Like everything else in this world marketing has come a long way from its origins.

From
writings in bronze plates during the Song dynasty to the invention of the printing press in
the 15 century to the first print advertisements to the televisions and radios to finally
digital marketing, the history has been very rich. Each advancement has been possible
only because of the advancement of technology. It has not only provided platforms for
reaching the masses but also provided unprecedented insights into what their
customers want and how they behave.

The first paradigm of marketing was literal, rational and product centric. Marketers
believed that the key to selling was making their products better than their competitors.
This was done by offering slightly different or better product features or by lowering the
prices. This belief led them to exaggerate the product features and have people
endorsing the brands. But by doing so marketers started losing credibility. This is the
infamous advertisement by lucky strikes wherein they used a doctor to promote
cigarettes. Mcdonalds advertising their products as healthy. This was also the era where
the unfortunate stereotyping of women in the media began as you can see here on this
advertisement.
Then marketers discovered something valuable. Human decisions are guided more by
emotions than logic. thus began the second paradigm of marketing. emotional appeals
through storytelling in televisions became popular. Brands wanted to associate
themselves with qualities such as freedom, luxury, or indulgence. They also started to
use celebrities to connect with their customers. Omega did the same when they hired
supermodel Cindy Crawford to star in their advertisements. These weren’t nameless
people who would not be able to create emotional ties but these were people that the
masses admired and loved. They became the face of the brand.
On August 6 1991, the world wide web was born. Four years later digital marketing was
born and This changed the marketing world forever. Data became vastly available and
this data was used to create targeted marketing. Each customer could be treated as a
unique individual; each message could be now conveyed in an impactful manner.
Customers' activities could also be tracked in real time which helped in timely and highly
personalized communication
The third paradigm came with its fair share of challenges. The marketers were held at a
higher standard as the effectiveness of advertisements could be measured very
minutely. Traditional goals of marketing were modified and marketing executives were
expected to be data savvy.