Shift happens: a new type of globalization is influencing the marketing world

However, our industry is shifting along with global social and business trends, impacting the heart of how we think about consumers, technology, creativity, and brand-building.

Here are the top six shifts currently at play.

1. From Western middle class to global middle class

The reality is that emerging markets, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, are poised to outpace Western-led GDP growth. According to the latest research from Homi Kharas, senior researcher at the Brookings Institute, and negotiator for the UN’s global agreement on the Sustainable Development, by 2030, the global middle class is expected to swell from 1.5bn to 3.5bn, with approximately 70%-80% hailing across Asian countries. These markets are giving rise to their own version of the “Boomer” generation of consumers and trendsetters which, are already re-shaping the global business landscape. It’s expected that by 2030, the middle class of China and India combined will be than that of the US and Europe combined in 2015. Therefore, it stands to reason that companies will invest marketing investment and resources to these areas.

2. From established to emerging: new competitors offer fresh benchmarks

Despite narratives of de-globalization and decoupling from China, global trade reached record highs in 2022, with projections indicating a steady increase towards 2024 and beyond. While some politicians may espouse protectionist rhetoric, encouraging local businesses to participate in the national dance, the truth is that business leaders are dancing the global Macarena, moving quicker than you can say, “brand it like Beckham in Qatar.”

Since 2007, the percentage of companies in the Global Fortune 500 hailing from the US, UK, France, and Germany has collectively shrunk by an average of 20%. In contrast, China’s global corporate revenue share has more than tripled faster than its GDP growth over the past two decades. Alibaba, Tencent and TikTok-Bytedance are poised to take on the growing bulk of advertising revenues in 2024 and beyond. Meanwhile, new consumer brands like Shein and BYD (the EV brand) are challenging the status quo of current incumbents like H&M, ZaraInditex and Tesla.

3. From mainstream media to a kaleidoscope of perspectives

The evolving landscape brings about four significant future transformations.

Firstly, it ushers in the era of an interconnected global middle class across social and online. This fosters inter-change between global communities amplified via user-generated content. This interconnectedness enables the exchange of diverse perspectives and worldviews and can shape a new generation of informed consumers and creators.

Secondly, the rise of a “third culture” identity presents fresh narratives and perspectives, creating new, vibrant points of view. Within Western markets, second and third-generation diasporas blend their ancestral origins with their home-country upbringing. Moreover, more than 50% of the world speaks more than one language. The future is multi-lingual, and people will speak English and another local language in the mix. They are creating a vibrant cultural hybrid. These perspectives go beyond narratives of immigration, hardship, equity and inclusion. For instance, the US is the most mature market of this phenomenon, with the rise of “Spanglish” influencing everything from everyday conversations to song lyrics to celebrity and pop culture.

Thirdly, the rise of content diversity and influence is poised to increase. South Korean trends already influence music, beauty, entertainment, food, and fashion culture. The popularity of series like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Money Heist’ and Korean and Chinese dramas on Netflix highlights the demand for innovative creative viewpoints and global talent. Netflix’s billion-dollar investment into global studios highlights its commitment to these trends.

4. From campaign-centric comms to tech-driven brand-building

We will shift from using technology as a short-term activation hype builder to a fundamental part of creating the brand experience.

For example, TikTok’s success depended on creating a more accurate and adaptable algorithm than its competitors, which incentivized stickiness, engagement, and content creation with immediate benefit. The algorithm went beyond personalization (understanding users’ preferences based on past data) and optimized it for prediction (anticipating exactly and delivering on what users still don’t know they want). Users and creators benefit from easy access to video editing and copyright-compliant music banks, thereby ensuring more virality of content creation at the heart of the TikTok brand experience.

5. From standalone marketing research to AI-powered end-to-end decision-making

The next shift pertains to data-driven marketing pertains to scale and application. We’ll have to say goodbye to the marketing KPIs we currently know and understand better mathematical models that capture how brands operate in the intricacies of reality.

Brands will start to integrate the number of sources, the types of methodologies and analyses available to provide complete end-to-end decision-making across the value-chain – including our own marketing communications value chain. This data-driven, efficient approach powers up everything we know about social listening, marketing research and marketing effectiveness.

For instance, Shein has pioneered AI-driven strategies across its operations. This technology guides every step, from market research to product design and production. It predicts fashion trends, gauges collection success, and forecasts demand, optimizing production volumes. Despite the controversy, Shein’s success has prompted industry giants like H&M and Zara-Inditex to follow suit.

6. From campaign-centric to conversation-centric brand-building

The rise of social commerce, multi-platform experiences, gaming and retail media is set to reshape the landscape of marketing effectiveness. Alibaba stands out as a trailblazer in this domain. Its success hinges on adopting scaled thinking and coordinated strategies across various platforms and media during shopping festivals. Amazon Prime Day, while making attempts to replicate this model, has become a short-term activation tactic for brands.

During these advertising extravaganzas, brands participate in a festival-like mash-up of the advertising budgets of the Super Bowl; the celebrity and influencer earned media value of a New York Fashion Week mixed with the promo push of a seven-day late-night QVC binge. Now, imagine adding a coordinated and integrated campaign involving macro, micro and nano-influencers, user-generated content, live streaming, and gamification.

These types of activations are common for brands and help build an ongoing conversation with new audiences across the year and paint a picture of the multi-player brand experience. Consider the opportunity for Olympic sponsors next year if they were to embrace some of these strategies.

So, there you have it. As an industry rooted in adaptability and innovation, new sources of inspiration from all corners of the globe are ushering in novel marketing innovations that demand our attention and combined with our existing know-how and innovation, can provide fresh perspectives on the possibilities for the most creative business in the world.