[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/01\/19\/modern-business-marketing\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/01\/19\/modern-business-marketing\/","headline":"Modern business marketing: I need a hero!","name":"Modern business marketing: I need a hero!","description":"How do you win consumers' attention in today's crowded market? Entertainment packs a powerful punch in marketing.","datePublished":"2022-01-19","dateModified":"2022-07-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/nicholas-wood\/#Person","name":"Nicholas Wood","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/nicholas-wood\/","identifier":153,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ec199cf1713f5aacab07d536694cb748775e686acfa0476d8851ffd13a9aa836?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ec199cf1713f5aacab07d536694cb748775e686acfa0476d8851ffd13a9aa836?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/CX-heroes_1200x375.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/CX-heroes_1200x375.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/01\/19\/modern-business-marketing\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/content-marketing\/","name":"Content Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Content_marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q558685"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/customer-experience-general\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},"Customer Journey",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/marketing-general\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]}],"wordCount":967,"keywords":["Digital Marketing","Marketing","Video Marketing"],"articleBody":"The basic idea of heroism is wonderfully simple: a mammoth task is overcome by a single individual who in doing so saves the day, the world, or even the universe. We\u2019ll exclude the acts of real-world heroism, which deserve a higher level of appreciation. Considering only fictional characters, heroes do one thing particularly well and that’s to entertain us.Good versus bad, superpowers, action, imagination, a happy ending: entertainment doesn\u2019t require complexity. On the contrary. If we\u2019re being honest, don\u2019t we all enjoy the occasional animated movie that’s actually targeted at a very young audience?Keeping in mind what entertains us, let’s think about business marketing — how a brand communicates to their audience for effective engagement.      Brands with the best customer service: No more status quo                The brands with the best customer service in 2022 have not ranked before. Discover the brands that have risen and fallen in rank since 2019.      Business marketing and the never-ending battle for attentionAudio-visual media was created to entertain. And to this day, whenever we consume media through any sort of screen \u2013 be it in a cinema, on our TV, notebook, or phone \u2013 we expect some sort of emotional response, regardless of the content. Joy, sadness, laughter, or fear: A screen signals entertainment.This connection has been hardwired into our brains (for many of us from early childhood), and it’s undoubtedly the case for the mobile, on-demand generation. If we don\u2019t feel entertained, we switch off.As content producers in today\u2019s media landscape, we\u2019re in a constant battle, begging the viewer for two more seconds of their time, similar to the harlequin summoned by the regent. If we fail to deliver we perhaps don\u2019t literally lose our head, but will certainly be shaken by low audience retention figures, the modern day\u2019s assessment of and verdict on our right to occupy the viewers\u2019 screens.Some data points show how challenging business marketing has become:According to one oft-cited statistic, a person’s attention span is, on average, about eight seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2000.Consumers are getting screen fatigue big time: A survey of 2,000 Americans found that a majority (53%) feel burnt out on screens, especially with the boom in videoconferencing during the pandemic.The sheer amount of digital content vying for consumer attention today is staggering. According to Statista, consumers downloaded 230 billion apps in 2021, up more than 63% from 2016.      Uncover your brand\u2019s superpower and turn customers into fanatics                Brand fanatics rave about your business, organically. Find out how some of the biggest brands create loyal customers by focusing on CX.      We can be heroes: Entertain your audienceBefore we create a media asset to market our business, we first have to ask ourselves what we really want to achieve. What defines success?Leaving aside the various metrics for media performance analysis, let\u2019s assume that we\u2019d like the viewer to take some sort of action, like visiting a website, watching another video, signing up for a webinar or an in-person event. Only an engaged viewer can be persuaded to continue on a journey.So, let’s entertain them! There is no point in devoting 90 seconds (the ideal length of an explainer video) purely to information. Not only is it hard to provide complete information in such short time, but if the viewer has all the information, what’s their incentive to want more?To be effective business marketing, the video must lure viewers on a quest to find the answers to the questions that have been generated in their minds by what they’ve just seen.This can be achieved in many ways, but the concept should ultimately involve being inventive and unconventional. It must be “different” from anything out there. Whether the audience reacts with immediate appreciation or gradual questioning, this innovative marketing will most certainly grab their attention, which is half the battle. And isn\u2019t driving awareness an essential element of marketing?      The future of shopping: Here we are now, entertain us                The future of shopping is entertainment. It's not enough to have an online storefront \u2013 brands must do more. Consumers today are looking for novel, immersive, and entertaining shopping experiences.      Find your marketing superpowerFor example, if a large corporation suddenly, and slightly out of character, decides to publish a semi-animated comic series to market their software solutions, you would expect this to raise a few eyebrows.But giving something as abstract as a software solution a face, a body, and superpowers while depicting the problems they solve as natural forces, monsters, and other disasters \u2013 even though these are only metaphors \u2013 makes the concept tangible.Superpowers, unlocked: Check out our playlist:This content is hosted by a third party ( www.youtube.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowThis concept of “CX solution heroes\u201d has the potential to engage an audience that has no prior knowledge, affiliation, or even the slightest interest in the solution, company, or area of business.Taking a leap into psychology and neuromarketing, there might even be a case to be made for an emotional response by those who can relate this comic-style format to the cartoons they watched in the 80s and early 90s, thus addressing an age bracket that occupies many of today\u2019s leadership positions.There’s no blueprint on how to attract and engage an audience. Above all, continuous evaluation and development are key. Innovation does not end with success. But should this concept prove to be successful, then maybe entertainment in business marketing is the hero we\u2019ve all been holding out for.  Modern business, meet revenue:\u2013 End-to-end connected data\u2013 Engage quickly with a great CX\u2013 Sell anytime, anywhereGet going TODAY."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2022","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"01","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/\/01\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"19","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/\/01\/\/19\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Modern business marketing: I need a hero!","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/01\/19\/modern-business-marketing\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]