Marketing Success In The Information Age

Ahhh... the "Information Age". What is it really?

I ask this as I was talking with a friend and we were discussing how marketing has changed with the "Information Age".

After about 20 minutes she asked me, so how exactly do we navigate through this age of such technological advancement in that we use the term 'information age' and everyone knows exactly what you are talking about... and... Exactly what is the 'information age'?

Even though I knew she knew the answers to her own questions and was merely toying with me,
To start, there are many factors but if you have simply two questions answered, you will hit pay dirt every time.

Those questions are:

1 - Why are some people so much more successful than others?

...and...

2 - What is the "Information Age"?

Since my conversation, I did a lot of research on this as I wanted to be accurate in this blog, and of course I found a lot of varying answers, but I did find a common thread that I took away from the conversation and the research combined.

In the words of Don Schultz, one of the foremost scholars of Integrated Marketing, “today we live in an interactive, globally connected, customer-driven, service economy where time and speed are of the essence.” As a result of these changes, a whole new marketing model was born; one that was no longer founded, exclusively, on the power of the “4P's” (product, price, place, and promotion) but instead hinged on four new principles:

1. Target
2. Experiment
3. Measure
4. Adapt

Some may argue that targeting is not a new concept. While consumer product giants such as Procter & Gamble have, indeed, been at this game for a long time, new technologies have enabled companies of all sizes to successfully deploy highly personalized campaigns.

Experimenting, on the other hand, has not only dramatically changed, but also grown in importance in most marketers’ minds over the past fifteen years.


Savvy executives worldwide quickly learned that, in order to ensure the success of highly targeted campaigns, they must earmark part of their budget for testing. Some analysts, including McKinsey’s David Court, go so far as to say that 20-25% of all marketing spending should be used to finance well-structured experiments. The days of the old saying “I know that half of my advertisement is wasted, I just don’t know which half,” are long gone.


After thinking about this on and off for almost a decade, I’ve reached the conclusion that 4 factors are responsible for success:

1. Hard work — “work smarter, not harder,” is largely B.S. Yes, you have to work smart. But most of the really successful people I know have a puritan work ethic, despite the claims of some of them to the contrary.

2. Persistence — the only way to ensure permanent failure is to give up. Successful people never give up.

3. “Smarts” — successful people are either highly intelligent or have some aptitude that helps them in achieving their goals.

4. Luck — some people are just luckier than others. They are fortunate to be born with an aptitude (#3 above) that makes money in today’s society. Or they benefit from timing: market factors align favorably with their ventures and goals.


I am debating adding a fifth factor to my list above: ambition. The difference between a humble successful person and an egotistical one? The humble achiever acknowledges the role #4 played in his success, and the egotistical one does not. Do you think my 4 (5) factors above adequately explain why some people are so much more successful than others?


.... Or am I missing an important factor required to achieve success? Tell me by commenting or contacting me



William S. Dickinson is a marketing professional who works for Momentum Conferencing with offices in Vancouver BC and Toronto, ON. You can find Momentum Conferencing on the web @ www.momentumconferencing.com.