Within the last 100 years, marketing has completely changed..  There was a time when it was just about offering friendly customer support, then a more sophisticated brand design model, developed with companies taking a more planned approach to brand naming, graphics and packaging design.  With increase in competition, a custom logo design was hardly enough and your brand needed a way to showcase in front of the public.  Changes in the medium of communication during the 20th century enabled this to happen, and lead to even greater and more aggressive marketing with radio, TV and finally, Internet marketing being added to the lot.

However, because of this we now have a more competitive and crowded marketplace ever before.  Customers are bombarded with hundrends of advertising messages each day, and so have naturally adjusted their minds to filter out most of it.  The more advertising there is, the less effective advertising becomes.  A new type of marketing is therefore required that stands out and grabs the consumers interest and attention.

The book written by a business journalist “I am with the brand” explains a different type of marketing, which the author refers to as ‘Murketing’.  The name murketing highlights the fact that these techniques succeed by blurring the boundaries between marketing and real life, making the modern definition of marketing very murky.

In a new marketing, brands are doing away with obvious sales messages, and instead working to become an integral part of people’s lives that people enjoy, respect and feel engaged with.  The master of these techniques is the energy drink company red Bull, they have taken sports sponsorship to a new level by actually organising and funding a variety of unique sporting events, many of which are free to the public, such as the Red Bull Air Race series and red Bull Flugtag.  Also, the Innocent drinks summer fair in London is a great day out for the young, trendy city dwellers in their target market.  The beauty of murketing, is that rather than risk triggering people’s natural resistance to being sold something, you actually morph your brand into an experience that they actively want to invite into their lives and which enhances their lives with no obligation.

Of course, there is a risk that people will just milk you for everything that you’re prepared to offer.  However that risk you’ll have to take and if it goes down well in the books of your target market then they will value and appreciate what you do to and eventually become loyal and enthusiastic customers who actually enjoy using products.