The Slow Marketing Movement Gains Respect

slowmarketingWhat’s at the intersection of marketing and mindfulness? Respect for your audience. 

In the wee hours of this year, we urged marketers not to sacrifice quality on the altar of expediency. We talked about the slow marketing movement being advocated by some marketers, including Tad Hargrave on his Marketing for Hippies site.

The idea, apparently, has legs, despite Google’s predictions that marketing in 2015 would happen “at the speed of life.”

“Marketers are in danger of draining the customer experience of its most vital element by focusing on the disposable,” writes Nicola Kemp in Marketing Magazine.

Kemp makes a good case for why brands should dial back and embrace slow marketing.

“The notion that consumers need a break from the noise is gaining momentum. In the professional sphere, a growing swathe of marketers is embracing the mindfulness agenda. At the heart of these concerns lies the notion that, as we invest ever-more time and attention to digital channels, we are taking something away from ourselves in the flesh,” Kemp writes.

The risk, she notes, lies in placing too much emphasis on instant results. And she’s not alone in that.

“It’s a reminder that the foundations of marketing are still vital,” said Jo Arden of creative agency 23rd. “Taking time to know the audience, to understand what motivates them or acts as barrier, and knowing our brands inside-out, are essential.”

“A brand is no longer a marketing gimmick; CSR can no longer be a bolt-on appeasement to investors and employees,” said Jason Hartley of The Partners. “Brand, business and purpose now have to be one holistic entity. This takes a shift in organisational management and is not easy. It will take time, and slow and steady will win the race.”

Kemp points out that this isn’t about ditching your digital channels in favor of more traditional media, but of being mindful of your audience and their investment in your message.

“Slow marketing is not about retreating into old models or simply advocating a digital switch-off, but, instead, respecting the value of consumers’ time,” she notes.

Mindfulness and taking the time to think a campaign through from the user’s point of view is an art, and increasingly the race goes not to the swiftest but to the most aware.