Why 2021 will be the most important year in the history of marketing

Traditionally, this is the time I would write a post projecting how I see marketing evolving in the coming year. In this period of obviously weird disruption, I’ve decided to write a weird and disruptive post. Instead of the list of trends you might expect, I’ll tell you a short (and true) story demonstrating why 2021 will be the most important year in the history of marketing.

Here we go:

Last week I visited a friend who showed me an Instagram video of her young nephew blowing out candles on a Barney birthday cake. “I freaked out!” she said. “In this day and age, how can anybody be blowing all over a cake? I will never blow out birthday cake candles again!”

That’s it.

In less than 60 words, I’ve described an entire world of cataclysmic marketing trends. Don’t believe me? Read on.

Our pandemic selves

In this little story, we see a young lady “freaking out” over the simple and normal act of a boy blowing out birthday cake candles. In 2019, we would have thought her statement to be a bit extreme. In 2020, her strange new view would be easily understood and accepted by most people.

Here’s the point. She is telling us that her “normal” behavior will never be the same…