When I started in marketing 17 years ago, social media was still finding its feet, “content marketing” wasn’t really a term yet, and AI was firmly in the realm of science fiction. Now? It’s a completely different landscape. But some things, the important things, haven’t changed at all.
If you’re new to marketing or just starting to find your rhythm, here are some lessons I wish someone had told me earlier, along with what’s genuinely different now compared to when I started.
The timeless stuff
1. Understanding people will always matter more than understanding platforms
Early in my career, I got caught up in mastering tools, learning every feature of the latest email platform or CRM. But the campaigns that actually worked? They came from understanding what kept my audience up at night, what they cared about, and what would make them stop scrolling.
The lesson: Platforms change constantly. Human behaviour and motivations? Much more stable. Invest your time in understanding your audience deeply, their challenges, their language, their decision-making process. The tactics will follow.
2. Data tells you what happened. Insight tells you why.
I’ve seen so many reports that show clicks, opens, conversions, all the numbers, but no one stops to ask “why did this work?” or “what does this tell us about our audience?”
The lesson: Don’t just collect data. Look for patterns. Read customer feedback. The best campaigns I’ve ever run came from combining the numbers with conversations and curiosity.
3. Collaboration beats perfection every time
I used to think I needed to have everything figured out before involving other teams. The reality? Marketing doesn’t happen in isolation. The best ideas came from conversations with sales, product teams, customer support and people who see different parts of the puzzle.
The lesson: Bring people in early. Ask questions. Be genuinely curious about what other teams are seeing and hearing. You’ll create better campaigns, and you’ll build relationships that make everything else easier. It will also give you insights into that “PLACE” from the 4 P’s and promoting where your target audience are!
4. Test small, learn fast, scale what works
One of my early mistakes was launching big, elaborate campaigns without testing the core messaging first. A/B is now embedded in our marketing practices but it wasn’t so well-known back then!
The lesson: Start with a small version. Test your messaging, your offer, your channel. Learn quickly. Then scale what’s working. It’s less exciting than the big launch, but it’s far more effective.
5. Honesty and transparency build trust faster than hype
I’ve worked across B2B sectors where everyone was trying to sound more innovative, more cutting-edge, more “next-generation” than they actually were. The companies that stood out? The ones that were just honest about what they did well and who they were for. Trust and integrity are key as we move into this new AI-world.
The lesson: You don’t need to oversell. Clear, honest communication that respects your audience’s intelligence will always cut through better than buzzwords, jargon and fluff!.
What’s actually different now…
1. AI has changed the game—but not in the way you might think
Seventeen years ago, personalisation meant adding someone’s first name to an email. Now, AI can help you analyse data at scale, personalise experiences in real-time, and even generate content.
But here’s what I’ve learned: AI is brilliant at efficiency and pattern-spotting. It’s not brilliant at understanding nuance, emotion, or context. Use it to handle the heavy lifting, such as data analysis, segmentation, and initial content drafts, but bring your human judgement to the strategy, the messaging, and the “does this actually sound like something a person would say?” test.
The marketers winning right now are the ones using AI as a tool, not a replacement for thinking.
2. The channels have exploded (and so has the noise)
When I started, we had email, some early social media, events, and print. Now? LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, webinars, newsletters, Slack communities… the list goes on.
Don’t fall into the trap of trying to be everywhere.
The lesson: Your audience isn’t everywhere. Find out where they actually spend time, what format they prefer, and focus there. Insights from your cross-functional teams can be invaluable here for their expertise. Three channels done well will always beat ten channels done badly. Quality and consistency matter more than omnipresence.
3. Speed matters more than it used to
The pace has accelerated dramatically. News cycles are faster. Trends come and go in weeks, not months. Your competitors can launch campaigns overnight.
But don’t panic: Speed without strategy is just noise. Yes, be responsive. Yes, move quickly when you can. But don’t sacrifice clarity or quality just to be first. I’ve seen too many “fast” campaigns that had to be walked back or didn’t land because they were rushed, or even launched before the product was ready to be demonstrated!
The lesson: Build systems and processes that let you move quickly when it matters, such as templates, approval workflows and content banks, but don’t confuse urgency with importance.
4. Everyone’s a publisher now
Seventeen years ago, getting your message out meant securing media coverage or buying ad space. Now, every company is a media company. You can publish directly to your audience whenever you want.
The lesson: This is both a gift and a curse. The gift? You control your content and story. The curse? So does everyone else, which means more competition for attention.
Focus on creating content that’s genuinely useful or interesting, not just promotional. The brands cutting through are the ones teaching, entertaining, or solving problems, and not just shouting about their products.
5. Privacy and trust are non-negotiable
When I started, we could track everything. Cookies, third-party data, retargeting, it felt limitless. Now? Privacy regulations and (thankfully) a shift toward respecting people’s data.
The lesson: This isn’t a constraint, it’s an opportunity to build better relationships. Focus on first-party data, ask permission, be transparent about how you use information, and give people real value in exchange for their attention. The marketers who’ve built trust-based relationships with their audiences aren’t worried about the death of third-party cookies.
My advice if you’re starting out
Be curious. The best marketers I know are endlessly curious about people, about businesses, about why things work. Ask questions. Read widely. Talk to customers and your colleagues.
Learn the fundamentals. Trends will come and go. Platforms will rise and fall. But understanding positioning, messaging, segmentation, and how to tell a compelling story? Those will never go out of style.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. Some of my best campaigns came from trying something that felt risky or unconventional. Some of my biggest failures did too. But I learned more from those experiments than I ever did from playing it safe.
Find your people. Marketing can feel isolating, especially early on. Connect with other marketers, online communities, LinkedIn groups and other marketing colleagues. Share what you’re learning, ask for feedback. We’re all figuring this out together!
Remember that marketing is about people. At the end of every click, every open, every conversion, there’s a human being making a decision. If you can keep that front of mind, if you can stay genuinely interested in understanding and helping those people, you’ll build campaigns that matter.
Seventeen years in, I’m still learning. The tools change, the channels evolve, the buzzwords come and go. But the heart of good marketing is understanding people and communicating clearly. This remains exactly the same.
What’s something you’ve learned recently that’s changed how you approach marketing? I’d love to hear from you.
LAB Marketing 