Looking ahead to 2030

“It’s just a jump to the left…”… And then a giant leap to riiiiiight - and to the future of marketing. We’re time-warping to 2030 for our 4th and final piece for NZ Marketing magazine and it’s probably the most “me” article we’ve written yet.

Not because I was obsessed with the Rocky Horror Picture Show. in my youth.. but because this theme leans fully into the way I think, lead, and work.

Michael Friedberg and I had the chance to sit down with Editor Penny Murray again to explore where marketing is heading and what will set the great apart from the rest in 2030.  (Spoiler alert - the future has already landed!)

In this article, we talk about:

• The rise of the multidisciplinary thinkers, someone who can see the whole picture and switch between domains expertise with ease.

• Why brand needs to go deeper, not just bigger, with a sharper POV, a belief system, and real human resonance.

• The return of human-first marketing, where empathy, story and imagination matter more than ever

• What it means to market to AI (yep, that’s a thing now), and how AEO is changing the game

• Why portfolio careers and fluid teams are the next evolution of work.

• And why the future isn’t about being everywhere, it’s about being unmistakably you.

We talked about how the way we work is changing. It’s getting more lateral, more purpose-led, more real. It won’t look like it used to. And that’s a good thing, and stressed the importance of making sure you don’t outsource your thinking to AI.

AI’s a beautiful partner… but not as a shortcut for your lived expertise. If you use it to skip your unique thinking, you’ll miss the spark. Use it to stretch your thinking instead. Think question machine, not answer machine.

 This one’s for anyone feeling a bit out of place in rigid roles and cookie-cutter career tracks. If you’ve ever been told you “do too many things” or “don’t fit the box”, maybe the box has been the problem all along.

I think it’s time to reimagine what the boxes are and what the world of work really even means... what to you think?

📖 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gySaA48R

📚 Link to the full 4 part B2B series here: https://lnkd.in/gX3UbSi9

Big thanks to Penny Murray for holding the space, and Michael Friedberg for being my riffing partner.