The creative world thrives on the Next Big Thing. Yet, for every success story like TikTok, there lies a cautionary tale of blockchain misadventures. So, how can you allocate your resources wisely and with certainty?

Fresh thinking fuels growth
Innovation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the engine that drives competitive advantage. And brands that spot and capitalise on emerging trends before their competitors can create meaningful connections with audiences, differentiate themselves and boost their performance.

Take short-form video content. When TikTok arrived, many dismissed it as a playground for teenagers. But others saw something different – a platform that rewarded authentic storytelling and community building. Nike jumped in early with campaigns built on user-generated content, creating organic reach that traditional advertising couldn’t match. They weren’t simply chasing a new platform; they were recognising a fundamental shift in how audiences wanted to consume content.

The pivot to zero-party data offers another example. As privacy concerns intensified and third-party cookies crumbled, brands like Sephora developed smart preference centres and personalisation tools. By collecting information that customers actively chose to share rather than data gathered through tracking, these companies strengthened relationships while preparing for regulatory changes. They weren’t just reacting to technical constraints – they were building trust in a world increasingly concerned about digital privacy.

Voice search optimisation is another case in point. As smart speakers found their way into millions of homes, some marketers adapted their content strategies for conversational queries. Those who moved early gained outsized visibility in what quickly became a significant search channel. They weren’t merely chasing a gadget trend; they were responding to changing consumer behaviour in accessing information.

When following fashion falls flat
Despite success stories such as AI advances, marketing history is littered with expensive mistakes – trends embraced too enthusiastically before their practical value materialised. The consequences extend beyond wasted budgets to damaged credibility and diminished trust in marketing leadership.

Three recent examples stand out as particularly cautionary tales.

Blockchain blunders
Perhaps no recent technology generated more speculative marketing investment than blockchain. Between 2017 and 2019, countless brands rushed to incorporate blockchain elements into their strategies – not because they solved existing problems, but because they feared missing the next transformative wave.

Major consumer goods companies launched blockchain-based loyalty programmes that promised to revolutionise customer engagement. Fashion brands trumpeted blockchain authentication systems for verifying product origins. Most of these initiatives collapsed within months, having consumed substantial resources without delivering measurable returns. The technology itself wasn’t flawed; its applications were simply misaligned with genuine marketing needs and consumer expectations.

Metaverse missteps
More recently, the metaverse has followed a similar trajectory. Following Facebook’s high-profile rebrand to Meta, marketing departments scrambled to establish virtual presences. Luxury brands built elaborate digital showrooms, food companies created branded games, and retailers opened virtual stores. All anticipating an imminent shift in consumer behaviour.

And yet – plot twist! –  the anticipated mass migration to virtual worlds hasn’t materialised as predicted. Many metaverse marketing investments now sit abandoned, representing millions in development costs with minimal engagement to show for it. While extended reality technologies will likely play a role in marketing’s future, the frenzied adoption cycle demonstrated the dangers of following hype rather than consumer signals.

NFT nonsense
Non-Fungible Tokens are a third cautionary tale. Brands ranging from Taco Bell to Gucci released limited edition digital collectibles, often selling out instantly and generating significant press coverage. Win! By mid-2022, however, both prices and consumer interest had plummeted. Bah! Many brand NFT projects that appeared innovative became digital relics almost overnight, leaving customers with devalued digital assets and marketers with questions about creating sustainable value in digital spaces.

Spotting patterns in the pandemonium
These patterns aren’t random – they follow predictable contours that Gartner formalised in its Hype Cycle model. This framework maps how emerging technologies progress through five phases: the innovation trigger, peak of inflated expectations, trough of disillusionment, slope of enlightenment, and plateau of productivity.

The model’s brilliance lies in recognising that most innovations follow this emotional journey, with initial excitement invariably outpacing practical implementation. The sharpest marketers use this framework not to avoid emerging technologies but to calibrate expectations and implementation timelines appropriately.

And guess what? Artificial Intelligence offers a perfect case study of this trajectory in action. AI marketing applications initially surged to the peak of inflated expectations around 2018-2019, with vendors promising capabilities that frequently exceeded reality. Chatbots that couldn’t handle basic customer queries and “AI-powered” recommendation engines that performed worse than simple algorithms characterised this period.

Today, AI in marketing has largely traversed the trough of disillusionment and is climbing the slope of enlightenment. The technology hasn’t disappeared – it’s matured. Current AI advances focus on solving specific, well-defined marketing challenges rather than promising wholesale transformation.

AI’s evolution: From hype to help
The contrast between AI’s current state and its hyped promises of five years ago couldn’t be starker. What’s changed isn’t the fundamental technology but its application. Marketers have shifted from asking “How can we use AI?” to “What specific problems can AI solve for us?”

This evolution manifests in numerous practical applications. Predictive analytics now informs campaign timing and channel selection with increasing accuracy. Natural language processing enables content optimisation that maintains brand voice while improving performance. Computer vision helps brands understand how their products appear in user-generated content, providing unprecedented insight into authentic usage contexts.

Critically, these applications succeed because they enhance existing marketing functions rather than attempting to reinvent them. They address concrete challenges that marketers genuinely face rather than creating solutions in search of problems. The most successful implementations combine technological sophistication with marketing fundamentals, recognising that even the most advanced algorithms must ultimately serve human needs and behaviours.

Finding the sweet spot
The most effective approach to marketing innovation isn’t avoiding all hype – that would mean missing genuine opportunities. Nor is it embracing every new trend uncritically. Instead, successful marketers develop a measured approach that:

* Evaluates innovations based on their ability to solve existing problems or create genuine new value
* Prioritises small, purposeful experiments over sweeping transformations
* Measures outcomes rigorously against established business metrics
* Recognises that timing matters as much as the technology itself
* Builds institutional memory around both successes and failures

This balanced perspective allows marketers to remain genuinely innovative without becoming perpetual victims of hype cycles. It acknowledges that being first occasionally matters, but being effective always matters.

As new technologies continue emerging at accelerating rates, this discernment becomes increasingly valuable. The marketers who thrive won’t be those who chase every trend, but those who recognise which innovations truly serve their strategic objectives – and have the patience to implement them at the right moment in their evolution.

SIM7 is an award-winning creative agency that uses language to empower brands, campaigns and strategy – for global marketing teams. We work collaboratively and transparently, blending human creativity with AI to create effective results.