I want to lift up some critical thinking thoughts from a Rob Shepardson Ad Age article published last week. I don’t usually mix politics with my INsights, but this article is different. Titled “The Anti-Incumbency Political Era Is a Wake-up Call for Marketers,” his marketing theme shouts that when B2C consumers and B2B buyers demand change, give it to them.
For many brands that is easier said than done. Shepardson uses many of the themes and ideas that I have fostered in speeches and blogs.
Remember that consumer and buyer sentiment is fickle. It always has been. It’s 2025, and we are in a new marketing era, not driven by marketing tactics but by political, economic, social and fiscal actions worldwide.
You and I have no idea where these dynamics will end. As I have often said, we can’t predict the future, but we can prepare for it. Your path forward requires a reevaluation and maybe a restart because yesterday’s success matter less than today’s actions. People don’t want products. They don’t want services. They want solutions. When consumers demand change, the only viable response is to deliver it both emotionally through engaging brand messaging and tangibly through value delivery.
My message is clear: LISTEN UP, or else be left behind. Yes, it’s a race, and success does not look the same for every brand. But what is common for every brand is to understand your customers’ current emotional realities. It requires a new rethinking of how to engage with your customers through a careful balance of values and responsiveness. And it may require realigning your operational model with the reality of how you work… and how you align with your customers’ needs and wants.
Are you ready for your wake-up call?
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