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2017: The year identity changed everything

Columnist Mike Sands takes a look back at this year's notable events in digital advertising and examines the underlying theme of identity that's transforming brands.

Mike Sands on December 13, 2017 at 2:49 pm

This year was a tumultuous one for brands across the board. Newsfeeds were dominated by Amazon, on pace to become the first trillion-dollar company any day now. The Facebook-Google duopoly grew even more powerful, raking in half of global ad revenues this year, and more than 60 percent in the US, according to eMarketer’s digital ad forecast. And the explosive growth of newer, smaller, more innovative companies that have forever transformed consumer behavior put the old guard on high alert.

In other words, identity really shook things up in 2017.

You see, inherent in brand success today is the ability to literally know you — not you as a demographic segment with 10,000 attributes, but you as someone a brand recognizes on a 1:1 basis within its ecosystem. This is how Facebook propelled “people-based” into the marketing mainstream. It’s how “Google” became everyday vernacular for finding answers. It’s how Amazon legitimized “customer obsession” as a business strategy. Moving forward, it’s how brands must evolve to survive.

[Read the full article on MarTech Today.]

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Mike Sands

Mike Sands is CEO of Signal. Prior to joining the company, he was part of the original Orbitz management team and held the positions of CMO and COO. While at Orbitz, Mike helped take the business from start-up to IPO, then through two acquisitions (Cendant and Blackstone). After Orbitz, Mike joined The Pritzker Group as a partner on their private equity team. Mike also has held management roles at General Motors Corporation and Leo Burnett. His work at General Motors led him to be named a “Marketer of the Next Generation” by Brandweek magazine. Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Northwestern University and a Masters in Management degree from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management.