**From the pages of Junction’s notebook: Read about the experiences, perspectives, and ideas of Junction team members.
“What do you predict will be the next big trend in digital marketing or with the Internet?” I naively asked a colleague 5 years ago.
“One day, the experience between the Internet and the User will become truly contextual,” he said.
I understood contextual marketing – serving up relevant advertising based on search behavior online. However, the concept that the Internet and a user would be completely interconnected was foreign. It was 2006 and Twitter had just launched?!
Fast forward to June 2011. I was sitting at the Mercer Hotel, in Soho, NYC, waiting on a client to arrive. As I quickly scrolled through my email (admittedly, both personal and business), I was excited to see an email for a 70% off sale at my favorite designer boutique at the Soho Store. If my meeting wrapped up before 5, I planned to look up the exact location of the store. After all, I was in SOHO.
The meeting ended promptly at 5 and I pulled out my iPhone to check on the location of the store. I needed to get to Prince Street. As I looked up, I noticed not even 20 yards from where I stood was the sign for Prince Street. I hurried to the corner, iPhone still in my hand, and looked to the right …..nearly stumbling into my favorite designer store.
It was at that moment that I realized just how far we’ve come with technology. I have never shopped at this SOHO boutique and yet I was still pushed an email for a sale less than 100 yards from where I was located. The experience felt creepy at first….but I found the brilliance of it as I swiped my credit card to snag a very chic dress on sale.
It begs the question: What is the next big trend in digital marketing? Only time will tell!
Sincerely,
JCG