The Future Of Marketing Isn’t Just Digital

As marketers, we’re no strangers to optimising our campaigns for better performance and engagement. We segment our audiences, personalise our messaging, and live in constant hope that our content reaches the right people at the right time. But while we’re focused on driving efficiency, there’s an overlooked consequence of our efforts – the environmental impact of digital marketing.

Digital marketing, from online advertising to email campaigns, social media activity, and content distribution, consumes energy. This energy powers the servers, data centres, and devices necessary for delivering and viewing our marketing messages, resulting in a significant carbon footprint. However, according to a recent study by WARC, 59% of businesses aren’t aware of the environmental impact their digital activities have. This lack of awareness creates a gap that needs to be addressed, and as marketers, we have a responsibility to recognise the issue and take steps to reduce our digital emissions.

Understanding the Carbon Footprint of Digital Marketing

The carbon footprint of digital marketing may not be as immediately apparent as that of physical products, but it’s substantial. Every email sent, every ad served, and every piece of content hosted on the internet consumes energy. Data centres – where websites, emails, and cloud-based software are housed – are notorious for their energy consumption. In fact, the ICT sector, which includes all online activity, accounts for around 3.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, comparable to the aviation industry.

Here’s a simple example: sending one email generates roughly 4g of CO2, which seems negligible. But when you multiply that by millions of emails in mass marketing campaigns, it quickly adds up. Similarly, video content, while effective for engagement, is particularly energy-intensive. High-definition streaming requires a huge amount of bandwidth, driving up emissions every time a user watches or replays a video.

Why Awareness Is Important

While many companies have started looking into reducing the environmental impact of their physical products, there’s still a gap when it comes to digital marketing. WARC’s study highlights this, showing that almost two-thirds of businesses are either unaware of their digital emissions or not taking action to address them. But awareness is the first step towards change.

Consumers are increasingly looking to align themselves with sustainable brands. If businesses fail to acknowledge their digital carbon footprints, they risk alienating environmentally-conscious customers who expect brands to operate responsibly across all aspects of their operations. Not only that, but governmental regulations around emissions are likely to tighten, and companies that act now will be better positioned for the future.

The Steps We Can Take to Make a Difference

Luckily, there are actionable steps marketers can take to reduce their digital carbon footprint without compromising on effectiveness. Here are some of the strategies we can implement to start making a real difference.

1. Focus on Targeted, Humanised Campaigns

One of the biggest contributors to digital waste is broad, impersonal mass marketing. Sending blanket emails or serving irrelevant ads results in wasted energy and missed opportunities for connection. Instead, by focusing on understanding the data, we can learn who our audience truly is and what they genuinely want from us as brands. This allows us to create personalised, targeted campaigns that speak directly to the needs and preferences of individuals, rather than attempting to reach everyone with generic messaging.

By harnessing data to know your audience better, you can deliver timely, relevant content that feels personal and human. When people receive information that speaks to them specifically – whether it’s an offer they need in the moment or a message that aligns with their values – engagement increases, and digital waste decreases. This more efficient, human-centred approach not only reduces emissions but builds stronger relationships between brands and consumers.

2. Optimise Email Marketing with Personalisation

Email marketing offers a prime opportunity to adopt a more humanised, personalised approach. Rather than bombarding your audience with frequent, irrelevant emails, brands can focus on understanding who actually wants to hear from them, and what kind of content is valuable to those individuals. By carefully segmenting your audience and tailoring the messaging to specific needs, you’re able to send fewer emails, but with greater impact.

This targeted, personalised strategy not only enhances the customer experience but also drastically cuts down on digital waste. When we understand what our audience is looking for and only deliver relevant, timely information, we avoid the energy wasted on mass emails to uninterested recipients. In doing so, brands can reduce both the environmental impact and the disconnect that often arises from overcommunication.

3. Sustainable Website Practices

A brand’s website is another crucial area where emissions can be reduced. Optimising website performance not only improves the user experience but also decreases energy usage. Compressed images, minimal code, and faster load times reduce the strain on servers and the power required to deliver content.

Choosing a green web hosting provider is another important step. Many data centres are moving toward renewable energy sources or carbon offsetting, allowing brands to host their websites in a more environmentally-friendly manner. Regularly reviewing and removing outdated content that’s no longer driving value but still taking up server space is another way to cut down on emissions.

4. Leverage Local, In-Person Events

While digital marketing has the advantage of reaching a vast audience, people are increasingly seeking more intimate, personalised experiences over massive, anonymous gatherings. Instead of hosting large-scale events where attendees feel lost in a crowd, brands can create smaller, more focused events where participants share common ground – whether that’s a shared industry, challenges, or goals.

Customers prefer settings where they can connect with trusted peers and suppliers, engage in meaningful conversations, and learn something valuable. Listening to your customers and understanding their needs is essential. By hosting localised, in-person roundtable events or workshops tailored to their specific interests, you create opportunities for deeper engagement. These intimate settings are far more likely to deliver richer, more relevant outcomes, building stronger relationships and trust.

This approach also aligns with reducing emissions. By being present where your audience is, at a time they need you, you minimise long-distance travel and large-scale production efforts. Holding events that are easily accessible via public transport also encourages sustainable travel options, further lowering your carbon footprint.

5. Sustainable Data Usage

Another key aspect of reducing emissions is data management. By storing and using only the data you need, you reduce the energy required for storage and processing. Minimising unnecessary tracking, cookies, and third-party scripts on your website also helps, as these slow down sites and increase energy consumption. Practising data minimalism not only reduces emissions but also aligns with increasing consumer demands for privacy and data responsibility.

In addition, regular data cleanse activities for email marketing can make a significant impact. By reviewing bounce-backs, removing inactive contacts, and eliminating “dead” emails from your lists, you reduce the amount of data that needs to be stored and processed. This improves email marketing efficiency, as only those who are actively engaging with your content receive communications. Not only does this cut down on digital waste, but it also increases engagement and ensures your messages reach a more relevant audience, further reducing the carbon footprint of your campaigns.

6. Optimising Video and Content Usage

While video content remains a powerful tool for engagement, it’s also one of the most energy-intensive forms of media due to the bandwidth required for streaming. However, there’s a shift happening in how people consume video. Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy to highly polished, overly scripted videos. What they’re craving now is real, emotive, and personal content – videos that are a little rough around the edges, authentic, and created by real people they can relate to.

Rather than investing in expensive film crews and heavily produced content, brands can choose a more accessible, personal approach to video. By simply recording what you see and do with your own handheld device, you not only save on production costs but also create content that feels more genuine and connects with audiences on a deeper level. These types of videos are lighter on resources and often more impactful because they resonate with viewers’ desire for authenticity.

Additionally, optimising video sizes and ensuring the use of sustainable platforms for hosting can reduce the carbon footprint of video content. By focusing on shorter, real-time videos that are directly relevant to your audience, brands can both reduce energy consumption and create more engaging, humanised content.

Why Humanising Marketing Is Key

All of these steps point toward a more human, personalised approach to marketing. The days of mass campaigns and generic, one-size-fits-all messages are fading. Consumers want brands to speak directly to them, offering real value. By humanising marketing and focusing on in-the-moment personalisation, brands can deliver the right message at the right time without overwhelming audiences with irrelevant content.

As marketers, we have a significant opportunity – and responsibility – to reduce the environmental impact of our digital activities. By becoming more aware of our digital emissions and taking actionable steps to reduce them, we can make a tangible difference for the planet while continuing to engage and delight our audiences.

While 59% of businesses may not yet be looking at this issue, those who act now will not only reduce their carbon footprint but also build more authentic, sustainable relationships with their customers. The future of marketing isn’t just digital – it’s sustainable, personal, and human.