28 Oct 2025

The Evolution of Digital Marketing – Then vs Now

The way businesses are evolving today, is in turn changing the face of all marketing strategies and initiatives in an organization. Marketing teams have kept pace with the fast-changing situation by engaging different ways of reaching consumers. The consumer psychology has changed from being conservative to being more informed over the years. Consumers now demand timely and personalised buyer experiences. Smart brands nowadays target specific consumers rather than blindly showcase their products. Brands sell feelings of happiness, joy, achievement, etc. at being associated with their brands rather than just talking about the product.

Marketing efforts have evolved with time moving from billboards, posters, or print advertisements to being visual and auditory using television and radio. The next galactic jump was the introduction of the internet, changing everything in marketing and opened up a whole new world and online reputation management became more important than ever. As marketing has grown to encompass digital marketing channels including social media it has given rise to the use of personalised messages to its target consumers.

Let’s go on a quick journey back in time to refresh our memory on digital marketing. In the year 1990, about 27 years ago, the internet was a stagnant place and little did people know what it will soon turn into. Social media was unthinkable at that time. In 1993, the world discovered its first web banner and digital marketing set the ball rolling. Yahoo was born and suddenly organisations were in a race to have their online presence.

In 1998, Google entered the marketplace and completely reshaped the then digital world transforming it into the golden era of digital marketing. With the introduction of Google AdWords (2000) SEO (Search engine optimization) became the new buzzword.

With the introduction of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest amongst others, the social media platform just went wild. More than a billion people were connected on social media suddenly and marketers quickly adapted to this quantum shift in human interactions by creating digital media campaigns purely based on the users’ preferences and choices in their search patterns. News, views, true inspirational stories, etc. were used by savvy marketing teams to position their products differently and get close to the customer’s heart.

From 2007 we saw a completely new phenomenon – the introduction of Smartphones. The world witnessed yet another disruptive technology. People had more than two devices to stay connected and accessing the internet was far quicker than in previous times. Mobile marketing was a new growth opportunity then. YouTube ( 2005), WhatsApp (2010), SnapChat (2011), Video on Instagram (2013) were fast changing the face of digitisation.

Digital marketing now involves real-time, data-driven, personalised interactions with consumers, and prospects. Visually appealing content that catches the eye and short videos are now on the rise. The digital landscape is a dynamic playground for marketers and they must constantly dabble with the latest technologies before they become obsolete and another one replaces them. A brand can reach anyone, anywhere, and anytime. Digital marketing has given brands that incredible power. Whichever way the river flows, one thing is certain that the essence of marketing will always remain constant, which is persuading the consumer to buy your product or services and retaining your old customers.