Happy birthday to us

It has just ticked over 3 years since Silver Jet Insight was born, although like the Queen, there is 2 birthdays to celebrate, the official incorporation and the start of trading. For now, I will stick to the date on the certificate.

There has been a huge amount of change in the world since that button was clicked and Silver Jet was born, quite aptly for a data driven business, a newly created record using the Companies House digital service.

Not too long ago it was all about digital in the world of marketing. Reports of budgets being shifted in their entirety from the 'old world' of print and TV and into the new, exciting world of digital.

Even less time ago a notification went out to say data protection law was changing. Fast forward 18 (felt more like 23) months and what feels like the entirety of the world is panicking about GDPR and asking, sometimes begging, for you to opt into their email lists.

It's more important now than ever before to focus on the experience that you give your customers. Show you add value to them instead of just seeing the value of them.

Databases have dwindled, or become more focused if you think about it, so it's more important to target effectively with relevant messages and content. The bonus is, its your most engage customers that choose to still be with you.

Direct mail is making a comeback too! Mail is dead, long live mail. It may be more expensive, but it has more impact, it hangs around in the house much more than email and it typically holds attention spans longer than the subject line which is the gatekeeper to your call to action.

3 years ago, who really thought that brands would be pressing the activism button as they have in the last couple of years? Pepsi might have failed with their attempt at social inclusion and Lush were hit hard for their hard-hitting attempt. You wouldn't be blamed for guessing that Nike would do something like they did with Colin Kaepernick, but you probably wouldn't have expected the POTUS to have such a vociferous response to a marketing campaign.

There seems to a reawakening to some of the tools of the trade that have been forgotten in the rush to become digital. But think of the tools we have now, the insight that can be gleaned from this data rich world and the ways in which we can create and engage.

It's an exciting time to be a marketeer, so much has happened, a huge amount of development and a real change in attitudes and outlook by consumers. This translates to B2B too, work and personal inboxes converge (and detach too), flexible working styles are more popular and the gap between B2C and B2B expectations is narrowing.

Back in 2015 did we think that now would look like it does?

In the world of marketing and start ups, 3 years is a really long time. Here's to the next 3 years.