Has the marketing funnel reversed as content and commerce converge?

"Physical availability and mental awareness are now just different starting points in a funnel that has reversed. Data is inevitably driving this reversal with the convergence of unstructured declarative data, and structured intentional behavior meeting in the middle. This dynamic is also affecting creative briefs, media buying and content. And, as we can see, the medium is the store and the store is the medium. This is the change that is happening now."

"And what I find so interesting is that we struggled to have those conversations in a good way. It's a challenging thing for us to be like, 'Okay, do we just be emotional? Do we take the risk without the data to back it?' It's like, 'what, we can't track it? What do we do?' So that's really fascinating."

Advertisers face a blurring of lines between brands, promotion and commerce while social-first, direct-to-consumer competitors intensify competitive pressure. Physical availability and mental awareness function as different starting points in a reversed funnel driven by converging unstructured declarative data and structured intentional behavior. That data convergence is reshaping creative briefs, media buying, and content, effectively making the medium the store and the store the medium. Creative strategies must adapt across the funnel to balance brand awareness and direct response, wrestling with the tension between emotional storytelling and the need for data-backed measurement. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a broader digital commerce revolution that amplifies these dynamics.

Read at The Drum