Is Marketing Moving Backwards?

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I originally shared this on LinkedIn, but I wanted to revisit and refine it for fresh eyes.

Sitting on the steps outside Municipal Arena in downtown Kansas City last weekend, waiting for my daughter’s next cheerleading performance, I had a moment of clarity: marketing feels like it’s moving backwards. Passing the time, I scrolled through Medium.com and LinkedIn, and the headlines felt oddly nostalgic—less 2024, more 2014.

Articles like “The Best Profile Sites to Boost Your Brand Beyond Google” and “How to Get Traffic from Other Sources than Google” caught my attention. And it hit me: is everyone over Google? Probably not. But one thing is certain—online search behavior is shifting.

It’s About the Experience

Today’s marketing conversations remind me of how retro trends become cool again. Take vinyl records: many elder millennials I know cherish their collections. Vinyl isn’t practical—you can stream any song instantly. But it’s not about convenience; it’s about the experience.

The same applies to digital marketing. People aren’t ditching Google entirely (though some might grumble about it); they’re seeking something new, something better. Humans crave fresh experiences, and they’re moving toward platforms, tools, and strategies that offer them.

This year, I’ve heard several people say they’re skipping Amazon for Christmas shopping and heading to the mall instead. Their reason? “We want the kids to experience Christmas like we used to.” It’s not a rebellion against online shopping—it’s nostalgia reimagined as a meaningful experience.

The Return to Marketing Basics

As I scrolled through those articles, I noticed how much of today’s advice echoes marketing fundamentals: backlinks, branding, bold hooks. These were the 101s of my college marketing courses. So why the sudden resurgence of basics?

Because marketing got stale. The same tired tactics, recycled ad nauseam, have left people uninspired. Even Google’s relentless updates haven’t reignited excitement. Google, it seems, has lost its cool factor.

Remember MySpace? It wasn’t dethroned because Facebook was superior; it was because Facebook felt different. Today, the same vibe is driving marketers to explore membership sites over Facebook groups. The tools may work fine, but people want fresh experiences.

Think Different, Act Different

Marketers, maybe it’s time to dust off those old notebooks. Ideas you once shelved as impractical or outdated? They might resonate now. Nostalgia, when paired with creativity, can be a powerful driver in a marketplace that feels stuck.

Google has long told us, “Focus on the user, not the algorithm.” It’s advice worth heeding. Why are you reading this on LinkedIn? Because LinkedIn offers a sense of community that Google can’t replicate.

At its core, marketing isn’t about platforms or tactics. It’s about people—understanding what they value and crafting experiences that resonate. A certain company once challenged us to “Think different.” Maybe it’s time we truly took that advice to heart.

Marketing has always been—and will always be—about the experience.

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