Marketing
The Invisible Backbone: Why We Cannot Afford To Undervalue The Marketers
By Poppy Lydia Sello
When you undervalue marketing, you undervalue connection, trust, and loyalty- the very foundations of business success.
Every time someone glances at a billboard, taps on a social media ad, or remembers a brand name in passing, marketing has already done its work. That spark of recognition, that tiny whisper of connection- it didn’ t happen by chance. It happened because somewhere, a marketer sat down and asked: What do we want people to feel when they see this?
And yet, so often, marketers are sidelined. We are told how to market by people who don’ t walk the path. We are blamed when sales aren’ t immediate. The moment things get hard- or budgets need trimming- we are the first to feel the wrench.
We know the late nights shaping campaigns, the small triumphs of increasing brand awareness, the quiet satisfaction when customer feedback vindicates our strategy. Yet when revenue doesn’ t spike, some treat marketing like an optional department- an accessory, nice to have but dispensable.
But here’ s the truth: without marketing, the gap between organizations and the market becomes an abyss. Products may exist, services may be excellent- but if no one knows about them, trusts them, or cares about them, they may as well not exist at all.
This article is a tribute to the art and science of marketing. It’ s for my fellow marketers who are working unseen, and for business leaders who still believe marketing is just“ ads and pretty pictures.” It is a plea, a challenge, and a reminder that marketing is not optional- it is structural.
Over the past ten years, marketing has undergone a profound transformation- one driven by shifting technology,
At its core, the art of marketing is about emotion. It’ s about crafting campaigns that make people feel something- hope, pride, curiosity, nostalgia, joy. Whether through compelling visuals, memorable copy, or immersive experiences, artistic marketing speaks to the human side of the audience. It understands that people don’ t just buy based on logic- they buy based on how a brand makes them feel.
evolving consumer expectations, and a fundamental redefinition of what it means to build brand trust. Around 2015, social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter( now X), LinkedIn, and YouTube had firmly positioned themselves not just as communication tools but as central pillars of the modern marketing ecosystem.
Brands were no longer in control of the conversation; audiences were. Consumers expected real-time responses, transparency, and engagement that felt human, not corporate. This gave rise to influencer marketing- not as a gimmick, but as a reflection of a new reality: people trusted people more than they trusted logos. Micro-influencers, creators, and everyday users became the new media channels, forcing brands to recalibrate their voice, tone, and approach.
At the same time, marketing became increasingly data-driven. The years between 2015 and 2020 saw an explosion in tools designed to capture, track, and analyze user behaviour- leading to a surge in personalized content, targeted advertising, and predictive marketing strategies. Brands could now serve different messages to different people at scale, adjusting in real time based on clicks, conversions, or customer segments.
But this level of targeting sparked growing discomfort. Consumers began asking tough questions about how their data was being collected and used. Regulations such as the European Union’ s General Data Protection Regulation( GDPR) in 2018, and later Apple’ s privacy updates, fundamentally altered how marketers accessed user
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