertising, I because of
the rapid changes with technology and the large amount of data available,
marketing will become personalized. For example, right now advertisers
already know what you are interested in by simply your searches. Google

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helped revolutionize a tool with Google AdWords back in 2003. When
someone looks up a product on google they automatically match your
searches, and set display banners on the side of your screen. The internet
has not only become a tool for consumers to use, but also for companies to
gain collective knowledge of who you and the interests you have. Social
media has allowed the marketer to analyze what people are interested at a
deeper level of understanding. The easy access to social media platforms
has allowed marketers to introduce their desired advertisement. As a result
of this they have realized that different segments of people use various types
of media platforms; for example, millennials tend to use apps more, while
the older consumer pays attention to only to television, and print media.
Advertisers have realized that this is further segmenting the market. I
believe in order for a company to survive with the amount of information,
they need to understand their consumer. Without knowing who their main
user is and the interest they have, than a company will fail.

Smart-Homes and Personalization:

Because the internet has become more personalized through the use
of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Consumers
are seeking this same type of treatment with products they purchase through
companies. When looking at an advertisement consumers not only want to
be sold something; they want the experience of what their purchasing. How
does the product or type of information benefit them on a personal level? As
technology advances into the future people, are customizing it to their
advantage and wanting a more unique experience. For example, I feel that
one of the next great advances will be smart homes something that is in
the infancy stages. Amazon and Google have jumped to this right away with
their smart AI Powered Virtual Assistants the Amazon Echo and Google
Home. These little speakers are a way into the future for marketers. The
main advantage is that these types of products are used as a personal tool in
an everyday persons life, they are AIs connected to the internet and allow
consumers to go about their regular day. I believe marketers could use this
to their advantage if they understand what types of things their audience
wants. Consumers no longer look at ads the same way; they dont want to
be sold something they want the personal experience from it. If marketers
do advertise to individuals, it shouldnt be standard form where they are
telling consumers what to do and where to get it, instead it should be
personalized to every different type of segment/sub segment, and consumer.

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Consumers are looking for a distinctive form of advertising where they feel a
personal connection to the product or cause that they believe in. The smart
home speakers that Amazon and Google have introduced, are already being
accepted by consumer at a reasonable rate. I feel that this is only the
beginning of the smart home, and if marketers take advantage of this
industry they will succeed in their efforts.

Virtual & Augmented Reality:

The VR and AR industry will be worth more than 30 billion dollars
within the next for years (OBrien 2016). Augmented Reality is a form of a
digital representation in the real world. A recent example of this that has
had much success is the app game Pokmon Go it had an estimated 500
million downloads and 20 million active users each day (DMR Statistics). The
app game had limited advertising, the way it gained such success was
through word of mouth. The Pokmon had so much adoption because of
the personal connection Nintendo has with consumers. I feel that advertisers
need to realize how they do not need to rely simply with old advertising
techniques. If they focus their budget with trying to increase the consumer
experience they can have success. The technology also play a big role as
well, Pokmon Go was a form of augmented reality in the real world. Another
product that is being used as well is virtual reality. It is not new to the
market but in the past years many new companies have come up as a result
from it. A small list of these virtual reality products include; Oculus Rift,
PlayStation VR, and HTC Vibe. Currently there is a segment of people who
use it to play games exclusively, but the technology is also being used within
the medial and engineering field. These companies are helping private
institutions advance to where the technology could be used for other
professions. Samsung is doing a smart move because they have patterned
with Oculus Rift and have created a cheaper version of the headset where
you have to connect your phone to use it. I believe that this is a great move
on their part because their name is getting out without much effort on their
part. Having the phone being able to connect to the headset shows
consumers that they are trying to make advancements within the industry. I
believe that advertisers should take advantage of these new technological
advances, because VR and AR are the future for the smart home market as
well. If marketers find a way to advance within these two similar markets
they will have a lot of success. I believe that homes will have virtual forms of
tablets attached to their walls. The only challenge is that they need to find a

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way to pull the most important forms of that information to understand their
consumer. Putting in money to invest now will have long term affects in the
way they are noticed. Companies need to take advantage of the technology
available to them not so much to focus on short term profits, but instead to
have long lasting effects.

Final Thoughts:
The digital and online world is changing each day in order for a
company to survive they need to learn how to adapt within the upcoming
industries. These include the technological advances from the virtual reality,
augmented reality, and smart homes. All of these forms of technological
advancements can be used while connected to the internet. There will
always be advertisements online the only thing that marketers need to do it
make their ads different. How do they stand out from the crowd, and what
benefits do they bring for their consumer. The future of online marketing is
for advertisers to understand who their target consumer is on a personal
level. Adapting to the technological advances of online media is the easy
step, every company has a different target audience. Companies should
invest their time and money into creating a personal connection unique to
their competitors, if they do this theyll be able to retain their customers.
Having that bond is not only important for sustaining profit, but also to grow
within their own industry. This is why large companies like Google and
Amazon have been able to expand beyond from what they started, and
evolve into industries like music or video. I believe that marketers shouldnt
focus on memorizing a certain formula for online marketing because it will be
useless in a couple of years. Instead what they should learn about online
marketing is how to adapt to the changes quickly without losing their target
consumer. Investing in technologies that help consumers on a deep level will
help companies gain strong bonds between their audience. Once this bond
is formed then everything else will follow, it is important for a company to
not lose sight of who they are as well.

References:

O'Brien, J. M. (2016). THE RACE TO MAKE VIRTUAL REALITY AN ACTUAL

(BUSINESS) REALITY. Fortune, 173(6), 126-133.

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Thornton, M., Marshall, S., McComas, J., Finestone, H., McCormick, A., &
Sveistrup, H. (2005). Benefits of activity and virtual reality based balance
exercise programmes for adults with traumatic brain injury: Perceptions of
participants and their caregivers. Brain Injury, 19(12), 989-1000.
doi:10.1080/02699050500109944
H. (2016). 75 Amazing Pokemon Go Statistics. Retrieved December 31,
2016, from http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/pokemon-
go-statistics/
V. (2011). The History Of Internet Marketing. Retrieved December 31,
2016, from http://blog.socialintent.com/2011/04/the-history-of-
internet-marketing/

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