When you think of marketing, what may come to mind is modern-day commercials or sponsors and advertisements by your favorite Social Media figure. Yet, marketing is not just a product of the 20th and 21st centuries. The idea of marketing and using the same techniques is as old as the first civilizations. 

What Is Marketing

Marketing is the activity or business of promoting and selling products or services. In the purest form, it is simply making people aware of your product through different types of advertisement and promotion. It is the process of planning, pricing, promoting, selling, and distributing ideas, goods, or services to create exchanges that satisfy customers. From reacting to different slogans, types of packaging, and different commercials to simply reposting a sale or event are all examples of marketing in action. Marketing is important as it benefits the economy by providing the need for competition to exist. It is important to note that marketing is ongoing and always changing, which will be quite clear as you take a trip through time to the different phases of the unique process. 

Ancient Marketing

Although the foundations of Capitalism and the free market were laid in the 18th century by Adam Smith with his book The Wealth of Nations, open markets can be traced back even further. The exchange of goods and services relied heavily on word-of-mouth marketing. However, techniques such as outdoor marketing, posters, and images were all used to try to attract customers into purchasing a product. Merchants and sellers in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome would paint or carve ads onto various places, such as sides of buildings or on places near walkways. Different symbols were used in areas of low literacy to help people identify what the shop stood for – for instance, a hammer would represent how a blacksmith could be found inside. Even some ancient celebrity sponsors could be observed as Greek Olympians and Roman gladiators were told to endorse certain products. 

The Printing Press

In the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg created an invention that would change the process of marketing forever – the printing press. Information could now be rapidly spread far and wide across the entire world. Although China was the first to create paper, the printing press allowed for newspapers to be created and distributed quickly, and those newspapers sometimes featured advertisements highlighting different items. Additionally, an increase in pamphlets, posters, flyers, and other publicity materials came with the printing press as it was simply easier to promote a business. 

Rise of Consumerism 

Especially after World War I, the rise of consumerism and an explosion of mass media came with the 20th century. New technologies such as the radio, television, and cinema became popular among people who invested in this continuously growing market, and advertisers were quick to take advantage of the millions of consumers they could reach out to. Marketers found unique ways to reach vast audiences with their own distinctive message. New concepts such as market research, segmentation, and other strategies became popularized as businesses worked to have the “best” product out of their competitors. Companies such as Listerine created advertisements that emphasized dilemmas that were not so serious; bad breath, for instance, was referred to as the malady Halitosis. Later, in the 50s and 60s, commercials became popularized, and popular T.V. shows made money off of these sponsors. The rise of mass media and consumerism is similar to what you would picture in old ads. 

Modern Day and AI

Now, when it comes to advertisements in the last decade, marketers have had unique techniques, and now companies are even using technologies such as Artificial Intelligence to advance their products. The digital revolution, which featured the invention of smartphones, computers, and the entire internet in general, was a major factor in changing the strategies of marketers. The first search engines were created, leading to strategies such as Search Engine optimization, where marketers worked to be one of the first options that consumers see to click on when using the web. Strategies such as mobile marketing and email marketing work to try to reach a large audience. With social media, companies invest in Micro and Macro influencers with varying amounts of followers to highlight specific products. To dive into the future, AI tools have greatly expanded, and now, almost 87% of marketers have at least experimented with some form of artificial intelligence. Chatbots on websites or even planogram optimization for retailers are all new techniques that businesses are starting to invest in to have the most appealing product. Overall, modern-day marketing strategies continue to grow, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the future. 

Conclusion

As you now understand, marketing is not just a modern endeavor – it is rather a strong standing system that has been observed since the basic foundations of civilization. Although it has evolved over the years, marketing and the basic concepts have stayed the same, and businesses will continue to try to create the most appealing advertisements for their audience. 

Sources:

https://builtin.com/marketing

https://lafleur.marketing/blog/ancient-origins-history-modern-marketing-advertising/

https://medievalbooks.nl/2019/01/24/the-oldest-surviving-printed-advertisement-in-english-london-1477/ 

https://sites.bu.edu/cmcs/2017/11/16/printing-press-digital-age-and-social-movements/#:~:text=Printing%20technology%2C%20the%20invention%20and,the%20history%20of%20human%20communication.

https://www.marketingevolution.com/knowledge-center/a-history-of-marketing-analytics-before-the-digital-takeover

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/history-advertising-no-130-johann-gutenbergs-printing-press/1344881#:~:text=Before%20Gutenberg%2C%20advertising%20was%20mostly,be%20produced%20in%20large%20numbers.

https://marketinghire.com/career-advice/how-ai-is-transforming-marketing