Yesterday, I was privileged enough to enjoy 45 minutes listening to the future of marketing according to the vision of Richard Duvall, described as a revolutionary figure in the creation of 21st century business. With Prudential, he co-founded Egg and is now working his new project, Zopa.I found Richard inspirational and his vision compelling of what he calls, the individual revolution.
He suggests that technology has created an environment in which the mass market culture is dying. For example: no longer are there a few TV or Radio channels to listen to, there are hundreds. Every individual has their own taste in music, and is able to fulfil that desire through podcasts or radio or a number of television channels.
The Internet has created a culture where every individual can express their own unique personality through the music they listen to, the fashion they create for themselves, the web sites they browse, the hobbies in which they indulge, the businesses they create.
Increasingly, people percieve themselves as individuals, not as consumers.
Seth Godin's work also supports this change in culture, proposing that the Internet is not a mass-marketing medium. It's not a replacement for television. It's just the opposite - it creates a fragmented, splintered culture where every individual, every business can satisfy their own unique needs and requirements. Small communities with common interests communicate through blogs, chat rooms and web sites and perhaps buy from stores specialising in the things in which they are interested.
The age of the individual has arrived.
I consider myself fortunate to work for a company whose strategy and approach reflects this unique culture, it's clients holding dear their individuality and recognising that, for them, it defines their business and more often than not, their competitive advantage.
If you get a chance to catch Richard speaking at an event - I'd recommend it!
