Recent Trends And Challenges In Marketing

As an early-stage VC based in New York City focused on enterprise and consumer companies, we are uniquely positioned to keep a pulse on many sectors and industries from the center of global commerce. As such, we’re privy to conversations immediately changing the way companies do business and market themselves. Here are some of the themes we are seeing emerge at present.

Brands are focused on deepening their reach into specific audience segments. Studs, Topical, and Parade expertly target Gen Z consumers, while ZenBusiness, MyCarrier, and Wreno are laser-focused on SMBs. These brands, among others, focus not on the broadest possible cross-section of customers, but attempt instead to serve specific communities in a targeted and thoughtful way. Companies want to gain their customers’ trust, and by going all in on a particular segment, they can demonstrate deep knowledge and dedication to quality services and products. Going deep and skillfully into a specific segment is also a great way to make a splash as a newer player among incumbents.

Authenticity can’t be manufactured, and as such, brandbuilding is increasingly becoming an entire company’s business. Customers want to engage with brands that speak meaningfully to them. Using buzzy words or harping on the missions and issues du jour isn’t enough. Companies need to invest resources into establishing lasting engagement with their customers and share messages credibly backed by community-led product improvements. A company’s mission and story should resonate and be reflected across every division and team, not just in its marketing assets.

In the changing environment around targeting and attribution, marketing teams can feel like they’re shouting into the void. Companies can spend wastefully on misguided or ineffective campaigns. Savvy companies are turning toward more sophisticated tools that use Bayesian statistics (Recast, which automates analytic processes that would otherwise take hundreds of data-science hours in a matter of days, is a good example of this innovation) to close those gaps. If teams rely only on tools of the past, they run the risk of falling behind.

 What keeps you up at night when it comes to some of the major predicaments in the marketing space?

Understanding how best to navigate downturns and recessionary economic environments is always a challenge and concern for marketers. Two common mistakes we see are, leaning too heavily on a single lever of growth, and, indiscriminately cutting marketing spend across the board. It’s important to take a balanced and thoughtful approach. Knee-jerk reactions will throw growth into jeopardy, so it's critical for early-stage startups to identify where exactly they can afford to cut back without significantly diminishing growth.

We’re also thinking about the exciting innovation happening in generative AI and its implications on marketing. There are a number of real questions about discrimination, bias, security, IP, and manipulation involved in using AIgenerated content. We’re still in the earliest innings of these developments, so we’re proceeding with caution. The power of these tools is obvious and exciting, but appropriate implementation and use remains critical.

Can you tell us about the latest project that you have been working on and what are some of the technological and process elements that you leveraged to make the project successful?

We’ve been working closely with portfolio companies dialing up their creative efforts. Breaking through the noise is hard, and it’s difficult to separate your brand’s creative from another’s. That’s why it’s exciting when a creative campaign is able to grab attention and generate organic traffic. Air, the workplace collaboration tool for creative teams, recently devised a terrific project in this vein. In April, the company launched its first 360 ad campaign centered on a commercial called “The Experiment.” It was a bold take, meant to target creative directors, and a huge success. The campaign made Ad Week’s Editor’s Pick, Vimeo’s Staff Pick, and was profiled by Little Black Book. The video received 1, 25,000 organic views, and was shared widely 1:1, driving organic lift. In addition to the video component, they extended the campaign into commercial and out-of-home venues.

On the level of process, Air really leaned into the creative elements, in collaboration with Cash Studios, and went with their gut. They leveraged smart tech—nothing complex—in a costeffective manner to drive the campaign’s reach. As Ad Week put it in a piece that highlighted the success of the campaign, the lesson here is: “Don’t be afraid to be a bit contrarian… and don’t be afraid to take a chance.” It’s never too early for an early-stage company to jump-start the creative process and generate assets that resonate. And often, the scrappiest approach produces the best results. We’re proud of Air’s achievement, and think this project serves as a great roadmap for companies who want to make a splash.

What are some of the technological trends which excite you for the future of the marketing space?

Consumers continue to lean toward being digital-first shoppers, and as such, marketing teams focus their efforts on social media and online spaces. At the same time, we’re glad to see activations around in-person, physical presences. Plus, as digital acquisition costs continue to increase, exploring brickand-mortar experiential can actually make fiscal sense as well as helping with brand positioning and awareness.

We’ve also had a front-row seat to the rise of the creator economy. A number of companies have emerged in and around this space, including Goldenset Collective, which invests in and supports the next generation of creators. Marketing begins with community, and influencers have become an essential component of community-building. Micro-influencers, in particular, have become incredibly useful for brands, as they’re deeply entrenched with highly specific segments that would otherwise be impossible to target. These channels are powerful, and built on trust.

One of the biggest trends we’re seeing is the rapid adoption of AI-powered tools and solutions for everything from marketing spend optimization to content generation. Tools that can crunch customer data and generate accurate insights, as well as boost metrics like retention and lifetime value (LTV), will likely have an outsized impact. Peel Insights integrates these data well for businesses operating under Shopify marketplaces. LLM solutions that produce marketing copy at a fast rate will certainly prove helpful. One impressive LinkedIn post auto-generator, for instance, allows marketers to create engaging posts for LinkedIn in just seconds. AI will also help optimize and personalize communication with customers. The travel intelligence media company Skift, for example, recently launched “Ask Skift,” an AI-driven chatbot that provides tailored answers to travel industry queries. We’re encouraged by the ways in which AI and machine learning will supercharge marketing efforts and drive engagement at scale.