“Now more than ever, you’ve got to relate to your customers at a human level,” says Pam, reflecting the thinking that influenced the status of Prisma Broadcast as an H2H agency (human to human). “The workplace has changed and people are allowed to be human now.” She reflects how a business persona used to be almost a prerequisite, and necessary to succeed. “We are now encouraged to bring our personalities to work,” she observes. To see evidence of this you only have to look at the profiles of professionals on the team pages of websites. Increasingly, these will include personal information that offers insight into personality as much as professional expertise. There used to be a discussion around ‘Should I include hobbies on my CV’ – now it’s indisputable. The world we live and work within is increasingly transparent. The boundaries between business life and home life are eroded, and marketing needs to respond through the approach it takes.

“Everything has changed” says Pam.

“Now, you have to be emotional in your marketing.”

She talks about how emerging neuroscience and our deeper understanding of people’s behaviours means that we now appreciate that much of the decision-making process is made in the unconscious brain. “We know now that people make decisions at an emotional level, not at a rational level.” She recommends using insights from business psychology in marketing to tap into the responses we need from our customers.”

Humans are social animals. Our behaviour is deeply affected by cultural factors, and our relationships with those around us. Marketers need to understand this and communicate primarily in a human-to-human way.