The Future of Marketing According to the American Marketing Association
Traditional marketing, as we have come to know it over recent decades, has evolved. Therefore, marketers need to adapt accordingly.
Leslie Zane, Founder of The Triggers Agency, recently spoke at an AMA conference and introduced the science of consumer decision making. In 2025, traditional marketers are getting increasingly more frustrated with the results of their efforts. Leslie offers an explanation that details the way the brain processes information and ultimately makes a decision.
She has studied both the conscious and subconscious human brain. Her research and experience has identified that the conscious brain only makes 5% of all decisions. Traditional marketing tactics have been solely focused on the conscious brain. (ie. telling consumers what their product is, why they need it and delivering incentives for purchase). Consumers cannot be persuaded by the conscious mind.
The remaining 95% of decision-making happens in the unconscious brain. This means that our minds have gathered a multitude of data points about a given brand long before we start to advertise. These impressions are stored in the unconscious mind. If marketers solely focus on what the conscious mind can process, it only makes sense that traditional marketing is missing the mark.
Developing positive associations is cultivated over time. It involves developing a multitude of messages across an array of platforms. Leslie advises that your brand needs to expand the ways it can associate with the consumer. The more positive associations planted in the unconscious brain, the better. This is referred to as “mind share”. She emphasizes that this new notion of mind share is critical in driving brand growth.
Visit Leslie’s website below for more details on this insight into brand building.
If you're interested, she has also written a book: The Power of Instinct