Applied McLuhan: Marketing for the 21st Century

Many have asked what the meaning of “Applied McLuhan” is. The famous marketing guru who died in 1980, Marshall McLuhan, still influences many with his spot-on predictions in which the medium has become the message.

And so, with 21st Century Marketing, we can only guess in what direction Professor McLuhan may have turned with his predictions. The idea of multi-media strategies with different points and targeting were all ideas that he sketched out decades ago.

And the point is not to simply stop and marvel at the ideas that he laid out for the future, but also to follow his advice and work towards adapting to a new age in marketing and media.

The following ideas were pulled from some of the key articles featured in this month’s edition of “Applied McLuhan.”

• Data Tracking Applied: Data Tracking refers to the idea of pinpointing areas of behavior from customers that yield valuable data to businesses. And to target the interests for an individual or group that can intersect with your products and brand.
• Applying Algorithms in News Feeds: The Algorithms that help to trace where the news feeds for different platforms head in their trends is another source that can help you to predict future promotional needs and ideas to target. For example, when you log into Facebook, the ads that show up in your individual news feed will appear in order of ranking and relevancy according to the Facebook algorithm.
• Application of Content Marketing Strategy: This means that the one main tentpole you have created is something that may be used to create multiple layers, dated, or areas to target. From this idea of Content Marketing, you can then highlight calendar events and days that may be vital to messaging and branding. The key to a good content strategy is to create a foundation for all stages of your customer’s journey. Those elements that both attract & delight potential customers is a vital cog that determines the success of your entire marketing strategy.

All of these ideas and “applied” marketing plans often take more time and effort to make it all integrate and flow together. That is the purpose of the Applied McLuhan magazine. You can find some of these ideas mapped out in the Applied McLuhan articles and posts that are featured monthly in 6 Degrees.