CHAPTER 1
Welcoming the Era of Marketing 6.0: From Multi to Omni to Meta

The Marketing X.0 book series explores the shifts in the business landscape and how those shifts would change how marketers approach marketing. The first installment, Marketing 3.0: From Products to Customers to the Human Spirit, examines how marketing has come full circle in its evolution to serve humanity. In Marketing 3.0, customers look for not only functional and emotional satisfaction but also spiritual fulfillment from the brands they choose. As the subtitle suggests, the book describes the major shifts from product-driven marketing (1.0) to customer-oriented marketing (2.0) to human-centric marketing (3.0).

Very forward-looking at the time of its publication in 2010, the book provided a blueprint for engaging modern customers seeking to do business with companies that positively impact society. Today, incorporating sustainability themes in marketing is crucial to remain relevant, particularly in light of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By aligning their marketing with the SDGs, businesses can demonstrate their commitment to solving humanity's biggest problems.

One of the key roles of marketing is to communicate value and build trust with the customers, allowing brands to influence behaviors. Procter & Gamble, for example, is leveraging its massive share of voice to drive change through marketing. One of the world's largest advertisers, P&G advocates diversity, equity, and inclusion themes in its successful storytelling campaigns for brands such as Gillette, Always, and Pampers.

Marketing is also responsible for expanding the market and driving growth. When products and services reach underserved markets, we are one step closer to a fully inclusive society-the overarching agenda of SDGs.

A compelling example is the Next Billion Users program, where Google creates suitable technology products for first-time, inexperienced Internet users. With the ability to understand the market, develop relevant products, and drive technology adoption, Google is well equipped to achieve this objective. One such product is Google Lens, which can read words aloud to illiterate individuals in developing countries.

As technology continues to evolve, it changes how marketers interact with customers. The second book, Marketing 4.0: Moving from Traditional to Digital, was again ahead of its time, encouraging businesses to adapt to the increasingly digital landscape and engage the digital-savvy generations to make them loyal advocates.

Marketing 4.0 took inspiration from Industry 4.0, which epitomized the movement toward digital. Introduced as a high-level strategy of the German government in 2011, Industry 4.0-the fourth industrial revolution-outlines the development of manufacturing systems in adopting digital technologies.

Marketing 4.0 stressed the importance of experimenting with digital marketing to complement the traditional approach across the customer journey. Adopting digital strategies such as content marketing and omnichannel marketing has become imperative.

Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable content with a target audience, primarily through social media. It is more effective than traditional advertising because the content is typically more relevant and engaging than ads. The approach is usually paired with omnichannel marketing, the process of integrating online and offline channels to create a seamless customer experience. Those two paradigms have proven to be particularly relevant and valuable for marketers navigating the unforeseeable challenges of the pandemic.

During the two years of the pandemic, two-thirds of local businesses used content marketing, increasing total spending by nearly $20 billion-according to Meta Branded Content Project. Similarly, Square and the Atlantic reported that more than 75 percent of businesses across sectors-retail, health and fitness, restaurants, home and repair, and professional services-implemented omnichannel marketing.

While content marketing and omnichannel approach have today become essential staples of digital strategy, recent technological advances are taking us to the next level. The cornerstone technology discussed in Marketing 5.0: Technology for Humanity is artificial intelligence (AI), which aims to replicate human capability in solving problems and making decisions.

Marketing 5.0 took inspiration from Society 5.0, which introduces the theme of leveraging technology for humanity. Society 5.0 was introduced by the Japanese government in 2016 as a natural progression from Industry 4.0. It envisioned a society that leverages advanced technology, such as AI, for the good of humanity.

During over 60 years of its history, AI has created polarizing opinions. Businesspeople have been wary of the threat of AI, from the loss of jobs to the extinction of humanity. Yet, despite fears and anxieties brought forth by AI, the benefits for humanity are apparent. With its capacity to analyze large volumes of data, predict future outcomes, and deliver personalized experiences at scale, AI is rapidly changing how companies run their businesses.

A case in point is PepsiCo, which collects insights on potential flavors and new product categories based on digital data-social media posts and online recipe commentaries-and analyzes them with AI. Products created with AI insights include Off The Eaten Path snacks and Propel sports drinks. At PepsiCo, AI rapidly shifted from experimental to applied technology for product development.

AI, too, has advanced significantly since the Marketing 5.0 publication. Achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), which has humanlike cognitive capabilities, is still a complex and challenging goal, but many are working to advance the field. AI today is far more interactive and mainstream. OpenAI's ChatGPT represents a promising step forward for AI. ChatGPT, as a highly intelligent and interactive language model, can facilitate communication between humans and machines, enabling more effective collaboration.

The developments of AI have enabled a group of other technologies to advance, changing the business landscape once more and thus driving the next evolution of marketing.

The Rise of Immersive Marketing 6.0

There has been a notable shift in technological advancements in recent years toward creating more immersive interactions between customers and brands. This shift can be attributed to the rise of the digital native generations, namely Generation Z and Generation Alpha, who were born into a world where the Internet was already prevalent. These younger cohorts have a strong affinity for immersive experiences that blend physical and digital elements. We will delve deeper into the characteristics and preferences of these two cohorts in Chapter 2.

The emergence of these generations will bring about significant changes to the digital landscape, transforming various aspects of the digital space. One notable transformation is the increasing interactivity and immersion within the digital realm. A prime example of this is the prevalence of short-form videos on social media that captivate audiences, leading to endless scrolling and an immersive viewing experience. Moreover, e-commerce has become more engaging, featuring innovative models that facilitate conversations between buyers and sellers through chats and livestreams. Chapter 3 will delve into these emerging trends and their impact on the digital space.

These trends inspire businesses to provide increasingly immersive customer experiences that blur the lines between physical and digital touchpoints. By combining the advantages of offline interactions, such as multisensory experiences and human-to-human engagement, with the benefits of online experiences, which include personalized interactions on a larger scale, companies can create truly immersive customer journeys. We believe that post-pandemic, a significant portion of customer experiences will continue to occur in physical spaces. However, there is a growing trend of augmenting these physical interactions with digital technologies to cater to the needs of the digital native generations. We discuss this theme in greater detail in Chapter 4.

Two prominent technologies that facilitate the augmentation of physical spaces with digital elements are augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). While both technologies blend the physical and digital realms, their approach differs. AR incorporates digital elements into the real world, enhancing the physical environment with digital overlays. This allows users to experience the physical surroundings while interacting with digital content. On the other hand, VR creates entirely virtual environments, completely immersing users in a digital world detached from their physical surroundings.

AR finds widespread application in games such as Pokémon Go, where players can find and capture virtual monsters that seem to inhabit real-world locations when viewed through mobile phone screens. Businesses have also embraced AR extensively. For example, IKEA offers customers the ability to virtually place furniture in their homes using its mobile app before making a purchase. Similarly, L'Oréal utilizes AR technology to provide virtual makeup try-on experiences, generating digital images that make it appear as if customers are...