The Death of Classical Marketing: My Prediction

22 Mar 2023 · 0 min

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In this brief monologue, Dharmesh Shah reflects on a question from Peter Thiel’s book about a belief no one else shares. Shah predicts that the traditional, "classical" approach to marketing will eventually become obsolete. He argues that the shift will not be driven solely by changing consumer preferences, but primarily by technological advances that give buyers near‑infinite power. As technology enables consumers to reject unwanted marketing, companies that continue to rely on intrusive or irrelevant tactics will be unable to survive, leading to the eventual death of classical marketing. Shah does not specify a timeline, but emphasizes the inevitability of this transition.

I was reading Peter Thiel's book. What do you believe that no one else agrees on and you know is true? It's my prediction. I think very few people would agree. I think the kind of classical approach to marketing is actually going to die someday, and it's going to die not just because people have changed, right, which we have, but technology is such an enabler in the future. It's like we're all going to be kind of buyers of one with kind of near infinite power. We will never be marketed to in ways that we don't want because those companies will not survive. It's impossible. I think my prediction, I don't know when, but they're going to die.